Food For Thought

We Care

With the hype being pushed these days concerning animal agriculture, it’s easy for some people to believe that farmers and ranchers think their animals are just mindless creatures to be used to make money.  It’s sad some people think this way, because it’s simply not true.  I’m sure some people think we take care of animals to best of our abilities because the better cared for they are the better they’ll perform and the more money we’ll make. 

At a conference I recently attended I “learned” something I had known for years, but never really thought of-money is not a good motivator.  Money has actually been found to be a relatively poor motivator in today’s business and corporate circles.  Pride and emotional investment are much more effective.  So why do we take care of our livestock (better than ourselves, sometimes)?  It’s simple.  People in animal agriculture are emotionally invested in what they’re doing.  We are caregivers of our livestock because we care.

Cheers,

John Dwyer