Category Archives: Animal Activists

HumaneWatch HSUS 50 Percent Pledge

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I like David Martosko’s HumaneWatch HSUS 50 percent pledge.

Here’s the Pledge in a nutshell: As soon as Wayne Pacelle commits to doing the right thing, I’m outta here.

You read that right. Hear me now, and believe me later, as Hans und Franz used to say. If the CEO of the Humane Society of the United States will make a commitment to start sending just 50 percent of HSUS’s income to hands-on U.S. pet shelters, HumaneWatch will disappear for good.

We’ll pull the plug. Yank the life-line. Cease and desist. Become an ex-blog.

That’s the challenge. That’s my pledge. And it’s non-negotiable.

It’s sad that something like this is even an idea but what can you do when you’ve got a scam going like HSUS does? They were discussed at the Alltech Symposium this week. That’s about 1,600 people from all over the world who understand that HSUS is not what it would like its supporters to think it is.

Just calmly, quietly, go support your local animal shelter and don’t give to these wackos. Put your money to good use for the good of animals.

iPhone App For Humane Foodies

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I’m pretty sure most AgWired fans like a good steak or hamburger and some, myself included, like a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Right? We support our farmers and ranchers and that includes meat producers of all types. We know that in order to be successful they have to take good care of their animals. That’s partly why we get so annoyed with animal rights wackos who try to paint a whole industry with a misinformed brush just to further their own views which they try to force on everyone else. The worst offenders are groups like HSUS who use emotional misinformation campaigns to try to get unnecessary and devastating laws passed, like they’re doing here in Missouri with their stupid ballot initiative to damage legitimate dog breeders.

Now the World Society for the Protection of Animals has an “Eat Humane Food Guide” iPhone app. You get a flavor for where they’re at right up front in the description of the app which states that most food found in American grocery stores comes from poor animals who have endured extreme suffering and raised in conditions that are “linked” to health and environmental problems. Of course that’s not exactly true is it? There’s plenty of science to the contrary which I’ve linked to on AgWired in the past. I just love the irony of their concern for animals and how they’re treated before they’re turned into hamburger or a variety of roasts.

So, if you want to take their word for it and find “humane” meat then get their app. Hopefully though you won’t buy into their rhetoric about modern food production that’s being done by hard working farmers who care about their animals and the land they live on.

More HSUS Watchers

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You know, I get pretty tired of pointing out to people that the Humane Society of the United States is not what you think it is. But let’s face it, they deserve all the publicity they’re getting. They want to put farmers out of business. It’s that simple. No farmers then perhaps no animals raised for food. They do just want us all to become vegan like them.

Okay. So here’s a video clip just posted onto HumaneWatch.org that is well worth sharing. I like this guy. I hope you will too. Just another intelligent, common sense person helping spread the truth about HSUS.

And you might want to take a look at the Iowa Farm Bureau’s Farm Fresh Blog and a post by Dirck Steimel. Here’s an excerpt about how he was kept out of the HSUS “news” conference last week:

Why were we kept out? HSUS leader Wayne Pacelle told the Des Moines Register that he shut out ag affiliated folks because he didn’t want “disruptions.”

But you have to wonder. It appears the tanned and polished Pacelle just doesn’t want to answer tough, and informed, questions. That doesn’t fit into Pacelle’s formula where he parachutes into town, calls a press conference at a downtown hotel and tries to make a splash in the media with undercover videos of alleged animal abuse.

The folks he accuses don’t get a chance to talk or ask questions. It doesn’t matter that they work 24-7 to care for animals and to produce safe, healthy and wholesome food. Or, that they, too, don’t tolerate the abuse of animals and want to get to the bottom of any alleged abuse.

Disagreement on Ethanol Policy

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The food versus fuel debate is back in full force, creating division between the crop and livestock industries at a time when it would behoove them to work together against the very real threat of animal activism.

This reached an interesting level last week when Rick Tolman, CEO, National Corn Growers Association (ZimmComm client) published an editorial taking the American Meat Institute to task for joining in a coalition with groups like the Environmental Working Group, National Resources Defense Council and Friends of the Earth. These groups are well documented (pdf) as being extremists with an agenda harmful to agricultural production. They also have their own relationships with other extremist groups like the Humane Society of the United States. Rick says in his editorial, “As the self-proclaimed representative of the “companies that process 95 percent of red meat and 70 percent of turkey in the U.S. and their suppliers throughout America,” AMI really should avoid such curious connections.” I think that sounds very logical. You can listen to an interview with Rick on this subject here:

Listen to

American_Meat_Institute_LogoNow here’s where I can provide you with an example of how social networking is useful. I tweeted a link to Rick’s editorial and asked AMI for their response. They tweeted me back a link to their response within a couple days. It is attributed to J. Patrick Boyle, President/CEO, American Meat Institute and starts out by saying, “AMI remains committed to our opposition to ethanol subsides and tax credits, a position that is supported by a broad cross-section of producers, processors, consumers and, especially, American taxpayers.

In fact, the federal government has pumped as much as $1.95 per gallon of taxpayer money into subsidies for the production of corn-based ethanol.” The response lists the issues they’re concerned about. So kudos to AMI for creating a response and responding to my request!

However, I have to point out that they didn’t mention their relationship with these extremist groups at all, which was the main focus of Rick’s editorial. I really don’t understand it anymore than Rick does. Seems very counter productive for their members. They’ve helped fund an ad in “The Hill” (pdf) which suggests that ethanol is bad for rural America. Kind of hard to justify that folks. That ad campaign is also funded by the Grocery Manufacturers Association which has aggressively used rhetoric and mis-information to blame ethanol for high food prices. The ad promotes a website called FollowTheScience.org which I’ve heard said should be called FollowTheMoney since it’s mostly a collection of anti-ethanol documents or studies that were funded by the supporting groups and that includes AMI.

It’s also interesting to note that AMI represents meat processors and packers yet their response seems to suggest they represent farmers and ranchers, “American ranchers and livestock producers are the best in the world at what they do – they can compete with anyone on the planet. And they’re not opposed to competing for corn, as long as they can compete for it on a level playing field.”

I think it’s an unfortunate situation. I’ve spoken with lots of corn farmers and beef producers on this issue. In fact, there are quite a few who do both. It is certainly a divisive issue. How would you solve it? I invite your comments and suggestions. But keep it friendly okay?

Post Update: NCGA CEO, Rick Tolman, has published a statement in response to the AMI statement. It’s title, “It’s Not About Ethanol.”

HSUS Lays An Egg In Iowa

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Apparently only some media were allowed to attend a Humane Society of the United States “news” conference this morning in Des Moines, IA. But a post on a Des Moines Register blog says that it was “closed to journalists.” Now how can you have a news conference if you don’t allow media to attend?

This photo, provided via Facebook and credited to an Iowa Farm Bureau photographer, shows those not allowed in. However, there are already stories on AP and Pork Magazine which I assume means they had someone there? And the Des Moines Register had a reporter doing live tweets from the event. Pretty confusing, eh?

We do know what HSUS is up to and it’s part of their tried and true method to drum up sympathy and support. This time they’re attacking poultry and egg production. They released a nasty looking video which is supposedly shot by HSUS employees who went to work at two different poultry production facilities for a couple weeks. So, they got jobs under false pretenses. Hmm. Now I should believe what they claim they show? You can imagine how easy it would be to set up the shots you want in order to get an effect even if what the viewer thinks they’re seeing isn’t real. Not much credibility there, especially when you’re a political lobbying organization doing the production! If you have the stomach to watch you’ll hear a number of unsubstantiated claims, even with their own production efforts. Pretty pathetic.

To get a much better perspective on the realities of poultry production, especially when it comes to using cages or not using cages, I highly recommend a read of a Des Moines Register guest column by Dean Kleckner, Chairman, Truth About Trade & Technology. He wrote it before today’s event. In it he says, “The Humane Society of the United States, however, would like to turn eggs into emblems of cruelty and death.” That’s got to be a tough goal since eggs really are a well established symbol of life. He goes on to write:

The truth is more complicated. Arizona Republic columnist Linda Valdez visited an egg farm that uses cages. She confessed to thinking that she would see chickens treated “like cogs in an industrial machine.” She discovered something different. She described a clean, efficient operation that produces good eggs at a reasonable price.

Then she visited a “cage-free” farm. “Layers of chicken excrement build up on the floor,” she reported. This is what the eggs lay in until someone picks them up.

For consumers of eggs, it’s a discomforting thought.

For well informed consumers who depend on modern farming production practices for safe and affordable food, the HSUS is a discomforting thought.

Ag Day Meat BBQ Cookout at MI State Capitol Overwhelming Success

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It looks like there was quite a barbeque party at the Michigan State Capitol on National Ag Day. Wish I could have been there in person but I was in spirit. I’m hoping to obtain a photo of the event to add to this post.

Post Update: Thanks to George for sending over a couple of photos from the event last night!

Here are the details from organizer George Hubka.

In direct response to Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s insult declaring that residents should not eat meat on Saturday, March 20, 2010 as part of her “Michigan Meat Out Day”, Barry County farmer George Hubka and friends held a very successful “Ag Day Meat BBQ cookout” on the Michigan State Capitol lawn on March 20, 2010.

Hubka, a part time crop farmer from Dowling, MI says he and other volunteers served nearly 200 attendees about 500 hamburgers and hot dogs in about a two hour period. Hubka declared the event a complete success when he stated, “just look around and see how glad these 200 people are to be out here enjoying delicious Michigan meat products, despite the cold and wet weather”.

The hot dogs were donated by Michigan’s turkey growers through the Michigan Turkey Producers Co-op of Grand Rapids, MI. Hamburgers were donated for the event by Sobie Meats & Byron Center Meats in Grand Rapids, MI. In addition, white and chocolate milk was provided by MMPA (Michigan Milk Producers Association) and processed by Prairie Farms dairy in Battle Creek, MI. Buns for the BBQ were donated by the Sara Lee and Butternut baking companies. Expert cooking for the event was coordinated by: Clint’s Hot Dogs of Lansing, MI and Linn Merindorf of Merindorf Meats of Mason and Williamston, MI.

Additional sponsorship for the activity was provided by the Michigan Cattlemans Association, Michigan Corn Grower Association, beef farmers Jeff Kala of Onaway, MI and Gary Voogt of Marne, MI. Other assistance was provided by the Michigan Beef Industry Commission, and the Michigan Pork Producers Association (MPPA).

Here’s the story from WZZM13.com:

Michigan Meatout Day?

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Michigan Meatout DayMichigan Meatout Day? At first I thought this was a joke when I found a link to it on Facebook (from a Michigan State student comment on a page of someone I follow). But it’s right there on Governor Granholm’s website. And it’s for March 20 which is National Ag Day! I would urge everyone to let her know what you think about this idea. Hmm. I wonder who could be behind this? You can click on the image for a larger one.

I called the office and constituent line both at approximately 5:15pm eastern time but they had gone for the day. I thought it odd that the phone just rings. No answering machine or service I guess. Is that normal? I called the Washington, DC office and someone did answer who told me to call the constituents line. She said they must have gone for the day and to call them tomorrow which I will try to do.

Here’s what the Governor’s resolution says:

Michigan Meatout Day

Whereas, A wholesome diet of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains promotes good health and reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic diseases, which take the lives of approximately 1.3 million Americans each year; and,

Whereas, The number of those who choose to live the lifestyle of a vegan or vegetarian has increased and so has the availability and selection of meat and dairy alternatives in mainstream grocery stores, restaurants, and catering operations; and,

Whereas, Reducing the consumption of meat or not eating meat at all can significantly decrease the exposure to infectious pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter, which take the lives of several thousand Americans and sicken millions more each year; and,

Whereas, The benefits of a plant-based diet can consist of increased energy levels, lower food budget costs, and simplified food preparation and cleanup; and,

Whereas, It is encouraged that the residents of this state get into the habit of healthy living by consuming a diet that is rich with vegetables, fruit, and whole grains, and by staying active;

Now, Therefore, be it Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, governor of the state of Michigan, do hereby proclaim March 20, 2010, Michigan Meatout Day in Michigan. In observance of this day, I encourage the residents of this state to choose not to eat meat. Eating a healthy diet can be fun. Explore the different recipes that can be created by using fresh ingredients and by having a sense of adventure.

So she says, “I encourage the residents of this state to choose not to eat meat.” Is she vegan? What do Michigan’s farmers and ranchers think of this?

Missourians For Animal Care Launched

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A new coalition has been formed to protect the rights of animal owners in Missouri. It’s called Missourians for Animal Care. Here are representatives of some of the organizations that support the coalition who were meeting today in the Missouri State Capitol. The group is supporting a bill titled HCS/HJR 86 that would protect the right to raise animals in Missouri. Why? Because there are animal rights extremist groups like the Humane Society of the United States trying to get a ballot initiative going on that would put severe limitations on the ability of anyone to own and raise animals.

It’s great to see a diverse group of agricultural groups coming together on an issue but this is one that would affect all of them. It’s also sad that they have to fight a completely unnecessary ballot initiative. Dog breeders in Missouri are licensed and regulated and are great caretakers for their animals but wacko groups like HSUS are using a very derogatory and emotional term to try to gain support which would supply them with money and a foothold for future legislative actions. Their initiative is called The Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act and you need to be aware of it.

To learn more about what’s going on I spoke with Karen Strange, President, Missouri Federation of Animal Owners. Her group has filed a lawsuit challenging the ballot initiative summary which they believed is inadequate to describe what is in the measure itself. They’re challenging the use of the term “puppy mill” which they do not use and is very prejudicial against anyone who breeds dogs. She says, “It’s very, very offensive to the good breeders of Missouri.” They have formed a PAC to raise funds to fight the ballot initiative.

Karen says they see this ballot initiative as just a “first step” to them coming after other agriculture interests. She says they want to help educate the public about this issue so they don’t unknowingly pass something they don’t understand the detrimental effects of. She says this is “nothing but a money making venture by an animal rights organization.” She says we need to just enforce the rules we already have.

If you’d like to have a good resource to use for good information about what the H$U$ is doing then I recommend HumaneWatch.org. You’ll find links to information about this issue there already.

You can listen to my interview with Karen here:

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Exposing HSUS

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ZimmCast 251In this week’s ZimmCast you’ll hear my conversation with David Martosko about HumaneWatch.org. This awesome and growing compilation of information about the Humane Society of The United States is a great resource for everyone involved in agriculture. H$U$ may be targeting animal agriculture for extinction but if successful consider the impact on all areas of agriculture, most especially in row crop production. I’m going to write my elected officials and point them to HumaneWatch.org since Missouri is currently one of the states these wackos at H$U$ are targeting with their completely misguided attack on dog breeders. Of course if you believe dog breeders are their only target then I might have some (swamp) land in south Florida to sell you.

hsus watchdogIn my conversation with David you’ll learn more about him and why he’s become so passionate and involved on this issue. His background includes working with the Center For Consumer Freedom. David and I have a great conversation and I hope you enjoy listening.

Almost a year ago I met Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS. He was speaking at the NAFB Washington Watch (I still don’t understand why they even let him in the door) and in my opinion issued a challenge to American farmers. You can still read that post or listen to his remarks (mp3).

Since the H$U$ says it’s all about dogs and cats (er, make that money) the program ends with some music from Music Alley. It’s a song called, “Dogs and Cats” by Colie Brice.

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, Novus International, and Leica Geosytems for their support.

You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast below.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our a Subscribe page.

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HSUS Feeling Heat in N.Y. Times

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The Center For Consumer Freedom is dialing up the heat on the Humane Society of the United States. This is their full page ad that’s appearing in today’s New York Times. It highlight’s “the failure of the Humane Society of the United States to devote a significant amount of money to supporting America’s underfunded pet shelters. The ad explains that HSUS shares only 1 dollar out of every 200 dollars it collects with local, hands-on pet shelters.”

You can find out a lot more by going to the organization’s just-launched website, HumaneWatch.org. You can download a pdf of the ad with this link.

The ad reads:

Shouldn’t the “Humane Society” do better?

The Humane Society of the United States is NOT your local animal shelter. In fact, it gives less than one-half of one percent of its $100 million budget to hands-on pet shelters.

Meanwhile, this wealthy animal rights group socked away over $2.5 million of Americans’ donations in its own pension plans.

Surprised? So were we. The dog-watchers need a watchdog. Join the discussion at HumaneWatch.org.

Watchdogs on the Tail of HSUS

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The new watchdog project on the tail of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is really showing a bite that matches its bark.

hsus watchdogThe Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) just launched HumaneWatch.org earlier this week to expose the agenda and activities of HSUS. It includes a sharp-toothed blog written by CCF’s Director of Research David Martosko, as well as a document library and database tracking the organizations related to the HSUS financial empire. They also have a Facebook page with nearly 2,000 fans so far this week. You can tell it’s already ruffling some feathers.

Speaking of ruffled feathers, it appears the backlash against [yellow tail] wine for its donation to HSUS finally hit the mark. John Casella, managing director of Yellow Tail’s parent company Casella Wines, gave a statement to ABC News this week that said the company will only make contributions to animal groups “without lobbying interests” in the future.

Mr. Casella says he never anticipated any negative criticism of the donation and the intention of the partnership with the HSUS was to celebrate and save animals.

“Being farmers ourselves, we acknowledge those who care for their land and their environment, just as we do,” he said. “We are proud of our rural heritage and value a solid relationship with agricultural communities around the world.”

The company also sent a letter today to the American Agriculture Alliance seeking to mend fences with farmers and ranchers. Meanwhile, Yellow Tail has also apparently taken down all the negative comments about the donation on their Facebook page, but there are still some great videos out there expressing discontent. Check out this one that really hits the mark, produced by Nebraska corn growers.

Dealing With Issues Management

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Issues Management MeetingMuch of the work done at the Cattle Industry Convention is in committees. These meetings are open and as I’ve found over the years, a great learning experience to attend. I did a walk around during the main committee time as part of my work for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and stopped in just as the Joint Issues Management Committee was concluding. As you can imagine, this committee is dealing with some real challenges, especially from activist groups like HSUS and others that are spreading misinformation about the industry.

I spoke with committee chair, Mike Stahly. Mike says that the checkoff does many surveys of consumers to learn what they think about the industry and the product. This information is then used to craft strategies for how to deal with issues like the whole animal welfare one.

All committees of the Beef Board have their own web page and archived copies of agendas and minutes. You can find the Joint Issues Management Committee page here. This has been a key feature of the website we built for the CBB and it has proven to be a simple tool to make checkoff information available and easy to find.

You can listen to and download my interview with Mike below.

Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

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Climate Change is BAD Topic

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BADThursday is Blog Action Day (BAD) and the topic this year is Climate Change. Food production is top on the list of suggested ideas for bloggers to write about in an alert sent out by organizers. “Agricultural production around the world is responsible for nearly as much greenhouse gas emissions as all forms of transportation put together, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the food choices we make have a big impact on the climate,” the organizers say, linking to some choice misinformation on their website.

If you are an agricultural blogger, you should sign up now for BAD, because the views of this will likely be very one-sided without you. When you sign up, you can get an idea of the ideology of the organizers. You are asked to “pick your favorite causes” from a list that includes such goodies as Animal Rights, Global Warming, Gay Rights, Global Poverty, Sustainable Food, Environment, Wildlife and Habitat, and Conflict and Response (that’s a cause?) You get the idea. BAD is “powered by change.org” which has as the top post today “Will Our Beef Addiction Destroy the Amazon?” Lovely.

If you haven’t registered and feel like airing your viewpoint on food production and climate change as part of BAD, sign up here. Or just boycott it.

Should Your Pet Be A Vegetarian?

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scope Coming from Texas A&M University, this article from the Veterinary Department, “Should Your Pet Be A Vegetarian?” kind of surprised me. It came out in their newsletter, and the article discussed planning a well-balanced vegetarian diet for pets. Why? What is this world coming to anyway? Since when do pets have to stand for a cause? Why can’t they just be our beloved companions? Here is an excerpt from the article…

There are so many human vegetarians that some of you may have wondered if your beloved four-legged friend is able to share the same passion and cause as you. If you have ever been interested in having your pet become a vegetarian it should be helpful to know the certain nutritional needs that your pet has, in order to make the right decision regarding vegetarianism. There is no scientific basis on the idea that a specific breed of cat or dog would fare better as a vegetarian, it is simply an issue between the species. In the Canine world, being a vegetarian has no negative effect on their nutritional needs.

“Dogs are opportunistic carnivores” said Dr. John Bauer, M.L. Professor of Clinical Nutrition at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, “which means they will eat meat when they have the chance or when no other type of food is available. For wild dogs, prey is not guaranteed, so especially in the colder seasons dogs will eat more plants and vegetables as meat is difficult to find. As for pet dogs, they can easily be converted to vegetarians, and if done properly, it is just as healthy as an omnivorous diet is for a dog.”

Dogs have the same types of protein balances in their bodies that humans have, therefore making it easy and safe for them to convert back and forth from a vegetarian diet to one of an omnivore.

“One problem with having your dog become a vegetarian” said Dr. Bauer “is that it is easier to feed him meat and vegetable based diets, without having to worry about protein types. There are commercial plant and vegetable based diets around for dogs, which seem to work well for the animal’s health and overall well-being.”

Regulatory Czar Nominee Could be Nightmare for Ag

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Americans for Limited Government (ALG) has mounted a campaign against the nomination of Cass Sunstein to be the White House’s “Regulatory Czar” in order to prevent a “litigation nightmare.”

ALG President Bill Wilson sent letters last week to farm organizations urging them to actively oppose the nomination. “What concerns me and I am sure will concern you is Mr. Sunstein’s extreme positions on animal rights,” Wilson wrote in his letter to the agricultural sector. “If put into law or regulation, these radical stands will destroy agriculture and threaten America’s ability to feed itself much less do any exporting of agricultural products.” Wilson says Sunstein favors granting legal rights to animals and “further regulation” against hunting, animal testing and farming.

To make their point in a pretty funny way, ALG released this “Farce Side” cartoon (with apologies to Gary Larson, creator of “The Far Side”). While the cartoon is amusing, Sustein’s extreme animal rights beliefs could prove to be very serious indeed if his nomination is approved. As an example of Sustein’s views, read his “The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer” – a very scary treatise in which he says “there is no good reason to permit the level of suffering now being experienced by millions, even billions of living creatures.”

Sunstein has been nominated to be Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the White House Office of Management and Budget. This post is also known as the “Regulatory Czar,” since all major regulatory actions by the federal government are subject to review by this office. The current status of his nomination is that it will require 60 votes in the Senate to invoke cloture after Senate Republicans earlier this month blocked a unanimous consent resolution to approve Sunstein without any roll call.

ALG is recommending that farmers and ranchers and all Americans who want “to have the right to choose what to eat and purchase at the grocery store” to urge their senators to vote against Sustein’s nomination.

Proud to be an Omnivore

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Boehringer IngelheimWhile in North Carolina for the Boehringer Ingelheim Swine Health Seminar over the weekend, I had some of the best pork I have ever eaten. The hotel served up a fresh whole hog with a tasty vinegar sauce that was fabulous. The best thing about the airport in Charlotte (which I spent an inordinate amount of time in on Sunday) was the real Carolina BBQ I had for lunch – as good as the porker the night before – with a fried pickle on the side! It ranks as the best airport meal I have ever had.

Made me think about the fact that humans eat meat because it tastes good and because that is what we are meant to do. We are omnivores – we eat both plants and animals. That’s our nature. And the great North Carolina pork producers at the event in Carolina Beach produce some of those tasty animals for us to eat, and do it as economically and efficiently as possible. That’s why things like PETA’s “Unhappy Meals” and HSUS really annoy me.

Missouri farmer Blake Hurst wrote an excellent essay in the Journal for the American Enterprise Institute called the “Omnivore’s Delusion” that cries out against the “agri-intellectuals” like PETA and HSUS and Michael Pollan who criticize modern agricultural production. Blake writes:

I’m so tired of people who wouldn’t visit a doctor who used a stethoscope instead of an MRI demanding that farmers like me use 1930s technology to raise food. Farming has always been messy and painful, and bloody and dirty. It still is.

Messy and painful, yes – but rewarding as well, or people like Blake and rest of the agricultural producers in this country who provide us with both plants and animals for food wouldn’t keep doing it. Read Blake’s essay and pass it on to everyone, especially those omnivores you know who are not in agriculture.

BIVI swine health seminar photo album

Protest Bank of America’s HSUS Credit Card

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Here’s something to fire you up on a summer Thursday. As reported on CattleNetwork this morning, Bank of America is now offering “The Humane Society of the United States® WorldPoints® Platinum Plus® Visa® Card.” Thank BOA. Help provide funds (25 cents of every 100 dollars charged) to an organization that essentially misleads people to get their money to fund their goal of a vegetarian society in which human beings have no more “right” than any animal. Perhaps they don’t understand that this group has nothing to do with local animal shelters. In fact, this group hurts your local animal shelter by taking funds from people who think they’re supporting them.

This is worth a protest since this is such a well funded group that has publicly pledged to fight for legislation that will hurt America’s farmers and ranchers. They intend to do this in every state in the country and are hard at work as we’ve seen in Ohio this week.

The CattleNetwork story has a draft letter you can use with the address of where to mail it (Bank of America Corporate Center, 100 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28255) or you can do what I did which was search their website and found that Nicole Nastacie is BOA, Corporate Philanthropy. I sent her an email.

You can also tweet the official Bank of America Twitter rep. Or perhaps post a comment on their blog.

Post Update: The CattleNetwork received a response letter from Bank of America which shows that the matter is being looked into at a pretty high level. Let’s hope they decide to terminate this program.