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Explaining the reason"But we feed people!" As redundant as it may sound, we are required on a daily basis to make the case for the importance of domestic animal production. Look folks, these attacks are not new. Some have been fighting this very issue for over 10 years and the answer to it all is how we position the importance of what we do. I would not trade the lifestyle of ranching with anybody for anything. It is absolutely the way I want to live, with my daughters at my side every day, tending to the land and the animals--but, nobody cares about that. What they care about is what we do to make their life better. What we do to ensure the quality of life for their kids is what really gets their attention. It is really cool today to lay blame for the peril of the planet at the hands of meat, milk and egg consumers. We are attempting to explain how well we take care of animals in confined facilities, and they are wondering why we need to kill the animal. Those are two completely different issues. And they don't seem to get it. In order for the fish to live, some other living organism must die in the water. In order for the pig to live, some plant species must die, and in order for humans to live, both plants and animals must die. You may think that is far too elementary but it is exactly where we need to start. Oklahoma State University (OSU) has a tremendous section on their website discussing the reasons we consume animals. First off, the world is on a pace to hold 9 billion people in the very near future. And I personally see no reason that the resources available cannot sustain that many people, if common sense prevails. However, common sense needs a vehicle to arrive at the minds of the citizens of this earth, and you are the best one to deliver those goods. OSU tells us that 80 percent of the total global dietary calories consumed are from plants. Animals are a more important source of protein than they are of calories, supplying one-third of the protein consumed in the world. Meat, milk and fish supply about equal amounts of animal protein, at 35 percent, 34 percent and 27 percent, respectively, of the world's supply of total protein. The fact is that over two-thirds of the feed fed to animals consists of substances that are either undesirable or completely unsuited for human food. Thus, by their ability to convert inedible plant materials into human food, animals not only do not compete with the human, but rather, they aid in greatly improving both the quantity and the quality of the diets for human societies. Only about one-third of the land area of the world is classified as agricultural. Thus, roughly two-thirds of the earth's land area is not suited for any sort of agricultural use because it is covered by cites, mountains, deserts, swamps, snow, etc. Of the 35 percent that can be devoted to agriculture, less than one-third (or about 10 percent of the total land mass) can be cultivated to produce plant products that the human can digest. The remaining two-thirds of the world's agricultural land is covered by grass, shrubs, or other plants which only ruminant animals can digest. Once we have addressed the available resources for providing the essentials of life, we absolutely must tell our customers about the importance of consuming animal products as it pertains to a healthier lifestyle. A readily available source of vitamin D, which our nation is lacking, can be found in the lard can on grandma's pantry shelf. Thrombin, obtained from animal agriculture, assists the medical professionals on the operating table in surgery rooms throughout the world. The energy captured from the manure of just two dairy cows can provide the annual electricity for one home. Without components derived from eggs, we would not be able to vaccinate our children against the deadly diseases that plagued our nation early this century. Of course, you can single out any one thing and say we don't need this or that. Life is a cycle and improved livelihoods for humans are the result of proper utilization of all the available resources in a well-managed system. Furthermore, if you believe everything has a purpose, what would the purpose of the pig, sheep, goat, cow and chicken be, if not to improve human lives? Do not continue to defend how we provide for the animals but, rather, why we tend to the animals to provide for the people. And yes, you will need to do it every day. 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.
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