Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is talking with South Dakota rancher and animal agriculture advocate, Amanda Radke about the threats animal rights groups pose to agriculture.
At the Livestock Marketing Association’s annual convention, Radke gave a presentation about how to tackle these issues and stay protected in the livestock industry.
“These animal rights activists and environmental extremists are dedicated to attacking us through lobbying, legislation, litigation, and media campaigns,” Radke said. “They are relentless.”
Radke said there are many organizations, including but not limited to PETA, HSUS and ASPCA, that have mastered appealing to people’s emotions to check off goals on their agendas.
“Most of us in agriculture are just trying to do what needs to be done,” Radke said. “Take care of the land and the livestock and feed people.”
Radke said these groups put animal agriculture in a vulnerable position, so knowing who industry adversaries are is a good way to stay ahead.
“Sometimes in agriculture, we think we can just get to the table and negotiate with these people, and we can compromise, but we have everything to lose while they have everything to gain,” Radke said. “We really need to learn in agriculture to have a backbone and to kind of hold firm where we are at and know that we have the science to back up our production practices, because once they get their tentacles in us, it is like a losing slope. It is a slippery slope, and that is what we are seeing in California.”
When producers do not advocate for their livelihood, Radke said animal activist groups are given the upper hand.
“We, unfortunately, have to add that to our daily job, is to go out there and fight for ourselves because no one else will fight harder for the American farmer and rancher than the producer themselves,” Radke said.
Many precautions must be taken in the hiring process on ranches, Radke said, and being careful who is allowed on a property as some individuals with ulterior motives aim to find ways to exploit a false narrative.
“The biggest thing for me is just showing people where your heart is, being active in your community and trying to build up those relationships so that if negative things do come up in the news, they kind of know, ‘Hey, my farmer I know in my town is not anything like what is being painted in the media,’”
An easy way to reach members of a community, Radke said, is to simply volunteer to go into a classroom and read a book about agriculture.
“I write books that teach kids about where their food comes from, and I go into schools all over the country, and it is amazing,” Radke said. “I am often the first farmer these kids have ever met.”
Learn more about Amanda Radke and visit her website by clicking the link below:
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
