Every now and then I find myself a little overwhelmed when it occurs to me that my "to do"' list is growing much faster than my "completed" one. As my mind sorts through the tasks ahead (while trying to simultaneously manage my day to day activities) a feeling of pressure often creeps up on me, creating a sense of urgency to do SOMETHING. Much to my dismay, when I reach the point of "gotta do something now!" my brain will just...stop. Shut off. Walk away from its task. Leaving me stranded without the ability to string together anything that resembles an intelligent sentence, let alone a complete thought.
During these bouts of brainlessness I often sift through various magazines and websites to find out what the latest consumer buying trend is, how the (beef) industry is working to accommodate those trends, what our pals at HSUS are up to, and what awesome things are happening on farms across our country.
As a result of some recent perusing (during, as you might guess, a mental void that has been upon me - sorry for the silence if you follow this blog with any regularity) I stumbled across an interesting article discussing America's fastest growing food segment. What would it be, you ask? Organic? Natural? LOCAL?? Nope, nope, and nope. Consumers, believe it or not, are flocking towards any and all food marked KOSHER. This simple label carries some clout these days because buyers (keep in mind that I am speaking NOT about the Jewish community, but the masses who recently started seeking Kosher based on a whim) have decided that brand-associated regulations and a religious blessing before shipping just might make for some good eating. More and more people are associating Kosher products with higher food quality and - pay attention here - humane animal treatment, two phrases that have become prominent when it comes to water cooler conversations.
And here is where we hit a little bit of a hiccup.
Not necessarily with the food quality aspect of the discussion (I am sure Kosher food is just fine), but with the perception that Kosher meat eaters are able to hold their head a little higher than everyone else because "my meat was treated better than yours."
Was it? How many of the recent Kosher converts really know what that label implies? Judging from the "humane treatment" perception, not too many. Anyone with the gumption to RESEARCH the latest trend before falling in line with it would learn that, according to Kosher law, an animal must be conscious when it is slaughtered. Know what that means? At Kosher processing plants, you can forget about stunning the animal before bleeding the carcass...instead, an animal is held in place while an individual cuts its throat, killing the animal by bleeding it to death. Such establishments actually have USDA exemptions that permit them to handle livestock in this way, legally avoiding national humane treatment regulations.
I need to mention here again that I am not in any way trying to turn anyone against the Jewish community or their dietary standards. They treat their food source with respect and in a manner that aligns with specific religious beliefs that I do not fully understand and have no right (or desire) to criticize.
What I am trying to point out by writing this is the absolute disregard for information exhibited by most consumers. Unlike a devout Jewish family who fully understands and appreciates the manner in which Kosher food is produced, this 'new wave' of non-religious Kosher followers is blindly careening into the food segment based on a PERCEPTION of 'more humane treatment.' In reality, there is a stark and shocking difference between established animal slaughter and the Jewish tradition...a difference that would absolutely horrify the average suburbanite who is happily plowing through a Kosher rib roast. But alas, most remain blissfully unaware of this fact, overlooking real information in search of the newest, coolest food term to throw out in front of their friends. "What? You eat ORGANIC? Pfff, that is so yesterday...I feed MY kids all Kosher. It is better for us and the animals!" Yep.
This unwaveringly-ignorant commitment to trendy not-really-fact based perceptions is a current major obstacle for the Beef industry. We are PERCEIVED to produce a product that makes people fat, consumers automatically ASSUME that meat is the cause of numerous diseases, and the masses ACCEPT the ridiculous rumors implying that food production creates untold suffering for millions of animals while simultaneously devastating the environment. Yeah, it sounds pretty darn cool when someone loudly announces that they "don't eat meat because I am trying to get healthy," but is it possible that they are getting it wrong? I mean, how many "veggies" have been on a farm to see what we really do? How many of them actually understand the nutritional benefits of various meats before they publicly condone such a food item? How many people actually know a modern farmer and understand our efficient, safe, sustainable food production system, and how many follow something similar to the Kosher mindset, accepting a false "reality" based on the blind perception of their friends? My guess is zero for the former, 100% for the latter.
So think about this when you hear someone spouting negative garbage about animal protein. Does that person really know anything, or is he just a single sheep wildly following the flock over a cliff? Don't buy into a perception of something simply because the idea is widely accepted - like our Kosher friends, you might be surprised by the reality.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The Bad Eggs
I have not tried to hide my distaste for anti-agriculture groups that spew negative farm propaganda to the masses. Their skewed efforts have convinced Americans to live in fear of their food and have forced inaccurate fabricated terms such as "factory farming" into daily conversations around the country. Worse still, the campaign has tainted the image of the hundreds of thousands of farm families across the US who are getting it right and are committed to producing a bountiful supply of the highest quality product for their fellow countrymen while creating the best possible situation for their land and animals. The negative media image that surrounds our agricultural system - the best one in the WORLD - saddens and angers me each time I hear inaccurate information casually tossed around throughout our daily lives.
That being said, I am told on a regular basis to find the good in everything that happens, no matter how horrendous the situation may seem. Finding something good about the attack on our production farmers and our food supply seemed completely ridiculous to me until just recently during a conversation about another topic entirely. A circumstance was mentioned up that parallels the current farm situation, and at that moment I found the good.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, American farmers have for decades been content to hang in the background of society, quietly going about the 365 day-per-year task of producing food for a hungry 310 million mouths (not to mention those who benefit outside this country). Unfortunately, while the industry advanced in the shadows of a rapidly changing nation, a small number of bad eggs (producers who misuse the land, mistreat animals, and ignore food quality and safety) were hitching a free ride in the shadows of the industry. Because agriculture was overlooked by so much of the population, few people took time to address the bad egg situation, allowing them to grow and develop unchecked. After years of their under-the-rug atrocities, these producers can be found with land and animal violations in numerous states - many bad eggs simply move into an area, destroy it, and leave once violations and legal issues make relocation necessary.
You do not need to be told by me that this behavior is irresponsible, disrespectful, and wholly unacceptable. Their lack of respect for agriculture has taken our honest, noble industry and muddied its image in the eyes of the public, effectively masking the awesome sustainability (yes, you read that correctly) and efficiency of modern agriculture and making the industry a whipping boy for health experts, "foodies", animal rights activists, and seemingly every other segment of society. Amongst all this tragedy, however, is the fragment of light I so recently discovered: so much attention is actually eliminating the irresponsible producers. They cannot survive under such strong scrutiny...legitimate farm organizations refuse to support them, consumers despise them, and everywhere they turn people are noticing and rejecting their improper management. Perhaps the attention I have spoken out so strongly against is actually doing something right. Maybe, provided a willing and open mind of the public and a little much needed industry direction, we can fight through the upheaval and come out an even better food production system because of it.
Similar to nearly every public issue, a lot has to change in order to make this happen. American consumers need to stop associating poor management practices, low food quality, environmental degradation, etc, with production agriculture. Such a misguided belief as that lumps the good guys in with the bad guys - each time they speak out against large farms concerned people are opposing both the unfortunate negative situations AND (unknowingly) the majority of producers who are doing a good job. If we manage to separate the false connection between horrific (but isolated) cases of poor farm management and productive (but well maintained) large farms, we will surely have a superior domestic food supply rather than a questionable imported one.
That being said, I am told on a regular basis to find the good in everything that happens, no matter how horrendous the situation may seem. Finding something good about the attack on our production farmers and our food supply seemed completely ridiculous to me until just recently during a conversation about another topic entirely. A circumstance was mentioned up that parallels the current farm situation, and at that moment I found the good.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, American farmers have for decades been content to hang in the background of society, quietly going about the 365 day-per-year task of producing food for a hungry 310 million mouths (not to mention those who benefit outside this country). Unfortunately, while the industry advanced in the shadows of a rapidly changing nation, a small number of bad eggs (producers who misuse the land, mistreat animals, and ignore food quality and safety) were hitching a free ride in the shadows of the industry. Because agriculture was overlooked by so much of the population, few people took time to address the bad egg situation, allowing them to grow and develop unchecked. After years of their under-the-rug atrocities, these producers can be found with land and animal violations in numerous states - many bad eggs simply move into an area, destroy it, and leave once violations and legal issues make relocation necessary.
You do not need to be told by me that this behavior is irresponsible, disrespectful, and wholly unacceptable. Their lack of respect for agriculture has taken our honest, noble industry and muddied its image in the eyes of the public, effectively masking the awesome sustainability (yes, you read that correctly) and efficiency of modern agriculture and making the industry a whipping boy for health experts, "foodies", animal rights activists, and seemingly every other segment of society. Amongst all this tragedy, however, is the fragment of light I so recently discovered: so much attention is actually eliminating the irresponsible producers. They cannot survive under such strong scrutiny...legitimate farm organizations refuse to support them, consumers despise them, and everywhere they turn people are noticing and rejecting their improper management. Perhaps the attention I have spoken out so strongly against is actually doing something right. Maybe, provided a willing and open mind of the public and a little much needed industry direction, we can fight through the upheaval and come out an even better food production system because of it.
Similar to nearly every public issue, a lot has to change in order to make this happen. American consumers need to stop associating poor management practices, low food quality, environmental degradation, etc, with production agriculture. Such a misguided belief as that lumps the good guys in with the bad guys - each time they speak out against large farms concerned people are opposing both the unfortunate negative situations AND (unknowingly) the majority of producers who are doing a good job. If we manage to separate the false connection between horrific (but isolated) cases of poor farm management and productive (but well maintained) large farms, we will surely have a superior domestic food supply rather than a questionable imported one.
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