by Amanda Radke in BEEF Daily
When it comes to Internet activists and extremists, usually the best
policy is to ignore them and focus on the 95% of folks who genuinely
want to know where their food comes from and how it was raised. I have
found that most consumers, once they get to know me or my peers in agriculture,
truly like who we are and appreciate what we do on our farms and
ranches. But every once in a while, there’s someone worth addressing
directly, and that’s the case with the misinformation found in the
documentary “Cowspiracy” and those who believe the drama and the hype it
presents.
In case you missed my earlier blog post, I described how the
documentary paints the beef business in a very negative light, citing cattle
as the sole reason we have sustainability issues on our planet. In the
trailer of the documentary, the creators insinuate they are taking a big
personal risk, even endangering their lives, by making this film.
Insert eye roll here.
READ: Why Ranchers Should Care About The Documentary “Cowspiracy”
After I wrote about the documentary, challenging ranchers to “beef” up on their knowledge of how cattle help the environment, a self-described “vegan idealist” blogger took me to task on my facts, which I promptly responded to.
READ: 6 Reasons To Ignore The “Cowspiracy” And Eat A Burger
Following that blog post, the folks behind “Cowspiracy” tweeted to me
the following: “Tell us more about how grazing cattle supports
wildlife.” They included a link to a video which suggests that ranching
is detrimental to wildlife.
I have to scratch my head a little bit because the blogger who took
me to task insinuated that cattle gulp down a lot of water, so I would
assume they wouldn’t appreciate wildlife drinking water either. But,
I’ll happily answer the question, as we’ve written about the
wildlife/cattle connection repeatedly on the beefmagazine.com site. So here is a roundup of 8 articles that show how cattle grazing supports wildlife:
1. Why Consider Wildlife In Your Ranch Management Plans?
2. Sage Grouse, Cattle Thrive On Rest-Rotation Program
3. Can Wildlife And Cattle Coexist?
4. California Research Shows Cattle, Wildlife Can Coexist
5. LX Ranch Cattle And Wildlife Pasture Tour
6. Study Shows Benefits To Cattle Grazing On Wildlife Land
7. Yes, It’s True: Cattle Grazing Can Reverse Desertification
8. Teaming Up With NRCS: Creating Cattle And Wildlife Haven
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
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