Animal ethics professor offers advice to beef industry

If ever there was an opportunity to learn about beef production from a different point of view, it was when Dr. Bernie Rollin, an animal ethics professor and philosopher from Colorado State University, pulled into Brookings, SD on Nov. 16, 2009 to speak on the South Dakota State University campus. A crowd of nearly 300 beef producers and students gathered for his lecture, which criticized many areas of animal agriculture production, while giving cheers to beef cattle producers for their commitment to animal husbandry practices.

Dr. Rollin is a leading scholar and pioneer in animal rights and animal consciousness and has lectured over a thousand times all over the world, including to nearly 16,000 cattle producers. Rollin hails from Brooklyn, NY, and he moved to the Midwest to study philosophy and animals. He was on the board for a PEW Commission, in the first examination of animal confinement practices and industrial agriculture. At first, his audience was unsure of Rollin's allegiance, but by the end of his lecture, there wasn't a doubt that he was a true champion for the beef cattle industry.

The ranchers' ethic

Rollin referred to the cowboy code for animal husbandry as the ‘ranchers' ethic,” stating that beef production is the same as it was 200 years ago in animal care and welfare.

“The vast majority of ranchers are in this business, not for the money like a big industrialized operation, but for the lifestyle and the love of the cattle,” said Rollin. “Many ranchers pay more for a calf than the animal is worth, and that is pretty eloquent. It's a cliche, but the beef industry should see what is going on with California's Proposition 2 on poultry and pork production as an opportunity, not a threat. Beef has always sought a marketing edge that compensates for its higher price. Of course, the answer is humaneness.”

Rollin credited beef producers for their good work in the area of animal welfare, but he warned producers that they need to aim to improve and do the right thing for themselves and for society.

“The beef industry needs to be proactive on improving animal husbandry practices, while the Humane Society of the United States is going after other agriculture entities,” advised Rollin. “Every producer already knows the issues that society questions: hot iron branding and castration and dehorning without anesthesia. There are all kinds of alternatives to these production practices.”

Understanding the consumer

Rollin told producers and students that to understand the consumer isn't difficult. They simply want to know that the food they are putting on the dinner table once had a good life and was treated well. As concluded in the PEW Report, Rollin said that industrial agriculture is going to have a tough time continuing to fool today's consumer; however, beef cattle spend well over half of their lifetimes on pasture, and that is exactly what the consumer wants.

“Consumers make the mistake that beef production is like pork and poultry production,” explained Rollin. “We all know it's not. When we were examining industrial agriculture, not a single person on the panel had a problem with feedlots, especially after touring a chicken barn and a hog facility. Feedlots allow cattle to spread out and behave in their natural tendencies. Why not use these things as a marketing tool? A big mistake is to team up in agriculture. Don't. Fight dirty to stay alive. You aren't like the others.”

Rollin said that producers often mistake ‘animal rights' as a dirty phrase because groups like PETA and HSUS so heavily use that word. He warns producers not to let those groups take that phrase from them.

“Animal rights is a word producers should own because it's a very powerful word,” said Rollin. “The vast majority of ranchers truly believe that animals have rights. Animals do have certain entitlements: access to food, water, shelter and shade. Ranchers follow that code everyday, so why not own it?”

Rollin encouraged producers to continue to do the right thing for their cattle. He said that it may not be your grandpa's ranch anymore, and things have changed over the years, but the commitment to animal husbandry has remained the same.

“What's in your heart is exactly what society wants out of animal production,” said Rollin. “Tell the truth about what you do on your ranch, and you will continue to thrive.”