Animal Welfare- What is it- What does it Mean to Me?

Every industry, especially the agriculture industry is subject to ambiguous terminology that  has extremely important implications. One of the most contested terms that holds serious implications for agricultural enthusiasts, animal lovers and farmers alike is: animal welfare.

In the most basic of analyses, animal welfare undoubtedly correlates to the proper treatment of animals both in and outside of the livestock production sphere. The notion of "proper treatment" however is another issue in itself. In this, there is an overwhelming presence of ambiguity.

The question I have come to ponder is.... what does animal welfare REALLY mean? We have laws, regulations and social movements dedicated to this mysterious notion of "animal welfare." To what standard does one have to meet to be engaging in the proper welfare of animals?

There are a lot of different opinion on this subject. For example:

The American Veterinary Association defines Animal Welfare as follows:

"Measuring and protecting an animal's welfare requires attention to its physical and mental health. The actions and choices of people impact the welfare of all domestic and many wild animals. Accordingly, the veterinary profession has great responsibility and tremendous opportunity to work with people and animals to ensure animals' good welfare."
https://www.avma.org/kb/resources/reference/animalwelfare/pages/default.aspx

Not to be critical but this definition does not do much for me. We get that welfare in this light means minding physical and mental health, however what does "good health mean?" This vague definition leaves the door open for a lot of interpretation and in some sense can be connected back to the disconnect between livestock industries and outside groups such as PETA and the ASPCA.

Lets look at another definition....

The World Organization for Animal Health cites animal welfare as being the following:

"Animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives. An animal is in a good state of welfare if (as indicated by scientific evidence) it is healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, able to express innate behaviour, and if it is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear, and distress."
http://www.oie.int/index.php?id=169&L=0&htmfile=chapitre_aw_introduction.htm

Yet again I see another example full of interesting concepts like "healthy, comfortable, well-nourished, safe, etc." But once again I see the same issue occurring once again... ambiguity.

A more livestock friendly example:

In a video released by one of my all time favorite organizations, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, members of the beef industry were asked to react and define for themselves what animal welfare means to them. Check the link out here: http://beefmagazine.com/beef-quality/cattle-handling/0208-video-redefining-animal-welfare

In almost EVERY response, animal welfare was taken to include the notion of taking care of their animals everyday, ensuring that they always had proper food and water and shelter and even at times treating them like they were in a symbiotic relationship with us. Lance Zimmerman of Kansas who owns a cattle farm quoted, "we respect these animals (cattle)." He continued to say that "if we're good to them, they're good to us, just like a good friend would be."

I realized quickly that pondering this question would not yield me any finite answers. I do not believe that anyone could possibly have a totally all-inclusive answer for animal welfare. I did see that everyone can be helpful by providing their own definition of what animal welfare means to them. That being said, as a cattle farmer and beef steer enthusiast myself I attempted to provide a more inclusive answer for animal welfare...

Animal welfare means to me:

Animal welfare (n): Treating my livestock as I would treat myself while out in the barn. i.e. keeping the stalls clean from fecal waste products, providing 24/7 access to clean water that has been run by a purifier first before entering any water bucket, access to a food source (usually 1st or 2nd cutting hay), complying with consistent feedings twice per day, feeding rations of proportional body weight (for steers, its roughly 3% of body weight per day), keeping all corrals free of any potentially harmful substances such as glass, or garbage blown in by the wind, and providing shelter that allows each animal to stand, and sit down without having to touch another animal so that there is room to move around comfortably, and lastly regular check-ups on all animals so that any illnesses or medical issues are spotted and taken care of appropriately by a trained, medical professional.

My definition is long, yes, similar to other definitions, yes, but attempts to be a bit more specific as to what animal welfare means for me. I know there is some sense of ambiguity, however I think this gets us just a little bit closer than we were before. Rome wasn't built in a day, and certainly the animal welfare definition mystery won't be solved in a day either.

In closing,  I feel accomplished every day when I adhere to my guidelines, and as Mr. Zimmerman said, when I am good to them, they are good to me, especially in the show ring!

(Me and "Indy"- 2013 VCCP, Harrisonburg, VA)

Personal Branding... Who Are You and How Do Others See You?

This week, as a part of the College Aggies Online Program, I got to participate in a webinar that was heavily focused on “personal branding.” Essentially, the webinar was centered on creating an effective image of yourself as an agricultural producer, to consumers. A few key points that really engaged me were simple ideas that when put into use, really can change how we are perceived.

The Top 5 Things That Stood Out to Me Were:

1.       Having a brand statement- this can be something as simple as a one sentence description of who you are and what you provide people with. Having this statement helps keep farmers focused on their message and helps form and sustain a trust-filled relationship between farmer and consumer.

2.       The emphasis has shifted: Consumers are now much more influenced by exposure rather than letting performance speak for itself. Image ties into this as well. Having exposure that promotes your image well and vice versa makes for a successful business and relationship with consumers.

3.       Electronic images of ourselves are permanent and long lasting: It is absolutely plausible that our Great-Grand Children will still be able to see what we posted online now and years ago. That is definitely something to keep in mind when posting anything on any social media sites.

4.       Blogging is key- blogging about other bloggers helps promote your own blog, keep up-to-date with current issues and events, and always remember to keep it interesting for readers.

5.       Positivity: There are a lot of reasons to be negative when being an “agvocate.” Let’s face it: farmers are under fire a lot. There is a lot of misunderstanding into what our industries are actually like and a lot of false and misleading images that can be frustrating. No matter what, positivity is received more openly by everyone, so keep it positive.

 Thanks so much to Diary Management Inc. for sponsoring the webinar! I really learned a lot! Now to think about my own personal branding.... :)

A perfectly porky surprise

Bacon. One word. Yum.
Bacon. Four words. Not a diet food.
Many believe that pork products aren't healthy enough to be diet foods. Prepared to be surprised, I sure was.

Pork, is so much more than simply, bacon.

This week as a part of my College Aggies Assignment, I was tasked with promoting the pork industry through visual media as a meme on instagram.

In order to do this effectively I needed to do some research. I uses the pork check off fact sheet and within seconds learned some shocking facts about pork's relationship with the food we consume.

Pork is so much more than bacon:

Did you know that...
 Pork is the most widely eaten meat than any other meat.
A pork tenderloin is as lean as a skinless chicken breast.
One market hog produces 371 servings of pork???

All I can say is wow. Right off the bat I learned there essential things about pork that I never guessed would be true. The lean factor about pork and chicken really stuck out to me. The key take away from this is that assumptions about the foods we consume aren't always correct. Just because some pork products are greasy and full of certain fats like bacon, doesn't mean that all pork products are the same.

I also feel that it is important for everyone to realize how the pork industry is so prevalent in the international sphere. Pigs do a large part of providing the world with food. We as consumers should note this while respecting the need for ethical practices and treatment of all hogs. This further emphaiszes to me how I as a farmer and an agvocate need to keep the work up to be a representative of all the work done across all livestock industries.

Getting back to my meme, I used what I found to be a funny yet telling representation of the importance of pork in America and beyond...

Did you get the reference? I think i did a cover of that saying better than Nicki Minaj. No bias there or anything...


My caption explained how each market hog produces those 371 servings of pork. It reinforced the point that pork is a staple of the American food system and the world. I hope you like this meme like I do!

Hunger and Whole Foods

I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever asked to be hungry for an assignment. I also never thought that I would be so appreciative of the opportunity. As a part of the College Aggies program, this week my challenge was to experience first hand what life is like when you hardly have any way to purchase food for yourself. I took part in the "SNAP Challenge," sponsored by Tyson Foods. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and it works to help millions of low-income people and families across America.

My challenge specifically detailed not spending over $4.50 per day TOTAL on all 3 three meals. That means I had a maximum of $1.50 to spend for each meal. When I thought about how I would go ahead and complete this challenge, I knew it would be extremely difficult. It was. I live in Washington D.C. and am a student at The George Washington University. The only food store located on my campus is a Whole Foods which is a wholly organic food store. The quality of food at Whole Foods is impressive, however the price of even the most simple of foods is much higher than most food stores in America. In Washington D.C. I can pay as much as $7.00 for one sandwich! This was seriously problematic since my budget was $4.50 per day!

What did I end up buying?

In the two days I participated in the diet I purchased: two cups of yogurt, two boxes of pasta, a jar of organic tomato sauce, an almond protein bar, one cucumber. That's it. That's all I had money for.

Here is my food diary for the two days I completed the challenge:

 

Day 1:

 

Breakfast: Almond Zone Breakfast Bar: Cost- $1.29

Lunch: Stony field Yogurt Cup: Cost- $.99

Dinner: Pasta and tomato sauce with half a cucumber: Cost-third box of pasta: $.50, half of cucumber: $.50, some tomato sauce (1/10) $.20

Total for day 1: $3.48

Tap water included with my dorm facilities

 

Day 2:

Breakfast: Stony field Yogurt Cup: Cost: $.99

Lunch: $.50, half of cucumber, part of elbow pasta bag- $.50, sauce- $.20

Dinner: Pasta and tomato sauce: Cost-third box of pasta: $.50, some tomato sauce (1/10) $.20

Total for day 2: $2.89

Tap water included with my dorm facilities

Right away this experience enlightened me to a two essential things:

1. Hunger is way more real than I ever realized. D.C. is an already expensive place to live no matter where you are and there are many families here that are either homeless or fall into the category that I was in this past week. I can hardly imagine what hunger looks and feels like for those living like this day to day, everyday, across America.
2. It is IMPOSSIBLE to purchase a balanced diet with $4.50 per day. I was able to purchase one vegetable, a cucumber and arguably some tomato sauce. I was not able to purchase any decent sources of protein like chicken or beef. I simply could not afford the prices of a sandwich or meat that I could prepare myself. I found myself eating pasta for multiple meals per day, because that is all I could afford without fear of going way over my budget.

I thank the College Aggies Program, Tyson Foods and the SNAP program for providing me with this opportunity. It is a truly revolutionary experience that changed the way I will look at food and hunger in America for the rest of my life.

Introduction to Show Steers and City Life!

Hey everyone,

My name is Jennifer Weinberg. I am a sophomore at George Washington University in DC. I am originally from New Jersey and have grown up on a beef farm where I raise show cattle. I have been showing cattle for the last 8 years and have been fairly successful with three state championships in 2010, 2011, and most recently 2014. I have two passions in life 1. Agriculture and 2. the law. I am hoping to find the career that is a perfect mix of the two. This blog will serve to keep my passion for ag alive while I am in DC and away from my steers and the farm life!