CALF_News_June_July_2021

14 CALF News • June | July 2021 • www.calfnews.net I n 1999, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) posted this message on a billboard near Oral Rob- erts University (ORU) in Tulsa: “Jesus Was a Vegetarian.” Their intent was to convince students at ORU, a Christian University, that Jesus was a member of a religious sect that rejected animal sacrifice. PETA failed to consider that ORU students actually study the Bible. I never heard of any student at ORU validating PETA’s claim and converting to vegetarian- ism, which some would consider a form of religion itself. Nevertheless, PETA, which has never been deterred by facts, claimed the billboard was such a success that they bought bill- board space in Tulsa the following year for a second campaign. This billboard featured an image of Jesus with this admonition: “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” PETA might get by with blasphemy, but they couldn’t get by with copyright infringement. It seems that the Priests of the Sacred Heart, who number about 130 in the United States, owned the copyright to the image and demanded that PETA discontinue its use in their campaign. PETA eventually gave up on Jesus. This year, they decided to crucify Oklahoma’s governor, Kevin Stitt, on a billboard in Oklahoma City. The governor committed vegetarianism’s unpardonable sin. He had the audacity to declare the week beginning March 22, 2021, as “Meat All Week.” PETA’s bill- board features a Holstein proclaiming, “Oklahoma, Home of Meathead Gov. Stitt!” Governor Stitt decided to take PETA’s lemon and make lemonade. He responded with a photo of the billboard on his Twitter account accompanied by this comment, “Looks like a good spot to grill some burgers.” And that’s just what the governor did. With PETA’s bill- board as his backdrop, he grilled hamburgers and steaks and used the occasion to promote animal agriculture. “Thanks to my friends at the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association for Whitt & Wisdom By JimWhitt Contributing Editor Thank You PETA and Governor Polis a great night! As governor, I will always stand with our beef, chicken and pork producers and protect and defend Okla- homa’s entire agriculture industry.” It was a priceless photo op that got under PETA president Ingrid Newkirk’s skin. “PETA is sending the Governor a back brace, since he must be in agony from all the bowing and scrap- ing he has to do to keep his meat-industry backers happy.” The Governor cheerfully declared, “It’s all in good fun. Oklahomans know that we’re going to stand by our agriculture industry and our personal freedoms – and the freedom to go vegan if you want and the freedom to eat hamburgers if you want.”What a novel concept – personal freedom! Photo from www.kxii.com PETA must be elated with Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who declared March 2 as “Meat Out Day.” It seems he wanted Coloradans to give up meat as an offering to climate change, a religious sect closely aligned with vegetarianism. This is what inspired Gov. Stitt’s “Meat All Week” week. Now, which governor do you think got the most mileage out of this tit for tat? I’m sure the ag industries in each state will make their preferences known in the next gubernatorial