Questionable Actions of The Vegan Animal Rights Movement
Some vegan activists assert that all farms are the same, and any type of livestock agriculture is bad.
Why not propose a more pragmatic solution, such as choosing food sourced from farms that vastly differ from animal factories, farms that don't use intensive methods of confinement, don't use antibiotics routinely, and don't pollute water supplies with excess amounts of waste?
Why not inform the different methods in farming, such as the difference between large concentrations of animals raised in buildings without outdoor access, and animals raised on pasture-based farms that spend the majority, if not all, of their lifetimes outside on pastures; or the difference between animals fed rations of grain, requiring routine antibiotics, and animals that forage on grass with little to no need for antibiotics?
Why not highlight the difference between CAFOs which are known to pollute the environment, and farms that use rotational grazing systems which work to benefit the environment, ensuring a more sustainable system?
Zatkovich Pastures in Michigan
Some vegan activists raise minimum standards in factories, when higher standards are practiced elsewhere.
As retailers are pushed to use cage-free eggs, with ballot measures in Massachusetts and California to phase out confinement methods, why not give mention to farmers who currently use significantly better methods?
TF Farm in Minnesota
Why not demand factories to practice higher animal welfare standards already in practice on farms across the country and certified by agencies such as Animal Welfare Approved, whose standards far exceed the ones proposed in their ballot measures?
Why not recognize farms where animals come first before profit, farmers who embrace transparency, encouraging customers to visit and ask questions, and farmers who provide educational programs for future generations of farmers?
Some vegan activists claim veganism is the only way to combat climate change and reduce pollution.
Methane from livestock production accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions (16% globally), and the livestock industry's top companies are responsible for most of it. EPA recommends examples of reducing emissions in livestock management such as by "improving pasture quality to increase animal productivity" and "handling manure as a solid or depositing it on pasture rather than storing it in a liquid-based system such as a lagoon."
Why not acknowledge the growing number of concerned farmers and environmental experts who have not only exceeded EPA's recommendations, but are developing techniques to rebuild soil and offset emissions, drawing on an ecological and regenerative agriculture that can restore the harmful effects of chemical and mechanical systems for both livestock and crops?
Why not provide examples of better practice models implemented by farmers on a mission to improve the industry, who are teaching and leading by example towards a more ethical and sustainable farming system?
ABC Acres in Montana
Glynwood in New York
A study done by CDC in 2016 shows "rates of suicide were highest in the following three occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry." [1-800-273-8255 Suicide Prevention Lifeline] USDA's farm production chart in 2016 shows large-scale farms ($1 million or more in GCFI) account for only 3 percent of all U.S. farms but 45 percent of production value. Their farm income chart shows more than half of farms as very small, with annual sales under $10,000 and the households operating these farms typically rely on off-farm sources for the majority of their income.
Unchecked corporations continue to dictate our food system, threatening small farms, local economies, animal welfare, workers safety, public health, and the environment. Protection agencies have a tremendous task of getting the issues in front of voters, pushing for transparency and accountability in the industry. We as consumers still have a choice, thankfully, to decide which food and which farms deserve our money.