Brain Chips, Beef Exports, and the EU’s Vocabulary Crisis | Rising Anxieties

They are publishing some background information, I think, for people. But I don't think they, they really want to focus on it a whole lot. I can't say that I blame them. It's pretty bad news. Uh, I do notice, I'll just mention that the mainstream press is all focused, I said this last week, so I'm gonna say it again, is all focused on how the USDA should be doing more.

And, uh, I mean, I don't disagree with that obviously. It's now a crisis, and the USDA should have done more and should do more, but this whole idea that it's up to the taxpayers to, uh, make the world okay for, for meat production just makes me nuts. Uh, all right. Today we're, we're back to a, a topic that we have talked about, about 10 million times.

It's the EU's constant efforts, whether in individual countries or in the EU itself, to ban plant-based foods from using meat-related, uh, words. It's unbelievable how long they've been talking about this. Uh, so this is from Plant Based News. Um, the EU has banned dozens of veggie food names. What's next? Now, I mean, I had reported on the fact that, that, yeah, it was, it was done.

Apparently it's not totally done. I think in the EU nothing's ever done. All right, this is The Vegetarian Society's Jenny Canham writing that the labeling of plant-based foods is worth speaking up for. And, uh, all right, so this happened in March, that after... it says after months of deliberation. From what I can tell, it's been going on for years they've been talking about this, talking about what, what, what food names they should limit, uh, to, to only apply to meat.

And, um, some of them they allowed through. They allowed sausage. You can have plant-based sausage. Um, nuggets. Like, why shouldn't you be able to have nuggets? Burger, you're allowed to call it a veggie burger. They were toying with the idea of calling it a veggie disc for a while. Um, but a lot of, all sorts of, of other for- other foods.

And, you know, and this has nothing to do with making it... It has to be obvious on the label that it's plant based, as it always is. Uh, this has nothing to do with deception as far as I'm concerned. Um, so, uh, beef, pork, chicken, and bacon could soon be off the table in EU countries. And, uh, and so, uh, she's making the point that the UK should certainly still be showing, um, o- opposition, uh, to this ban and, and not, not following in this, uh, in this, in this matter.

And, and in any way, the decision is apparently not yet final Like I said, apparently it takes a lot to get something final in the EU 'cause they've been talking about it for a long time. Also, she points out that we need to protect the familiar terms that have been saved. Yeah, they could go further, so yes, definitely wanna keep, uh, an eye on them.

And, and she points out that key steps appear to have been missed in the decision-making process. How surprising. They did no impact assessment, um, and, and so there's no-- they don't really have any, any survey of the real-world consequences. Uh, they're just gonna make people change the names. All right, so the European Parliament, um, also is urging the commission, whatever commission it is, that I can't keep track of EU things, to consider restricting NGOs that advocate for plant-based foods.

It's like that, that, that they want them to have to, to register as lobbyists, uh, just for organizations that, that advocate for plant-based. Like, what? This-- that's bad. That's bad. Uh, so that is certainly something that requires action. Boy, the meat industry is powerful. Um, and, uh, The Vegetarian Society, if you're concerned with this, um, this issue, they've, they've been, um, campaigning a lot.

They have the-- launched the Save Our Sausages campaign. Um, so you can find them on the, on the Interwebs and, and get involved. Uh, and, and who owns the language? Clearly, in the EU, uh, it ain't us. It ain't us. We don't-- we can't say what we wanna say.

All right. Oregon. Again, I'm talking about Oregon. They're so upset, um, about the, uh, Oregon ballot initiative that is presumably coming up, um, Initiative Petition 28. And, and this is by Randy Stapilus, and thanks to Goose Rodriguez for sending this to me. It's in, uh, the Oregon Capitol Chronicle. Oregon Anti-Animal Cruelty Initiative sounded like a good idea until learning details. The measure could unleash economic and social chaos in Oregon beyond any previous piece of legislation.

Uh, he points out that his wife is, is an animal advocate, and she rescues dogs, and, uh, because he knows somebody who rescues dogs, he knew that Oregon's animal cruelty and mistreatment laws were inadequate and needed strengthening. Actually, Oregon has some of the best anti-cruelty, um, laws in the country, and I'm not saying he's not right.

I'm just saying even the best anti-cruelty laws in the country are inadequate and do need strengthening. And so he found out about this ballot initiative, and he thought it was a great idea, and then he read it. Like, you know, you're supposed to do that first. You don't just assume that it would be good, and one of the things he's really worried about, it would be intended as a template for other states so foolish as to follow suit.

So he's talking about how bad it is and how it's gonna be awful in Oregon, and then he's suggesting that other states will probably wanna do it, too. Uh, okay. Um, it, it specifically foc- uh, I've talked about it before. It's specifically focused on criminalizing killing animals, so it's taking out all the exemptions, so obviously fishing and hunting.

Yeah, everybody's... Production of meat products, um, would, would be prohibited. So, uh, so yeah, uh, that, that's right. Um, uses of slaughterhouses and of animals in medical experiments. Maybe not all animals in medical experiments. I don't know. Um, uh, they do make a point that I think this will be very compelling for people.

I don't know why they're not emphasizing this more. They're really emphasizing the hunting and fishing. Um, combating rodents, uh, including anything that might kill them and you would have to use, um, uh, you know, humane traps. That is-- That, that's a tough one. Um, it seems an example of what happens when an initially sound idea, avoiding cruelty to animals, is pushed too far and too fast. It may set back that cause by many years.

I have a couple of things to say about that statement. Uh, it is pushing it very far and very fast, um, because it's actually planning on avoiding cruelty to animals, in which case you have to push really far and really fast 'cause there ain't no other way to do it.

But, uh, whether it would set back the cause by many years, I, I don't think so. I think they are opening the Overton window here so that this becomes like, this is on the-- now on the table. W-we'll actually do it, and then everything else, all the compromises leading up to that become much more attractive.

So I think that's totally wrong. I think it's a great move. There's another article on it that, uh, is really interesting. This is from the Tillamook County Pioneer, and it points out that what IP 28 really looks to do is to end consumption of meat. Ready to be a vegan? No hunting, fishing, and millions of animal products would no longer be available produced in Oregon.

Well, they will no longer be produced in Oregon, but there is absolutely no reason to believe they won't be available. There's no sales ban in this, and this repeatedly says that, that that's what it's going to do. It's going to make everybody be a vegan. IP 28 seeks to stop people -- this is by Don Backman -- uh, seeks to stop people from consuming, and he defines that eating, in case people don't know what consuming is... um, animal protein, something also known as meat, ha, and consuming or using animal products such as milk, cheese, leather, wool, and from benefiting from the work of animals such as draft animals. Actually, it doesn't, it doesn't do any of those things They have, they, they actually feel as if they have to lie about what...

And unless maybe they just are stupid and they didn't read, they, they didn't read it either. Uh, th- but, but it does a lot that people are not going to be enthusiastic about. But they have to lie and say that animal products actually won't be available in Oregon. That's just not true. They'll still be able to import them from other states.

There's no sales ban here. Also says that transporting an animal in a pet carrier. Really? I don't know. Um, and while Michelson, that's David Michelson, who's the, you know, the main force behind this ballot initiative, claims that veterinary medicine would be allowed. Not everyone agrees. Well, you know, who cares whether they agree?

Like, like they're trying to make it worse than it is. It's crazy. In practice, the measure would prohibit hunting, fishing, slaughtering livestock, that's true, conducting scientific research on animals, using animals in rodeos, operating a commercial poultry business, and castrating or neutering livestock among other activities.

I actually... that, that, that actually sounds legit, but he's quoting somebody else, so... But, um, and, uh, elsewhere it says it would make Oregon completely reliant on out-of-state production of meat, eggs, and dairy products. So it's totally contradictory. I mean, that part is true. It would make Oregon completely reliant on out of state.

But you know, Idaho's right there. California's right there. Uh, like I'm-- It's not that I don't... I would like it to have a sales ban, but, you know, like, it's already gonna be hard enough to pass without forcing everybody to be vegan, which it's not doing. They have to make it worse than it is. What is that?

All right, from The Fence Post: Marshall withdraws sponsorship of bill to curb Prop 12. This is about, you know, the ongoing Save Our Bacon, uh, piece of the Farm Bill that we've all been calling our legislators, and apparently we all have because it look, it's looking good. Um, so this is, this, uh, Senator Roger Marshall for, who's a Republican of Kansas, and he just dropped his co-sponsorship of the Save Our Bacon Act and, and this person from The Fence Post is shocked, like really shocked.

Um, and, uh, it's good. It's good. There's still plenty of sponsors. Joni Ernst, who's a Republican of Iowa, is the primary sponsor, but there are still seven co-sponsors. But for the one - the one to dropped out, that is, that's nice to hear. Um, all right, according to Wayne Pacelle, the House passed Farm Bill, as you know, I'm sure you've been following this, the House passed a Farm Bill with the Save Our Bacon Act in it, and now it's pending in the Senate, and the effort to get it out of the final bill seems to be, seems to be, you never know, seems to be, sometimes they lie, seems to be successful so far.

All right, so Wayne Pacelle said about the House passed Farm Bill, the House would have stripped the SOB provision by a two to one margin, but the Rules Committee denied Representatives Anna Paulina Luna, she's a real animal advocate, she's a Republican of Florida, and Andrew Garbarino, not familiar with him, a vote on their amendment.

So yeah, that's interesting. I di- I hadn't realized that, that, uh, that... Of course, I hadn't realized it specifically, but of course it's all shenanigans. It's always all shenanigans. Um, so according to one of the farmers, Holly Bice, who's president of the American Meat Producers Association, who, which represents producers who, who raise animals that do comply with California's incredibly meager, pathetic standards, but, you know.

Um, so they've all, you know, changed their production methods to eliminate the gestation crate and whatever, uh, and, and now the, the rug is being pulled out from under them. And she points out he's choosing family farmers, they all have families, over Chinese pork conglomerates. So apparently in China they have conglomerates, and here we have families. It's so nice.

But she's right. I mean, she's choosing, uh, uh, the most industrial kinds of, uh, pork production. Um, all right, National Pork Producers Council, they're not pleased. President Bob Brennaman, an Iowa producer, said, "What makes this decision particularly surprising," that is Senator Marshall's, uh, decision, "and frustrating, is that Senator Marshall himself has been one of the strongest voices explaining why a Prop 12 fix is needed." Yeah, he changed his mind. That's politics.

All right, India. You know, India's dairy production always confuses all of us. Well, maybe it doesn't confuse you, but it always confuses me. You know, there is a real thing in India about cows. I don't know whether sacred is the right word or not, and I'm not gonna interpret other people's religion, but they certainly are a particularly precious animal in, in a number of ways among Hindus, which is, you know, the majority of Indian, though certainly not the only religion in India.

India's dairy industry built on, quote, "Reproduction, extraction, and disposal," finds report. This is from Plant Based News: "A new report has linked India's dairy industry to its beef exports and leather production." Yeah, it has enormous beef exports. So how are c- so apparently, I, I mean, from what I've heard in the past, there's, like, this difference between water buffalo and cows and...

You know, it's as corrupt as everyplace else. Um, so this is the Indian Dairy Truth Report. It was published in February, and it was led by Shivam Nandi at Voice of Vegans. And, uh, they-- it's based on publicly available data, government sources, and, uh, mostly, uh, it also includes some primary data sources. And the report challenges the myth of ahimsa milk in India.

I have never heard of the myth of ahimsa milk, but apparently that is a, a phrase, I don't know whether it's actually on labels or just a phrase that people use to reassure themselves that the milk they're drinking came from perfectly happy cows with perfectly happy babies, uh, which of course is perfectly untrue.

And according to the report, India does not have a single national law banning cow slaughter. That, uh, uh, surprises me. And regional restrictions primarily apply to indigenous cows only, not all bovines. This is the part I was talking about where they get around it by, uh... Buffaloes, crossbred cows, and mithuns, also known as cattle of the mountain, make up more than 53% of India's total bovine population and contribute over 73% of its milk, and their slaughter is mostly legal.

I, I'm a little shocked, I have to say, though I've always known that it was something off because I al- I always known that there's... You know, I thought they, they, they took the cows out of India to, like, slaughterhouses that were right on the border or something, and the traveling conditions were very bad.

I knew that was one part of this, but I had no idea it was just, like, they classify all of these animals as not cows, and that's how they get around it. That's why milk is so common in, in Indian food. India's meat industry is, listen to this, notably the single biggest exporter of beef in the world. It's crazy.

I am so glad they are shining a light on this because this is just one of those things where people, they don't really know, and they don't know because they're not looking.

All right, from Dairy Herd Management, 60% of dairy's future hangs in the balance of succession. This is so interesting, and I just kind of wonder what their point is.

I mean, basically the whole article is about there're all these dairy farmers out there and nobody wants... None of their kids wanna be dairy farmers. Not none of them, but really a lot of them. With more than half of producers lacking a succession plan and 25% set to retire by 2031, the dairy industry faces a succession cliff that threatens to erase family legacies and vital operational knowledge.

I mean, who the, like, who cares about family legacies? If the kids don't wanna do this, like, like, if, if, if, if your father and your grandfather before him was an accountant and you wanna be a filmmaker, like, like, who cares They do. But, you know, don't they just assume that it'll all become corporate and bigger and, and lots, and fewer, fewer and fewer people will make more and more money?

Isn't that the way America works? Um, the numbers are staggering. More than 25% of dairy operators plan to retire within the next five years. Yet in a move that signals a looming crisis for the sector, 60% of producers report they have no defined succession plan. I mean, we can only hope that those farms will just close, as they should, and the kids will go off and, you know, get, get, get jobs elsewhere, which is what they wanna do because they don't wanna be dairy farmers.

S- they're-- It's, as one producer bluntly stated, "No money, no fun." I bet. I bet. Well, I don't know about the no money part, but it sure as hell can't be any fun. Um, another noted the stage of life and no family members with interest to continue. For many children of the 2020s dairy era, uh, the risky business of milking cows simply cannot compete with the stability of off-farm careers.

I mean, I don't feel, feel like any careers are particularly stable, but at least they're not abusive. They grew up on farms. They don't wanna do this. They know exactly what they'd be getting into. They don't wanna do this, so maybe we... Here, here's an idea. We could start drinking soy milk. Uh, fixed. The problem is fixed.

Not according to this person. Without a defined plan, the succession cliff won't just be a challenge for individual families. It will be a structural shift for the entire US dairy landscape. Yeah. Well, I hope, I sure hope that structural shift is to, like, close down.

Drone use. Last week I reported on an article about drone use, and this week I'm reporting on an article about drone use, and they are very nervous.

And they both like sort of come from the Animal Agriculture Alliance, which is on it. This is by Nikki Hardy, and it's in Hordes Dailyman, "Drone Use and Farm Security: Risks, Regulations, and Preparedness." Uh, as drone use continues to grow, she says, "It is important to recognize how activist groups use this technology to capture images and footage from farms and ranches that fuels misinformation campaigns."

She doesn't explain, of course, how it's misinformation. Is she saying they're doctoring the footage? No. She's actually not. She's just saying it's misinformation. I don't... Like, why? Isn't it... Don't they... what they really wanna do is, um, share information? Um, activist groups have been using drone technology in their effort since 2013, but recent activity suggests drones remains a part, prominent part of their strategy.

Well, they're trying to turn this into news. I'm not sure it is. As the alliances track several recent video releases involving drone footage, one from Mercy For Animals, one from DXE. How outrageous. They took pictures of what we're doing. How dare they? Um, th- then it goes into this, this thing about how they really have no idea how this is, is regulated.

It's really complicated and, and you have to figure out who's in charge and what the laws are in your state. This is very not helpful if you're a producer. They just tell you it's really complicated. So if you see a suspicious drone activity, and the article does make clear that lots of people use drones, like especially in rural areas 'cause they're fun or whatever, so don't, don't report them, but if you see suspicious drone activity, uh, report it to local law enforcement or to the appropriate authorities based on state law, the FBI, um, and the FAA, if appropriate.

It's really not very helpful. To prevent any legal or safety concerns, never attempt to disable, interfere with, or bring down a drone through the use of firearms or projectiles. That's a sentence I like. I think that's, like, that's the whole deal. Like, you can't shoot them down. That's the only information here that really counts.

Uh, and, um, she also suggests, would that this were true, but I doubt it would be, while farm security should be a focus, it is also important to stay up to date with your employees on common practices and standard operating procedures for tasks directly associated with animal welfare. Well, there's an idea.

Instead of, uh, reporting them to the FBI, maybe you should just treat your animals okay, and so the pictures will be nice. Uh, ensure all employees are properly trained... dream on... and understand how to properly work with animals, especially specifically in stressful situations like vaccinating, dehorning, moving animals, and loading and unloading animals from transport equipment.

Those are all the things that are done outside. Animal welfare should always be a top priority for employees. Be sure to review farm animal welfare policies on an annual basis to keep it top of mind. Yeah, right. Oh, God. Oh, the Animal Agriculture Alliance is continually monitoring animal activist groups, their tactics, and next steps to share with our members to keep the animal agriculture community aware and proactive.

They're on it. They don't really know what the laws are, but they're on it, and basically their advice is, uh, treat your animals really well. Yeah, not sure that's gonna do it.

All right. Also from Hoards Dairyman Fresh tool for fresh cows. I had to look up what a fresh cow was. I had a inkling, but, uh, I had to look to make sure I knew.

And a fresh cow is a cow that has just given birth and is they're trying to put them back into milk production. Disgusting monsters. Um, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Dairy Management Decision Support Program has put out a whole new, um, economic analyzer to tell you what you should do with your fresh cow when she's not really doing that well.

And there are the big six economic pitfalls, economic pitfalls. They're also like, you know, things that are making the cows really, really sick. Um, metritis, clinical ketosis, displaced abomasum. Why am I reading this? I don't know. I assume you don't know what they are either. Hypocalcemia, retained placenta, and clinical mastitis.

These are common in the first 30 days. Also, you know, grief. Um, and so this, this whole, uh, tool helps you consider treatment cost, like vet care, drugs and labor. Milk loss. How much milk are you, um, are losing when, uh, you know, the-- you have this animal who's not producing any milk and is still eating? Um, reproductive cost, uh, and removal cost.

Oh, interesting term, removal. And then you figure out what you should be do- done with this animal whose life you're, you're, you have destroyed and whose baby you have removed. Eh. Nice. Nice.

All right. Finally, my last article is from, from Sentient Media. I'm not gonna read this whole article 'cause I, I don't even know whether this is a thing, and it's too depressing anyway. It's-- this is by Christian Salazar, and "Neurotech company says that brain-- its brain chips could make cows produce more milk. But at what cost?" All right This is about this company, and maybe other companies too. I'm not sure they're the only ones doing it, but this is a Russian company, Neiry, and we don't have, we don't have proof of this, but they claim to have directly implanted neural devices in the brains of dairy cows to stimulate lactation on demand.

I'm not kidding. That's what it says. Like, is there a point where anybody says we have gone too far with these animals? Is that ever going to happen? So the stimulator's electronic unit is attached to the back of the animal's head with electrodes reaching deep into specific brain regions, including those responsible for, responsible for reproductive functions.

And so they can, um, they can turn on the lactation in the animal's brain. That's what they claim. Uh, it's a very long article about the history of, uh, neurotech, um, and it's a disastrous history, uh, and horrible, and I'm not gonna read it all to you. Uh, but if that's something you're interested in, and we all should be, because this is unbelievable.

Unbelievable

And that's it. Sorry. Sorry. That's it for this week's Rising Anxieties.