Misconceptions of Agriculture Part 1:

Misconceptions:

Part 1

1. MYTH: Farming is mostly controlled by large organizations

–FACT: According to FarmKind.org and USDA NASS “Of the 2.2 million farms in the U.S., 87% are owned by an individual or a married couple responsible for operating the farm. 97% of U.S. farms are family-owned and operated, according to the USDA. The USDA reported only 7,000 non-family controlled corporate farms in the U.S.”

2. MYTH: Farm animals that are raised in “factory farms” are abused and confined.

–FACT: According to  the Merriam-Webster dictionary’s website, factory farming is defined as “a large industrialized farm; especially : a farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost” The problem is that people misuse this word all the time giving the term a negative feeling. This definition is so broad. Isn’t the goal of all farms to maximize production at minimal cost? A farmer could have a 100 head of cattle and someone could say that is “large” but to others it may just be a normal size

3. MYTH: By eating less meat, Americans would improve the environment and free land and resources for the production of food crops rather than animal products, which could be used to feed the hungry overseas.(Misconception and Fact provided by Animal Agriculture Alliance)

-FACT:  Americans need both animals and plants to manage the nation’s natural resources in the best way possible and feed its people. For example, about half the land area of the U.S. can’t be used for growing crops, it can only be used for grazing. That land would be useless as a food resource.

Video gone Viral

I was recently scrolling through my facebook timeline when I came across a video that had been shared by one of my facebook friends. Her comment above the video was, “Oh my gosh… I’m going vegan.” I chose to watch the video and it was honestly appalling. I was outraged that this kind of thing is going viral. It has 6,872 likes on facebook and over 96,000 shares. These are the people we’re letting tell our story?  I went on to investigate more into this video which from the comments is a lot more than most viewers did. When I googled this video I was directed to a website entitled meat.org a website ran by “peta2” I dug a little deeper and found the mission statement of this group. Their mission statement: “We believe that it’s wrong to hurt animals. They aren’t dinner or clothing or anything else for us to use—they’re individuals who can feel pain and suffer, just like us. YOU hold the power to make a huge difference for them, and we’re here to help you every step of the way. Free for all!”  These are the people we’re letting the world believe. This group is targeting the youth of our country, they claim in their “about me” to be “the largest youth animal rights group in the world.” The more posts I read from them the more frustrating it got.  Because of this video I’ve decided to dedicate the next couple of blog posts I do to the misconceptions of agriculture.

HSUS Revealed

Want the startling truth about the Human Society of the United States? Watch this video made by Missouri Farmers Care

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJUiSjSw0Gc

I’m in shock right now. I honestly had no idea just how bad the Human Society of the United States (HSUS) was. I knew they weren’t donating to the local animal shelters and that they were trying to abolish animal agriculture, but who knew it was so bad. As people who understand what they are doing it is our job to fight for agriculture. I looked up the HSUS’s videos on youtube and almost every one of them had over 100,000 views. We’re not only letting someone else tell the story of agriculture, but we are letting people believe it! They are convincing people that farmers are abusive murderers. The HSUS has their brand plastered every where and are misinforming the country. Watching this video inspired me to do a little researching of my own. I want to be as informed as possible so I am able to defend agriculture against those who wish to end it. I included links that I felt helpful, hopefully you can get some insight so you’re able to go and agvocate too!

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HSUS Quotes

http://yesbiscuit.wordpress.com/the-truth-about-hsus/