|
|
|
Cows or kidsBy Trent Loos Each year, in the United States alone, in excess of 3 million children are abused or neglected. In addition to that, three die each and every day from abuse. The Prevent Child Abuse America organization has just released the results of an economic impact study on the abuse of children and what it costs taxpayers. The answer is an unimaginable $104 billion in the calendar year 2007. Research has documented that abused or neglected children are highly likely to suffer from depression, alcoholism, drug abuse and severe obesity. Nearly one-third of all abused or neglected children are more likely to be arrested for violent crimes. Let's forget about the financial impact to American taxpayers and consider the cost of child abuse and neglect is truly a lack of appreciation for human life. Has the New York Times or L.A. Times featured this on the front page lately? No! They have been too busy worrying about six abused cows in a meat packing plant to waste any time on the children that are abused. Okay, I will start off by saying that in no shape or form does a true animal steward endorse cruel treatment to animals. What I personally saw on the videotape that made its way around the world is appalling to me. Any person who contributed to such treatment should face the consequences but that is where it should stop. When was the last time you heard about beef causing foodborne illness in a school lunch program? In fact, I will remind you that the Center for Disease Control indicates that of the 365 billion meals consumed every year in the United States, only 76,000 cases of food-borne illness occur. I, personally, feel a great degree of comfort with such a low risk. Yet tainted meat in your kid's school lunch was the angle journalists used to sensationalize this incident. The latest call is for video cameras to be installed in all animal-harvesting facilities to ensure the proper treatment of food animals. That is absurd. As I mentioned before, I in no way, shape or form condone the mistreatment of animals such as that we have seen on undercover footage. It does not represent the norm. In every bag of apples, there is one that has spoiled. We throw that one away and eat the rest. The individual actions at one plant do not indicate that every apple in the bag is rotten. If it makes sense to put cameras in animal harvesting facilities to monitor the rare occurrence of animal abuse, what does the same organization have to say about child abuse? Of the 75 million children under the age of 16 in the United States, in excess of 3 million of them are abused or neglected every year. It seems that your risk of being an abused kid is far greater than your chances of being abused if you are a cow. So does that mean I, as the father of three daughters under the age of 16, will have to face a video camera in my house every day? Am I now guilty until proven innocent? The USDA started a proper investigation immediately after they were notified, but the notification happened four months after the footage was captured. At this very moment, all production at this cow-harvesting facility has been suspended. But again I ask, was there a negative impact on a human life as a result of this improper cow handling? No. The USDA has banned all non-ambulatory cattle from the food supply after one cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy on Dec. 23, 2003. Cows that harbor the prion disease can lose their ability to walk well. So "in an abundance of caution" the USDA, under the direction of then Secretary Ann Veneman, implemented the ban. But let's not forget that all specified risk materials, i.e. brain and spinal tissue, are removed from the food supply on all cattle, whether they can walk or not. The bottom line is that, even if my girls ate ground beef from a cow that tested positive to BSE, their risk of being abused is greater than their risk of acquiring BSE. And, no, I don't believe in or practice child abuse. I truly believe that at some point in the very near future our society must step up to the mirror and ask a soul-searching question. Have we lost sight of the true value of human life? Why do we care more about the cows on the video or what has happened to Michael Vick's dogs than we do about the 3 million abused and neglected American children? I don't care what the monetary cost is to the American taxpayer. That pales in comparison to the loss of human dignity that occurs at the hands of a disrespectful adult. I hope we can reflect on that and come to a meaningful decision that we can take action on to save the lives of our children. Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail Trent at trent@loostales.com. 2/18/08 Date: 2/14/08 Advertisement
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
Market Snapshot Inside Futures |
