From Pardoning Turkeys to Pushing Milk: What’s Making Big Ag Nervous? | Rising Anxieties

Don't forget that we are a podcast and we're on YouTube. Uh, so please subscribe and like wherever you listen, it really, really helps us out. I know everybody tells you that. They tell you that 'cause it's true. And, uh, yeah, let's see what's going on this week.

Our first story is from Hoard's Dairyman, preparing for the unexpected. And by unexpected they mean things that they actually expect, but, but are hoping won't happen. That's mostly... they're talking about disease here and they're talking specifically about a discussion at the World Dairy Expo.

Aren't you sorry you missed it? Uh, where a panel explored the potential impact of emerging diseases on the dairy industry. Some of them aren't really just emerging. Some of them have been around for a while, they're just getting worse. Uh, formerly there's been a lot of focus on foot and mouth disease, which is a completely horrific, uh, animal disease.

They call it foreign, but it's, it's kind of in most countries, uh, I don't know where it started. And cattle, it, it affects cattle and, uh, and there have always been some movement controls for cattle who, who have been exposed maybe, or in an area that they, that where, where it has been exposed but have not yet come down with, uh, the disease.

So now that's something we have to worry about. And, uh, so they, they created this plan, secure milk supply plan. So that's what they're worried about is the supply of milk. Uh, who cares about the supply of milk? We'll just all stop drinking milk. That's fine.

Uh, it's much more worrisome what's happening to the cows and what's gonna happen to the people who, who also get sick. So, uh, it's expanding beyond foot and mouth disease to include similar contagious diseases. Of course, what they're mostly worried about is avian influenza, which last year it affected really a lot of cows, dairy cows, uh, and, and actually made them sick. But tended not to kill them, which they, they have no idea why.

You know, there are other mammals that it, that it kills. So they don't really know what's going on. They just, you know, they're just upset that for a while they couldn't get any milk out of their cows.

So they're planning, they're putting this, uh, contingency plan together so that they can come up with ways that they can continue to move their animals around without, uh, I guess getting everybody sick or getting their cows sick, or most of all, continue to supply safe and wholesome milk to consumers. That's a lot for them to worry about. I mean, that is really a lot.

Alright my favorite story of the week is from Meating Place by Jack Hubbard. Why are pricey meat brands working with anti meat activists? We've all heard, he starts out by saying, we've all heard that politics makes strange bedfellows, but this alliance is truly shortsighted.

And he's talking about how some small niche producers are, are actually supportive of continuing, uh, prop 12 in California. You know, which limits the, uh, the meat that can be brought into, uh, California by the way the animals are raised. Very, very minimal requirements, but, you know, they wouldn't then match the way animals have to be raised in California, so they can't undercut the California producers.

Alright, so he's talking about how this fall, a small coalition went to Capitol Hill to lobby against efforts in Congress to override, um, California Proposition 12, which of course they failed to be able to attack in the Supreme Court, which I'm sure shocked the socks off of them. And they're trying, they're still trying to do it in Congress.

Is this, have we been talking about this for like, what, 15 years? I don't know. It's just never ends. And so, uh, the thing that he's worried about isn't that animal rights activists are going there. It's, it's that, uh, they were joined by companies like ButcherBox, which is an online retailer that sells pricey boxes of meat, Nyman Ranch and True Story Foods, an organic meat purveyor that sells at Whole Foods.

And these companies call themselves the Responsible Meat Coalition. Uh, and presumably he says that means they think anyone at Meating Place reading this is irresponsible if you use conventional practices. A yeah, irresponsible would be the least, the least you could say about, uh, anyone at Meating Place.

But also, you know, can we just like notice that conventional practices, that's their word for intensive confinement. Because they all do it, then it becomes like conventional, like it's just ordinary. It's just what you do. It's not special. They're so good at using, uh, language. Um, so he, he points out that these self-appointed quote, responsible meat companies are attempting to give unwarranted credibility to this cabal of animal rights activists.

Uh, the irony is that the animal rights movement doesn't support any kind of farm raised meat at all. Organic, free Ranger other. In their future vision, farm animals are replaced by lab grown meat produced in bioreactors. I wish that was always true. I'm not sure it is always true. I think there are people in, maybe not in the animal rights movement, but in the animal protection movement, who, who do support?

Uh, I mean, I think we all know that the like very, very high welfare, um, meat, which of course is not particularly high welfare, but it's so much better than everything else. And it's very, very expensive. So what these premium price meat purveyors, he says, want is the long arm of the government, both state and federal, to ban their competition and drive up prices.

Uh, I don't know. I mean, I guess that's what, is that what they want? Maybe. Because I think most of these really high welfare, uh, companies are doing more than is required or say they're doing more than is required by Prop 12. So I'm not sure it would really resolve their, their, um, whole competition issue, but yeah. Okay.

In this, these companies incentives align with the animal rights movement, which also wants to drive up farm operating costs. Yeah. Absolutely. So that farmers are put out of business. Well not farmers per se, but you know, animal abusers. Um, and consumer choices are restricted. Yeah, I actually believe that consumers should not be allowed to, um, buy the results of, uh, of, of hideous cruelty to animals.

I actually think most people would agree with that. Um, so he, he accuses them of supporting an agenda to ban other farmers, uh, from selling their products. Yeah. Some, you know, the ones who are selling, uh, cruelly produced products. Why not? It's not all farmers, you know. Some of them are growing kale. Even for DC it's truly disgraceful behavior.

This is this lobbyist for the meat industry and he's calling the behavior in DC disgraceful. You cannot make this stuff up. Farmers and ranchers should take note. It's a little threatening there isn't it? Should take note. I'm gonna take it, I'm gonna take some notes. That'll, that'll scare 'em. Um, Ag Daily, from Ag Daily, US Senate passes Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.

This is maybe bad and maybe there's some good stuff in it, uh, surprisingly. And, and, uh, alright, so this has to do, take these off... um, with the whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which they've, I think they've been working on for a while, and this has been approved by the Senate. They expect it to be approved by the House.

Uh, I don't think that's, it's very likely to not happen. So this is probably gonna become law. And this bill, which has bipartisan support of course, because let's face it, the dairy industry has bipartisan support, would allow for a, for whole milk that's 3.25% and reduced fat milk, 2% milk to once again be served in school cafeterias nationwide.

And it's interesting that, you know, they can't, that it's actually not allowed to sell this, uh, high saturated fat product in schools, uh, now, but, you know, they wanna change that. Um, and, uh, they say that the nutrition advice that says whole milk isn't good for you is outdated. Uh, you know, probably because it's been buried in new nutrition advice from people who may have other interests in mind than the health of your children.

Research over the past decade, it says, has found that milk at all fat levels has a neutral or positive effect on health outcomes. Has it really? Ranging from obesity and diabetes to heart disease. Has it really? All right. There's a, um, this is, as I mentioned, this is bipartisan. There's a quote here from, um, Senator Klobuchar of Minnesota, um, about how great this is for our kids.

And, uh, so there are some interesting provisions in this law. It allows schools that are participating in the National School Lunch Program to offer flavored and unflavored, so you can even, you can even sell chocolate flavored, um, organic or non-organic whole milk to kids. That's gonna make 'em healthy, that's for sure.

Um, but also, uh, non-dairy beverages that meet the nutritional standards established by the USDA secretary. The can't just now, uh, right now you have to get a, a kid has to get a doctor's note in order to them allow, um, uh, them to substitute non-dairy, like soy milk or whatever, beverages for milk. A doctor's note.

So this, this, somehow somebody got them to change that in this legislation and they still have to get a note, but it can just be from a parent or a legal guardian that they can substitute soy milk or, or whatever, or whatever kind of milk meets. And I'm sure they, they have no trouble finding milk that meets the nutritional standards, um, to receive a non-dairy substitute for, for fluid milk.

That's huge. That's huge because that doctor's note requirement is insane. Uh, and, and I think a lot of people will start thinking... I mean, I'm probably crazy. You know, what do I know? I live in a bubble, but I, I'm not sure that that many people think whole milk is good for their kids. Um, and it excludes fluid milk from counting towards the requirement... check this out- excludes fluid milk from counting toward the requirement that the saturated fat content of a school meal be less than 10% of the meal's total calories.

So there's all this saturated fat in the milk and there's only a certain amount of saturated fat allowed in the meal, and, but you don't have to count saturated fat in the milk.

Do you believe these people? Oh my God. All this is because, um, school milk consumption has declined. I use... god, I never liked milk. Um, even when I knew nothing about it, I just always thought it was gross. And like drinking it, not putting it on cereal and stuff. And, uh. I'm sure I've mentioned this before and I just can't believe any kids would just voluntarily drink milk, but I know a lot of people like it.

Um, and actually school milk currently accounts for almost 8% of fluid milk demand, and they want that to be higher clearly. Uh, so, you know, that's basically bad news, but you know, there's some good news in there. All right. The, you know, I saw this story. I thought, well, I definitely have to talk about this.

And then there was an interesting twist. Governors are pardoning turkeys too. This is from Watt Poultry. Now nothing disgusts me more than the annual loathsome, disgusting, horrible episode where Governor or The President, I didn't know Governors did it too, where The President gets up and like, gives some stupid speech and, and talk and part pardons these completely innocent, abused animals.

Uh, usually two of them. Uh. Pardons, it's so offensive as if they have done anything wrong and, and then they get shipped off somewhere where, you know, they allegedly live, uh, for their, live out their little lives. Um. Uh, according to this guy on Watt Poultry, this is, uh, uh, I actually don't know who it's by.

I'm gonna, I'm not gonna tell you who it's by because it doesn't say here. All right. Uh, it, he thinks it's fun. It's a fun event. Yeah, not my idea of a fun event. And, but then he points out that there are a lot of governors and state dignitaries... they're so dignified... that have also taken part in their own ceremonies.

And I was like, oh, I have to tell people about this. This is so gross. But the first one interestingly is Governor Pollis of, uh, I hope is it Polis, Pollis of Colorado, who is not vegan, but his, his husband is vegan and is an animal rights activist. So I thought, well that's interesting. And he gave this kind of nice, you know, he did talk about it being pardoned.

The turkey's names were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and they are going to a sanctuary, which is good. Uh, and, and this is what he had to say, which I appreciated. I think he was trying to tread a kind of careful line here. In Colorado, we value freedom almost as much as these birds do. Interesting.

Thanksgiving brings together family, friends, and loved ones over delicious food, reminding us to be thankful for what we have and give back to our communities. From pumpkins to meat... oh, that's too bad. I hadn't noticed he mentioned meat... potatoes and breads, local farmers and ranchers work year round to help to keep, keep delicious and healthy food on our tables during the holiday season and every day. As, as we gather at our tables, I encourage Coloradans to reflect on what we are grateful for and find ways to give back to our community, including supporting our local food banks and pantries. Not bad. I, you know, that little meat thing is annoying.

Um, but you know, the other ones were even worse. In North Dakota, uh, they, she says, uh, the governor said, is it she. Yeah, it says, um, we're grateful to use this ceremonial pardoning of the turkey to promote our turkey growers. That what it's for? And then there's Michigan and Mississippi, and I won't read them all.

It's gross. It's gross. The idea that we would pardon these poor help helpless little birds. Well, big birds, sometimes.

Unsealed indictment includes allegations of underage workers at Virginia Poultry plant. Talk about, uh, victims. Uh, this is from Meat and Poultry and, you know, these stories have been bubbling up.

Uh, is now, um immigration and customs enforcement has been, uh, including, uh, slaughterhouses in its targets, which I think is unbelievable. Um, and, uh, of course, you know, those, that's the bad thing that's going on at slaughterhouses, that desperate people should have jobs. That's, that's what we have to stop.

Um, so this was a federal indictment that was unsealed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which showed a sanitation contractor allegedly used undocumented migrants, including minors. And this is about some place, some outfit called Fayette Industrial. Of course, the slaughterhouses don't get individually accused of participating because they contract this out. Like they don't know?

And, uh, the poultry plant, which was, was identified as Company one in Accomack County, Virginia. It does mention elsewhere in the article that there was a Tyson plant in Accomack County, Virginia. Oh, no, no. I, I, I misspoke, it's a Purdue plant. Um, anyway. And, uh, so this had, this had to do with a 14-year-old unaccompanied alien child.

Just think of yourself at 14. Employed by this outfit at the poultry plant, sustained a severe injury to his arm while cleaning the plant's processing machines. He was pulled into the machine after his clothing was caught in the belt. It doesn't give any information about what's happening to him. Homeland Security also investigated that, uh, 339 of 353 employees at Company One, the actual poultry plant, um, were identified as working under suspect documents.

And, um, and that Fayette, not just at this, I guess not just at this facility, but in general, employed at least 24 children, some as young as 13. But you know, the, um, the company I'm sure is like, well, how would we know? We just, you know, we just hired them. We just hired the company. We had no way of knowing. Like they wouldn't notice that somebody was 13?

Like some of these kids are working overnight, the overnight shift, cleaning equipment that it's been used to slaughter chickens and... sorry. I'm gonna calm down. I'm just gonna give this last article 'cause I thought it was fascinating. 'Cause it's from Meat and Poultry. If it wasn't from Meat and Poultry and was from one of, you know, my friendlier sites, I wouldn't be surprised.

But here it is on Meat and Poultry. Global strategies for growing meat alternatives finds footing. And uh, yeah. This is by Donna Berry. Um, the messaging has been, she starts out saying the messaging has been clear during the past five years. Consumers who want to boost protein intake should try to include sustainable, eco-friendly options that are not sourced from animals.

Well, the messaging I've been receiving has been clear on that, but I'm not sure the messaging that other people have been receiving is really clear. While the message was delivered, it has not resonated with American consumers. Gee, I wonder why. Has there been any counter messaging, uh, out there that, you know, that might have interfered, uh, with people's, people's perception of that? She goes on to say, initial trial of meat alternatives was promising... yeah, it was. I remember those days... but most Americans were not willing to consistently buy plant-based foods intended to mimic the bacon, burger, or chicken they crave. Uh, yeah, maybe, maybe because there was huge amount of publicity calling them ultra processed and saying that, that's really bad for you.

But she's pointing out the, the reason this is a good news story, I know so far it doesn't sound like it, is that in other countries things are going much better. Um, and applications have been better received. Places like India, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia have double digit percentages of the population following a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle.

And according to Jan Philip Hartman, who's director of Anuga, uh, alternative proteins are not a short-lived trend, but indeed the future of food. A healthy and sustainable supply of proteins will become an essential component for the food requirements of an ever increasing number of consumers. And this is just, you know, the, like the people who are working on this and having success, they just know that this is what's happening.

The, I I was pleased to see, well, sort of pleased to see, that one of the examples that they cite specifically is Juicy Marbles and, uh, they quote Vladimir Mićković who was on the podcast. I'm sorry, I don't remember when, but you know, not too long ago. The only thing that I'm hesitant about is that he did confess in middle of the interview that he wasn't actually vegan.

I think he's most almost vegan. That was the impression he gave me anyway. But I always find that very, it happens every once in a while and I always find it infuriating. Um. But Juicy Marbles, I have to say, I, I have a freezer full because I ordered it because you, you know, if you order a lot, if you order it, it comes frozen and you have all that packaging, and so I ordered a lot.

And it's pretty expensive. It's so good. I'm not gonna lie. They do not. We are not sponsored here. It's so good. Um, and he points out, which I think is a frequently overlooked factor. The allure of meat is not just texture or flavor, it's also simplicity of preparation, a sprinkle of salt, sizzle on the pan, and boom, you have a tasty protein on your plate.

I think this is so important that meat is actually so much easier. I mean, it's harder to store and to keep safe, but you know, those things aren't that hard these days because everything's frozen and whatever. But it's really easy to cook. You don't have to like, like soak the beans. I know that's, they also have a cod type filet.

I've never tried that. Um, and, uh, the article al the, I, I recommend the article if you're interested. It's just very hopeful. It's really not snotty at all, even though it's on Meat and Poultry. And, um, and also points out fiber that you can get fiber ev in these, uh, meat substitutes.

Increasingly recognize that fiber is unbelievably important. Uh, much more important than anybody used to think. And you don't get any of it in meat. So, yeah, I know in the United States we are behind, but let's face it, we're going through a rough patch in so many different ways. So maybe things will get a little better.

Optimism from Marian Sullivan. What more do you want? Um, all right. Speaking of optimism, I hope you're gonna give us money. It is. I'm sort of kidding. Well, I'm not really kidding. Um, it is our, you know, our end of year, um, fundraising, uh, effort. Really, really important to us being able to survive. And we have a, a triple match.

That means if you give money between now and the end of the year, we'll get, uh, three times that amount. If you give a dollar, we'll get $3, due to very generous, um, donors, uh, who are supporting us. And, and you can join the flock. You can give us whatever you like. If you wanna give us a dollar, we desperately appreciate that, and I'm not kidding.

Um. You go to ourhenhouse.org/support, and if you could spread the word to others, whether it's about the fundraiser or just about us, and, and just about animals and just about what's happening to them, and, uh, you know, do it. That's what we're all here for. So don't forget to tune into our other podcasts, The Hen Report and the Our Hen House interview.

I'm gonna have a, I haven't done it yet, but I have an interview this week with Michael Dorf, our favorite Professor who f for the first time this year taught animal law in a constitutional context because he's a constitutional law professor and I cannot wait to find out how it went. So that's gonna be the Animal Law Podcast, and that'll come out on Friday.

And thank you for tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe.

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