What should we fix as a society? Should we be concerned that 46 million Americans have no health insurance, or should we make sure the bacon on your double cheeseburger comes from pigs born from sows that were not in gestation stalls? Should our focus be the approximately 3.5 million Americans who are homeless, or should we make sure the food they do not have was not fed antibiotics?
Most of us who depend on agriculture for our livelihood and are familiar with modern production practices see the answers to these questions as obvious, but many Americans don’t know what we know.
It seems to me, those with the least amount of knowledge, in this case, are the most active in attempting to convince society to focus on issues they deem important. I certainly do not need to look far for my first example: The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). This organization actively pursues the elimination of gestation stalls in swine production and has been successful in Florida and Arizona. HSUS influences large, publicly traded companies such as Smithfield,® which has announced it will eliminate gestation stalls in ten years. HSUS raises hundreds of millions of dollars each year for the sole purpose of eliminating livestock agriculture.
As a veterinarian involved in all aspects of animal agriculture, I haven’t been aggressive enough about promoting the good things we do, which is why I encourage all of us to start our engines.
We don’t intend to eliminate gestation stalls in the Pipestone System. With responsibility for managing over 120,000 sows for over 200 family farmers and the obligation to provide quality jobs (with benefits) for 500+ employees, I have three reasons to defend gestation stalls.
First of all, stalls are better for sows because sows in pens will hurt each other. Second, sows in pens are much more likely to harm employees who care for them every day. Third, since pork production operates in a global economy, the additional economic costs associated with pen gestation systems cannot be ignored.
If you read this article, agree with most of it, but never discuss it again except with those you know already agree with you, then you aren’t doing enough. Those on the other side of this argument are active in Washington and in the media. Speak out with pride in our System because it provides many opportunities for people in our rural communities! We care very much for our animals, and we are actively involved in an animal agriculture industry providing food for the world. |
