The last few weeks I have been reading my sisters blog, and the issues that she is faced with daily. Most of those are coming from people and their view on the agriculture industry.
I have no problem with people expressing their opinions, and sharing it with others. However, I get annoyed when people express an uneducated opinion, or try and use facts that are extremely slanted and untrue.
Tonight as I was channel surfing for something to watch after supper I came across an episode of The Simpson's. I am not an avid watcher of this show, however, this one caught my eye as they were talking about 4-H and State Fair.
Bart had joined 4-H and was getting a steer calf ready to show at State Fair. It was really cute to see them work with their calves, having them do push-ups to gain muscle, brushing, and even sleeping with their calves the night before the show!
As the episode progressed it showed Bart having to part with this calf, as he went to a feedlot and eventually a slaughter plant. The fate of all steers. However, this is where the episode really went downhill.
The feedlot showed cattle that were so fat they were unable to move, stacked up 5 high and full of steroids. At one point it even showed Bart touching the steer and growing a mass of hair on his arm from the steroids.
This whole last half of the episode really bothers me as this is the impression that people get of what agriculture is. They do not take the time to learn the realities of what goes on, and the reason why things are done.
Lately it seems like there has been lots of negative publicity for agriculture, and more of it coming all the time. As people involved in the industry we need to start to defend what we do, otherwise we will be without a job soon. This uneducated and slanted point of view is in the public way to much, and we need to start standing up.
I encourage everyone to stand up for that they believe in and share their story with someone this week. The more we can do to get the accurate message out the better!
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