CALF_News_June_July_2019

10 CALF News • June | July 2019 • www.calfnews.net Looking Ahead Preaching to the Choir  CALF VOICES By Rachel Lewis Contributing Editor R ecently, I took a long road trip without a time schedule. I had forgotten how much I enjoy seeing country. I left sunny southern Arizona and headed north to Billings, Mont. I drove through some BEAUTIFUL country, some very diverse and real cow country. Northern Arizona has huge, widespread ranches with desert and cattle as far as the eye can see. The north country was a little greener, and cattle were up close in calv- ing pastures being fed since there was still snow on the ground in places. You would have thought I had never seen a calf before as I had to gawk at every occasion. I even pulled off and took a few photos like a tourist. I enjoyed the trip and did a lot of thinking about others who drove through that country. Part of my trip took me to the edge of Yellowstone National Park and I thought about all the nonagricultural people who will be cruising through that area in the months to come. I considered how we could speak our message to those driving by at 80 miles per hour. Maybe we do. I know I haven’t seen much prettier things than a slick and happy momma cow with a calf on her side, whether out in the beau- tiful desert or grazing in green pastures. Is it enough? To me it is, but I am already a strong believer. We spread our message to each other easily enough; for one, we all speak the same language. Also, it’s easier to talk to someone with like beliefs; similar people tend to haunt the same places. It’s easy to talk to some- one about a great steak in a steakhouse. Keep in mind, every interaction out- side your agricultural community is an opportunity – from the doctor’s office to the airplane terminal. In my case it was in the hot tub at a roadside motel. After That also means that those same bureaucrats are lobbied by the same anti-animal agriculture extremist groups such as PETA, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, etc. Most Americans are unaware that U.S. lobbying groups spend millions of dollars in Canada, fomenting various causes. They do so because our liberal government is a sucker for giving in to progressive causes, and any victories up here are used as precedent setting for those same causes in the United States. My point is that if those groups were successful in crippling livestock movement in Canada, they will surely be pressuring American bureaucrats responsible for livestock transportation regulations. Those U.S. bureaucrats will be consulting with their Canadian counterparts – and, well, you know how the process works. Ameri- can livestock producer organizations had better get their lobbying troops in motion before it’s too late. The anti-animal agriculture lobbying agenda is to make commercial livestock transportation so costly and entangled with red tape that it will affect the viability of animal agriculture. They have found a way to carry out their devious goals in Canada. Surely the United States is their real target.  E-mail comments to willverboven@hotmail.com GREAT WHITE NORTH Continued from page 9 spending 15-plus hours in the car, I was glad to soak. One evening another weary traveler joined me and we ended up con- versing about ourselves, and my passion for cattle came up. This was my moment, my time to give my elevator speech and I gave it with pride and confidence. “Beef is safe and sustainable and raised humanely. As a producer I am confident that animals are treated well and cared for better, at times, than I care for myself. Cattle aren’t ruining the ozone with their methane production …” and so on and so forth. As my hot tub mate listened and smiled at my spiel, I knew she had something to say. So I paused. ”Well, I love a good grass-fed steak,” she said,“and I think you are right; cattle raised in their ‘natural environment’ out on grass is sustainable, but in those feedlots on dirt for their whole lives is just sad and there’s no way that doesn’t hurt the environment.” There was the thing I hated to face; I think of those statements as “sort-of ” facts, stemming from a perception that came from who knows where. How do you rebut without sounding conde- scending or self-righteous? First, I told her I was glad that she enjoyed steak, and personal preference and having the right to choose how you want it is all part of being American. I enjoy a steak on the rare side when I know where it’s coming from and typi- cally would choose traditionally raised beef for myself, but agree a good steak is a good steak.We then talked about how all cattle are in what she called their “natural environment” for the majority of their lives. That typically they were only in feedlots for the last 90- 120 days of their lives.We also discussed the quality of life of the cattle in yards; how they have constant access to clean fresh water close by, daily health checks and are fed a diet overseen by a nutritionist, with plenty of room to lay down, walk around, and get to the bunk to eat all they want. It really may be an easier life, sometimes, than out in the “natural habitat.” I don’t know if I changed her mind, but at least I told her our story. I got the word out there and it felt good to talk to someone outside the industry instead of preaching to the choir.  E-mail comments to rachel@animalhealthexpresscom