The First Post

As I get older, and my friends/college acquaintances/social media people and I are growing (or, in some cases, pretty much grown) up, Facebook is making me increasingly unhappy. Not actual, visceral unhappiness. Maybe disconcerted is more the word. Not because I feel like my life is less than perfect and comparing it to others’ lives it upsetting, or because I’m jealous of all of my single friends who are traveling the world, no strings attached, free as a bird.

Although Australia, France and Greece are all totally on our bucket list. Throw in New Zealand, too, please. And maybe Switzerland? Thanks.

No, I am startled by how much these people who I call my friends, some who I really call my people are posting absolute junk and ignorance about their food. One of my very best college friends posted a video the other day about how bad livestock is for the planet. I don’t have anything against those sorts of videos, per se, but the grand majority are so biased and selective about the information they share that it makes me want to pull my hair out. While he claims that he posted it because it was interesting, not because he believes it, just the fact that the video is getting posts and shares and likes and positive comments breaks my heart. Inevitably, if one of my Facebook friends posts something like that and if I comment on it, the response is “Oh, I’m not talking about you. You would never treat animals this way, and I know you try to do the best you can by the environment.” 

But, you guys? Those videos that you see, especially about the mistreatment of animals and the flagrant disregard for the environment, are the exceptions, not the rules. Truly.

You know exactly the kind of video I’m taking about. Either it’s “Cows use more resources than any other meat and they’re wrecking our planet,” (I wrote an article for a blog about that, actually) or “People who raise animals abuse them and don’t care about their welfare,” or “Meat is the root of all of our health/environment problems.” In each of those videos/articles/etc., there are grains of truth, definitely. Not all the truth is pretty, and we, like every other conscientious industry in the world, are working on improving our efficiency and animal husbandry, and decreasing our environmental impact. But those videos and articles omit SO MUCH to make you believe what they’re saying. They are trying to make you buy what they’re selling, and they’re awfully good at making a case. So, it’s time for us, the livestock producers—beef producers, in the case of this blog—to tell you the real story of where your food comes from. 

Because your food is raised and grown by families. Real people, with real lives, real children, and a real desire to do right by the animals they raise and/or the land they use. Remember that bad news sells, and people doing bad things are always more popular in the news than people doing good things. Remember that often "People fear what they don't understand, and hate what they can't conquer."

Please, if you are a proponent of the anti-livestock mindset, or if you believe everything those videos tell you, read this blog. Ask me questions! If I can’t answer them, I know someone who can. I am inviting you into our lives necessarily not in the hope that I can change your mind, but in the hope that that this blog can help you understand, see, and learn.

If you are not a proponent of that mindset, I invite you into our lives to see what we do every day, too! I hope that you will help me answer questions, and maybe invite people into your lives as well to add your perspective.

It’s a scary thing, this internet world. I have wrestled with how much to let people in, what to say, what to leave out, how to show things. The internet can be a very hateful place, especially when people are passionate about something. I am so, so happy that this passion is often about the food we eat, because that’s the way it should be. What we use to fuel our bodies and how we impact our planet is very important. I am unhappy, though, with some of the things that are said. So, I am throwing caution to the wind, and inviting you in. Please be kind, respectful, and, as my third-grade teacher Mrs. Ertman would say “Put on your thinking caps!” Smart lady, that one.