In today’s world so many people and organizations attack agriculture. They attack the very thing that feeds, clothes and shelters every person in the world. Why? How do we battle against this negative aggression?
In my opinion, for whatever it’s worth, we need to start by understanding the terms thrown at us – the verbal ammo. If we don’t know what or whom we are fighting then how can we win?
Common terms are animal agriculture, animal conservation, animal welfare and animal rights. Here is what I have found:
Animal agriculture is the branch of agriculture concerned with the care and breeding of animals. This is what most of us do each and every day. We care for our livestock and we raise them with the intent of breeding them for monetary purposes.
Animal Conservation cares about the species.
Animal welfare is defined as the process and steps taken to ensure a good quality of life for animals and to prevent animal suffering or unsatisfactory living conditions focusing on the physical, metal and natural state of animals.
A student worksheet put out by the Kentucky Farm Bureau offers a clear explanation, “Farmers are the most logical advocates of animal welfare, as their livelihood is dependent upon keeping animals safe and healthy. Farmers furnish animals with appropriate housing, food, water and veterinary care in order to produce wholesome, high-quality foods demanded by consumers. This practice is referred to as humane animal husbandry.
Animal rights denotes the philosophical belief that animals should have rights, including the right to live their lives free of human intervention or defined as by Merriam-Webster dictionary as the rights (as to fair and humane treatment) regarded as belonging fundamentally to all animals. According to Merriam-Webster the word animal rights was first used in 1879.
There are a lot of organizations that take a personal stance against animal agriculture and I’m sure you are aware of these types of organizations. After investigating some common organizations’ websites I found many of them have a common mindset: that animals are not ours for food or clothing. But my religious views make me ask, what does the Bible say? Genesis 9: 3 says, “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” I turn to the Bible for many answers in my life so why should this topic be any different?
I am not trying to persuade anyone’s opinion, but as I’ve said in other columns before, I believe education is a powerful tool. It is our duty as animal agriculturalist to advocate for our industry and to educate the public. Maybe we should make it a resolution for 2014 to flood the public with educational materials whether that is through word-of-mouth, agritourism, social media or print media. We must do our part to let consumers know that our livestock and crops are our livelihoods and we wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that.
Best wishes,
