Mike Rowe Takes on HSUS, Animal Rights

What is in America’s Future?
MikeRoweWorks.com

I’m really bugged about something and I’ve decided to throw it out there. Here’s my question – Are the American farmers heading towards the same fate as America’s auto industry? I know some of you are already thinking “What the heck is this guy talking about?” but just stay with me for a few minutes.

OK, OK, I’ll get to my original point. Maybe you haven’t read this article in the Wall Street Journal: Poachers Arrive at Egg Farms but I did and it hit me as to what’s bugging me. The article by Lauren Etter says in part: “A year after Californians approved stricter rules on the treatment of farm animals, Idaho and other states are trying to lure away the Golden State’s poultry and egg farmers with promises of friendlier regulations and lower costs.

I live in California and I’m one of those people who adopt abandoned dogs. I’ve sent my $25 checks to the Humane Society after watching particularly awful commercials on TV showing little pets horribly mistreated and suffering. I completely support spaying and neutering of animals in most instances and would adopt an abandoned pet before I’d ever get one from a breeder or pet store. I don’t eat veal but I’m not a vegetarian. I’m not the only one who doesn’t get a vegetarian who still wears leather belts, jackets or shoes or carry leather purses but that, too, is another story. Those are my choices and I’m not telling anyone else what to do – it’s a free country. I didn’t vote for the proposition they’re talking about because it didn’t make sense to me. I couldn’t buy into the emotion of seeing animals in cages and using the worst examples of some unethical people as the end-all be-all for every farmer in the state – passing that measure would negatively affect our food sources and our farmers. Read More

Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame is certainly a friend of agriculture. It’s not often we have a celebrity that stands up for what is right and uses common sense. He isn’t concerned about what other celebrities think of him, instead he cares more about the working people. He knows who is responsible for putting the clothes on his back and the food on his table. The other great thing is that he is willing to go to work for the American farmer and rancher, we just need to put those wheels in motion. I don’t care what size or type of farm you have, we should be able to work together to make this happen. Our petty differences need to be put aside or else our children will be reading about US agriculture in the history books.