Raising The Steaks

Well it’s summer time again, which in my family means several things:  Branding, checking waters, and of course….county fairs!  Oh yes, while most kids got to enjoy their summers sleeping in and lounging around the pool, my brother and I spent long hours  grooming, training, exercising, and managing our show steers.  It’s sad to say that those days are behind me now, but in honor of the showing season and the lessons of good stewardship and animal welfare that kids across the country learn in their beef production projects, we have a summer challenge for you!

Here’s the deal.  The plans are a little rough in the making, but bear with us.  We want to focus on the idea that your participation in showing cattle really encourages good stewardship of your animal.  So, our mission for you is to capture those little moments of you washing your animal, leading him around, or how well you take care of them.  Let your photo show how your involvement with the beef cattle production project really encourages you to be aware of animal welfare.  So what we want from you is your best photo.  Send it in to us at our email, which is raisingthesteaks@gmail.com.  Feel free to include a caption about your picture.  The contest deadline is October 1st, so you’re sure to have the perfect moment for a picture.  Be sure to include an email adress where we can contact you.  Photos will be judged, and a winner notified.  Check back for more details as we get this contest rolling.

We have decided on prizes and they are as follows:

1st place:  Digital Camera

2nd place:  Beef shirt

3rd place:  Check off hat

Alright….so are we good to go?  Great.  Get those cameras flashing!

So let the cutest kid and calf win!

Summer Photo Contest Flyer

December 23, 2003:  I remember sitting in the living room, waiting for my dad to give me the day’s orders when the phone rang.  On the other end of the line, a fellow rancher had called to tell us that they had found a case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or more commonly known was mad cow disease, in a Holstein up in Washington state. 

All that I could think was, “What is gonna happen next?”  Earlier that morning I had just fed a pen full of bulls that we were getting ready to send to the Santa Teresa Border Crossing.  We had started these bulls on a conditioning program to get them up to par so that we could sell them at a sale that would send them to Mexico.  These bulls, just like any other cattle in the US headed out, had to be rerouted to a location that would not send them out of the country.  In no time at all, or at least it seemed to us, the American Beef Industry had been cut off to trade from the world.  At some points in time, I doubted that things would ever be the same.  Would we ever recover from this?

Fortunately, we have.  Though progress may be slow, it’s still progress.  Because of the efforts of the NCBA and several other cattle organizations, we have been able to regain trust in our product.  Slowly, but surely, country by country we have been able to export our beef products to them once again.  In fact, in late March of this year, the border was re-opened to our Southern neighbor to allow for trade of breeding cattle.  On May 7, the Santa Teresa Border Crossing was back in business!  For details on how the event went, click here.

But, just as my mom reminds me, the road to success is full of many bumps.  After much work, South Korea had opened trade to American beef on April 18 of this year.  Before 2003, beef imports in South Korea from American beef totaled $815 million.  We were hoping that by reopening their border, this could grow to a $1 billion industry.  However, this speculation was short lived.  The South Korean public has chosen to reject beef. 

The reasons?  Well, there is no one specific reason. On one side, you have people who were outraged with their president.  They saw this as just one more way of revolting against him.  Then, on the other, you have people that really are concerned with the safety of their food.  People were, and still remain, in shock and fear of mad cow diesease, when in fact, it presents no risk to public health.  The fear of BSE, which has been nicknamed mad cow disease, remains in people’s minds making them more vulnerable to listen to claims made my people attacking the beef industry. Visit the Center for Global Food Issues on the truth about mad cow disease.  Still, what ever the cause for South Korea revolting agains US beef, this truth remains:  The American beef industy is still fighting to recover from 2003. 

So what are we doing to see beef in the meat case at South Korean markets once again? Well, we have worked not only to assure South Korea, but other foreign countries as well, about the safety of our beef.  Out industry leaders are working hard to ensure that the name of beef is not tainted.

We have seen a lot over the past years.  From rising feed costs to beef recalls, there have been many trials for beef producers.  I have no doubt in my mind that we can make it through anything.   Our biggest tool we have to keep demand for beef up is diplomatic education.  At our work, in the store, or in our day to day lives, it is up to us to spread the word about beef.  The more educated we make our consumers, the more they understand our product and what we are about.  We have to stand up and tell people about the product that we produce:  Good, American beef!

Looking back to my days in grade school, I can remember several adults coming in educating us about how important it is to have a healthy diet.  Now, more than ever before, it seems that our society has become more health conscious.  That’s a good thing.  The bad side to this:  Everyone seems to have their own opinion on what makes up a healthy diet.  One diet that seems to be getting a lot of attention here lately is a vegan diet, which would mean cutting out all products that come from animals.  Even Oprah has agreed to try out this vegan diet for 21 days.  While I don’t claim to be any health expert, I do believe that we should have a balanced, well rounded diet that includes even beef.  Now, just to show you that I am not just making these assumptions, I am here to provide to you some interesting health benefits, which are factual, about beef.

Let’s begin with the basics.  The serving size for beef is 3oz, or about the size of a deck of cards.  A lot of people would prefer to eat chicken over beef on the basis that chicken is just healthier.  But actually, did you know that there are 29 cuts of lean beef?  The good news is to be considered lean, beef has to contain less than 10 grams of total fat per serving.  These cuts, on average, contain about just one more gram of fat than an equal portion of chicken.  See for yourself how these 29 lean cuts of beef compare to chicken.

Still not bought yet?  Well consider the role that Zinc, Iron, and Protein, or as we like to call it, ZIP, play in our daily lives.  Beef is a good source for all of these nutrients, which, according to the American Dietetic Association, are very important to the functioning of our bodies.  Each one of these provide our body with important functions.  Zinc helps your body grow and gives you energy while iron helps deliver oxygen throughout your body.  The protein in beef is really unique.  Not only does it grow muscle, but it also provides you with nine essential amino acids.  The essential amino acids can not be made by the body, so we must to turn to sources such as beef to get them.  Bieber Red Angus Ranch has provided additional health information about beef.

Some of these nutrients that are provided to us by beef are lacking in American diets.  The US health authorities report that 81% of American females and 65% of American males are zinc deficient-And this is just one example!  Beef can help you get your body get these requirements.  Just one serving size of beef will provide you with up to 39% of the daily requirement of Zinc!  To get this same amount of zinc that you get in one serving of beef, you would have to consume 13 3oz servings of tuna!  To see how beef stacks up to other foods in providing you with ZIP, click here.

 Beef, just like fruits and vegetables, is an important part of our diets that we can not afford to cut out.  I insist that you don’t just take my word for it, but to check out some of the links I’ve provided.  It’s important that you find out for yourself, and not just listen to what public figures such as Oprah have to say about your diet.  I know that tonight when I go home, I will participate in one of my summer events, grilling.  The end result will be a healthy steak that I can appreciate.  It’s nice to know that we can enjoy beef:  Nature’s best tasting multi-vitamin.

I had the opportunity to sit in on a guest lecture by Gene Baur, co-founder of Farm Sanctuary and hear his viewpoints on animal agriculture. The audience consisted of a mixed group of ag students and faculty with most of them never having the opportunity to hear from someone on the otherside. If one was an average consumer and had little to no education about the livestock industry, then Mr. Baur’s discussion would have been very convincing and seemingly factual. Mr. Baur is a dynamic public speaker when it comes to feeding off of his audience’s emotions and guiding the discussion where he wants it, but that’s the only positive thing I could see, if you can even call it positive.

What Mr. Baur had to say differed completely from what his website had to say about what their organization was all about. The website presents a viewpoint saying that the organization is focused on “raising awareness about the negative consequences of industrialized factory farming and our cheap food system”. Today he discussed his advocacy for going vegan and that the ultimate goal of stamping out animal agriculture completely. While he stands on his soapbox of his own personal beliefs, the foundation of his speech was based on weak, unreliable science. And despite persistant questioning from several members in the audience, he seemed to always find a way to avoid answering the question and going back to his personal agenda.

The few audience members that could see Mr. Baur’s true colors were disappointed and disgusted. What concerned me the most, however, was that there were many ag students sitting in there absolutely confused as to what to think, let alone what to say or ask.

I feel fortunate to have had my experience as a Beef Ambassador and to be able to really see how public relations works on both sides of this particular issue. Also having the training and skills to be able to address people such as Mr. Baur is essential to telling our story.

But what about the rest of the students in that room? Some of these kids haven’t even seen the otherside and don’t have enough of a knowledge base to support their own cause. To have a powerful activist leader such as Mr. Baur come and speak to these students is like throwing these kids to the wolves. While the experience is important and being aware of the other side is essential, I think some preparation and perhaps even a practice session would have been much better than what had happened.

I guess my point out of all of this is don’t bite off more than you can chew, especially when it comes to something you really care about. In this case of defending animal agriculture, where the industry is dependant on consumer tastes and preferences, good speaking skills and research to back it up is key to having a productive discussion with anyone, vegan or not.

With warmer weather and longer days, this could only mean one thing:  Summer is just around the corner!  What I like most about summer is getting to go home and help out on the ranch.  Only one thing stands between me and that trip home:  finals!  And while I should be studying for my statistics test, I am taking a break to reminisce over this semester.

With a full eighteen hour class load, I have had my fair share of homework, tests, and quizzes, but I think that the best measure of what I’ve learned is actually applying those skills I’ve learned in class to the real world.  What really surprises me is how much each of my classes relates to what the National Beef Ambassador team and I have been doing throughout the year.  So where exactly do those long hours of class lectures associate to what we do?  Well, here are just a few examples of how it all tied together.

Tuesdays and Thursdays started out at seven thirty in the morning, where I would go to my statistics class.  The relation:  When the National Beef Ambassador team went to Washington, DC, we actually got to tour the National Agriculture Statistics Service at the USDA.  It was there that we learned about their process to collect data and how that information eventually reaches out to the farmers and ranchers of our nation.  They taught us about the important role that these statistics serve in our economy and daily lives.  Well, I guess that stops my questioning about why Experimental Statistics is a required course in my major.

Next was my Meat Technology class.  Though it may have been my favorite, it was also my hardest.  A business major has no business in a science class!  What I liked most about it, though, was that it was the most relevant class to my job as a National Beef Ambassador.  We learned about what increases the tenderness of meat, about the meat processing line, and for our final we actually have to read an article about beef production and find the false statements and fix them….does this sound familiar at all?  One homework assignment that we had to do was visit the University of Nebraska’s bovine myology tutorial, which I had a hard time finding, until one day I was poking around on beef.org and found a direct link to it.  In the middle of a lecture on how to improve tenderness, I was reminded of our very first trip we took as a team was to the Certified Angus Beef headquarters in Wooster, OH where John Stika and the rest of the staff taught us about the “Science Behind the Sizzle,” and what products they had to offer consumers.

Speaking of consumers-I also had an agricultural marketing class that helped me realize different ways to create a product that consumers wanted.  The teacher lectured over ways to increase consumer demand, which is one goal of the producer funded beef check-off. Just as in my World Food Problems class, we discussed current issues facing the agriculture industry and finding that median between producers and consumers.

If there was ever any doubt in my mind about not learning enough in school, or worse, learning a lot of useless knowledge, it has all been put to rest.  In just a few days, Las Cruces will be behind me, my room mate will be left to man the fort on her own, and Hewey, our roping dummy in the back yard, will be given a few months of rest in our absence.  The Spring ’08 Semester will be over, books and notebooks will be closed and left on shelves to collect dust, and we students will trade hours of class work for hours of internship work.  But lessons learned in those closed pages of notes and in classrooms now closed will not be forgotten, instead they will be put to use, in our jobs, our personal lives, and our efforts in spreading the truth about beef.

With the sun shining and summer just weeks away, the athlete in me is itching to get out and stretch the legs. I’ve been busy playing and refereeing soccer games, but with the Utica “Boilermaker” 15k run coming up in July, I know I need to lace up my running shoes and start getting some miles under my belt. And with the recent trip back East for the 112th running of the Boston Marathon, I’ve never felt more inspired to get started. 

This year’s race had over 14,000 runners in it, with participants in their teens up to their 70’s. Individual runners were their for their own personal reasons but had one common goal of finishing the marathon with their heads held high.

The 2008 Boston Marathon Health and Fitness Expo was held April 18-20 at the Hynes Convention Center, where marathon runners and health-conscious consumer alike gathered to get the latest on how to keep their bodies in shape. Big-time athletic companies like Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Mizuno had some impressive interactive booths where one could go to see how they run via a video screen and a treadmill. There were also plenty of other booths with energy supplements, coming in the form of bars, chews, drinks and pills. But the booth that surprised a lot of people and was a big hit as far as taste goes was our beef booth.

Working with the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative, Pennsylvania Beef Council and New York Beef Council; fellow ambassador Jennifer Rassler and I handed out samples and spoke with thousands of consumers at this wonderful event. For the consumers’ sampling pleasure, we had Roast Beef Veggie Wraps that tasted great and a copy of the recipe so that even the worst of cooks (me being at the top of the list) could prepare this dish in minutes. And for those who were willing to try their hand at some beef trivia, we had steak rub to give away as prizes. We also had several handouts with great recipes and even more on nutritional benefits for not only athletes but also for children, infants, expecting mothers and more.

We surprised a lot of people with how beneficial beef really is, especially when it comes to an athlete and demanding so much of your body. With a 3-ounce serving being packed full of nutrition, including protein, zinc, vitamins B6 and B12, iron and more; the only way to match that is with a man-made energy supplement. Plus I think (and I think that others would agree with me on this) that beef is probably the tastiest nutritional supplement you could take.

So besides our hard work at the booth, we had the opportunity to sample some tasty local food as well as visit the oldest fire house in the city, which just so happened to be right outside the convention center. The station has one engine (#33) and one ladder truck (#15) and each respond to about 4400 calls a year. The guys were wonderful and I did take them some wraps and steak rub so they could keep their energy up in keeping us safe.

So all in all it was a great trip and I’m more inspired than ever to get out there and start running. The runners’ stories, the individual consumers that we reached out to and the friendly people of Boston have left me feeling good about sharing the story of beef and running towards a great summer.

April is here once again: Green grass starting to grow, new calves are on the ground, and the weather is beautiful! Don’t you just love welcoming in all the wonderful things that come along with spring? Another great thing that happens during this time is Earth Day, which falls on April 22 this year.

Now, when I hear the phrase “Earth Day,” I usually go back to a tradition that my elementary school started when I was in the third grade. We started planting a tree in the front lawn of the school every year. It’s funny to think about how we can each make a difference and how our daily activities, Earth Day or not, will impact and affect the environment…for better or worse.

Agriculture is a hot topic when it comes to discussing how our life styles are affecting the quality of the environment. With all the information out there, it’s hard to pick the myths from the facts when talking about agriculture’s impact on the environment. Let’s just cover a few basics about production agriculture and how ranchers manage our natural resources.

Myth 1. Food animal production contributes more to green house gasses than anything.

The truth is that production of food animals contributes only about 2.24 percent of greenhouse emissions as opposed to the 79.2 percent that fossil fuels generate.

Myth 2. Grazing cattle harm both the habitat and the wildlife of that area.

The truth is that when land is grazed by cattle, they usually help reduce the amount of waste on the ground, which in return will help prevent fires and improve the quality of the plants that do grow. Not only is the quality of the plants improved, but the wildlife will thrive in where cattle graze. It is estimated that about 85% of the lands used for grazing are not capable of producing crops. This means that by using the land for grazing, we are making the best of a resource that otherwise would not be used.

Myth 3. Food animal product negatively impacts water quality.

The truth is ranchers are required to meet specific regulations that are outlined in the clean water act to ensure a safe and secure water source for present and future generations.

It’s amazing to me when I go to any beef symposium or cattlemen’s convention and find myself sitting in a room full of ranchers when the inevitable topic about conservation and environmental stewardship arises. The knowledge that these men and women contain about managing the land they live on is outstanding. My Ag Econ teacher put it best when he told us that not using the natural resources isn’t conservation, but that true conservation means managing the land in a way that maximizes both its production and considers the environment. The men and women of the American beef industry have done a remarkable job of protecting and preserving the environment and have set the bar when it comes to best land management practices. This statement comes as no exception to the ranchers who have earned the Environmental Stewardship Award. This program awards producers for implementing innovated practices that help improve the quality of the land. To learn more about the program and this year’s winners, click here.

In addition to recognizing those who utilize the land in a beneficial way, we have several programs that help educate producers about range management programs. These programs help ranchers focus on one of our primary concerns: protecting the land that our cattle graze on. This is the same land that we live on and that has to be maintained properly, especially when we consider how we will pass it down for future generations. The best way I’ve heard it put is that we like to leave the land better than we found it. For more a video on good land management practices, click here.

In honor of Earth Day, we, the 2008 National Beef Ambassador Team, have been busy doing videos of our own.Yes, we asked you to send in your videos about how you enjoy beef, now we are creating our own, but our assignment is a little different. We have been asked to shoot videos about how agriculture improves the environment. Go check out Jenny Rassler’s video, which is our first vidoe to be posted about the topic. You can expect a video from the rest of us as well as the week progresses.

So I will leave you with a challenge:What have you done for the environment?Whether you live on the corner of 13^th and Jackson in the middle of town, or at the end of a dirt road thirty miles from town, your daily lifestyle can help protect and maintain the environment.All you have to do is look to the leadership that the beef industry has set for you.

Beef Myths

Beef From Pasture to Plate

Leticia Varelas’s Video

Well maybe not literally fight, but definitely speak up for what you believe in and let people know how passionate you really are about it. The annual Spring Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. gives cattlemen and cattlewomen the opportunity to learn about legislative issues being discussed on the Hill and what they can do get their voice heard.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to hear from various speakers that work in different parts of the government here in the nation’s capital, including the Secretary of Agriculture from the USDA, Ed Schafer. After speaking and answering a few questions, we as a team had the opportunity to meet up with him outside the hall we were in and get a couple quick pictures as well as talk with him for a minute or two about what we were up to as National Beef Ambassadors.

In the afternoon we made a couple of agency visits, including the Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS), Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here we got the “low-down” on what issues these agencies were dealing with that were directly affecting out industry. Experts from each agency talked with us and told what they were doing for us and we had an opportunity at the end of each session to ask questions, many of them focusing on issues affecting our respective states. So after yesterday’s full schedule of issues briefings, we were ready to take our case to the Hill and talk with our state legislators. Since each of us Beef Ambassadors come from different states, we said adieu and headed off with our fellow state cattlemen to talk to our local representatives.

I’m proud to say that California was well represented and had a strong delegation of about 25 people at the Capitol. We ended up spliting up into teams and each team visited 4-5 legislators to discuss the issues that were on our minds. I had the privelege of being with our California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) President Bruce Hafenfeld, CCA Executive Vice President Matt Byrne, NCBA Region 6 Representative Rachel Aja and Young California Cattlemen’s President Ryan Nelson.

We had a dynamic team and we had the opportunity to talk with House Representatives Jim Costa, Devin Nunes, and Dan Lungren as well as our Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. Here we discussed 5 main issues that affected our state and our livelihoods: Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with South Korea & Colombia, the Clean Water Act/Reformation Act, 2007 Farm Bill, Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), and where we stand in the Hallmark/Westland Beef Recall issue. All of the legislators were receptive to what we had to say and for the most part supported where we stand on these issues. After our meetings, we had a reception in one of the House of Representatives buildings inviting all legislators and their staff to come and mingle, relax, and munch on some tasty beef.

So far the conference has been a huge success and I know I’ve certainly learned a lot. We’ve got another full day tomorrow so I will try to keep you all updated on what’s going on. I’m trying to update my photo album as I go, so keep checking back for new photos from the experience!

One great thing about the news is how easy it is to tell what is a “hot topic” by how many different newspapers and magazines will cover the same story.  Just a couple of weeks ago, the Las Cruces Sun News, which is my local newspaper, issued a story about the shortage of rural veterinarians out in the west.  Another article in Drovers talked about how the amount of veterinarians serving agriculture is shrinking.  On campus, there is constant talk about offering incentives for student pursuing a veterinarian degree.  Now, when most people hear about the lack of an adequate amount of vets, there is only one logical question:  Why?  Well, while I am by no means a rural veterinarian, I believe that I can help answer this simple question.

Since I was a freshman in high school, I can remember spending my summers running around with our local veterinarian.  Our day would start about five o’clock in the morning, I would meet her at her house, and we would drive anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour and a half to get to the dairy of our destination.  For the next two to four hours, she would spend preg-checking cows and heifers, while I would help read tag numbers and record information.  The afternoons would vary between different surgeries, c-sections, calvings, or ranch work.  All of which was done outside in a chute.  Thursday afternoons were special because instead of the bovine work, we would work on horses.  Depending on the day, we would come home anywhere between five to some times eleven.  The job wasn’t easy.  And to add to it, there was always a long list of calls, soaring temperatures, and the occasion “problem patient.”  So I ask you, could you do this?

I always have to laugh at my dad.  When I call back home to ask what his plans are for the weekend, sometimes I can get a response like “Well if I could ever get the vet out here, we would test some cows.”  It seems that, as people, we can never appreciate what other people go through until we’ve spent a day with them.  I have to remind him, and sometimes myself, that we are not the only ranch that Dr. Kincaid goes to.  In fact, she, along with the three other vets in the practice, cover three counties and some of Texas!  That is a lot, especially when you consider that this includes Chaves County, which is the largest dairy county in the state of New Mexico.  So, while he is a concern for the vet, he definitely is not her only customer.

The state of New Mexico and several other states are working to make-up for the shortage of vets in the area.  This includes scholarships, programs that pay for out of state tuition in states where students can not obtain a vet degree, and making contracts with existing vet practices to help students pay student loans, which is a big reason why many students do not pursue a vet degree.

All of this, however, can not make up for the passion and drive that a rural veterinarian must posses.  I myself have no desire to enter the field, but I still enjoy the experience of learning and work during the summers that I do get.  The vets I have worked with, like many across the nation, have no regular nine-to-five job.  The cows still get sick, get hurt, and need checking despite holidays, time of day, or weather.  While my parents raised me and my brother to work hard, they also told us to go to college and get a degree so that we won’t have to work long, hard hours in the weather.  The veterinarians of rural America work harder than most people I know, and have a doctorate degree…something doesn’t seem to add up!  It’s not an easy job, and it’s easy to see why there is such a decreasing number of them serving American agriculture.  I tip my hat to each of one of them.  They are just another vital part that makes the agriculture industry what is today.

When it comes to personal beliefs and passions, how far are you willing to go to let people know how you truly feel about something? And does it matter who the audience is? I had these questions rolling through my mind when I was talking with one of my best friends the other day regarding our recent beef promotion and needless to say we didn’t see eye-to-eye on this particular issue. She is a long-time vegetarian and recently became a vegan for multiple reasons. Here’s what she had to say in a recent post on Facebook in response to the promotion info I was sending to everyone:

“Originally I went vegetarian and then vegan for the health benefits. Plant food based diets are naturally low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and you can get all the nutrients your body needs from plant foods and some planning. It’s also been shown that plant based diets can help control diabetes, reduce the risk of heart disease, and may help prevent certain kinds of cancer.”

After I started learning more about the way our food is produced, I’ve realized that it’s wrong for us to confine, mutilate, torture, and kill animals so that we can eat their corpses. Diets based on meat and dairy are also less sustainable, with the amount of land, water, grain, and waste the industries consume and produce. Meat and dairy are also very expensive to produce, though with government subsides we don’t see the majority of that cost as consumers. Slaughterhouse workers and their families suffer higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse and domestic abuse, leading myself and many to belief that violence breeds violence.

Looking at everything, I couldn’t continue supporting the meat/dairy industries. I’m not on a mission to clear every plate in the world of animal products or a crazy PETA protester, but I personally can’t stomach the idea of consuming flesh or secretions any more…”

This of course caught my attention and I know I want to say something reflecting my beliefs and passions, but how do you say it? Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and decisions in the choices, but when something as precious as one’s friendship hangs in the balance, what course of action do you take?

She had the same sort of dilemma running through her mind and asked her peers on LiveJournal what to do. You can view the entire thread here, but here’s the question she posed to her peers:

“What do you do when one of your best friends comes up with and promotes this, a contest to support and promote the beef industry? We have been friends for years, and since becoming vegetarian (and now making the switch to vegan), I’ve just tried to ignore the fact that she is the Beef Ambassador for California, but seeing this just makes me physically ill. I’m not one to push my morals and beliefs on other people, preferring to give information when asked for it, and I don’t want to say anything that will ruin our friendship, but I don’t feel that I can sit back and say nothing at all.

And please, no advice saying to forget her, or to spam her with pictures of slaughtered animals until she cries, etc. I’d like whatever action I take to be non-confrontational and more conducive to conversation and information-sharing.”

She had several responses, most of them constructive and what she was looking for, but there were some that got a little too personal:

“Wow, your friend is promoting violence! I hope you handle it okay. I for one, couldn’t have a friend like that…”

“There’s really a Beef Ambassador for California? The term “Beef Ambassador” makes me laugh…”

So first and foremost, before I get down to the “meat and potatoes” here, I want to tell my friend that I appreciate the fact that you stand firm by your beliefs and are still open to others opinions. While I may not agree with your views, I still love and respect you and hope that we are still friends despite our differences. What I have to say hopefully will give you an idea of where I stand and specifically addresses the comments your peers posted, not yours.

 So here it goes…

Being a beef ambassador has a lot of different responsibilities and I knew that when I first got involved. Being a representative of an industry as huge as the beef industry is no job that can be taken lightly, and I’m proud to represent a wonderful group of individuals. I don’t think of it as being a “laughable” matter because what I do along with the rest of the Beef Ambassador team is crucial to getting our story out there. We provide a voice for those who work hard to bring a high-quality, delicious product to your table and educate you, the consumer, about what goes on in our world.

My ag-business teacher once said that, “If you want to get into a high-risk profession where your future is dependent upon the appetite of others, than agriculture is it.” I can’t agree with her more on this statement, simply because we are dealing with food for the masses, and that’s what less than 5% of the U.S. population is doing for the rest of the states, along with providing for the global market. That’s why U.S. beef has had a long tradition of excellence not only in the U.S., but also on the international front. And that reputation of excellence comes from quality control measures taken at multiple levels in the beef production process, allowing you the consumer to take comfort in enjoying beef.

For one to say that these ranchers who work so hard are ones to promote violence is totally absurd. I come from a ranching background and while I’ve never raised cattle, I can tell you that violence is not something that was instilled in me while growing up. Cattle ranchers are stewards of the land and give back to that land as much if not more than what they take from it. There are countless ways that cattle grazing alone benefits U.S. grazing lands that would otherwise be useless for human consumption.

Besides caring for the land they use, cattle ranchers pour every ounce of passion they have into caring for their cattle. From waking up at the crack of dawn everyday and working hard until the sun goes down (and sometimes even later), being a cattle rancher is no easy job. It’s much more than a job, and it doesn’t pay by the hour, making it a job that requires determination and passion for what you’re doing.

So I guess what I’m saying is to not be too quick to judge who we are, because we are much more than cattle ranchers and contributors to the agriculture industry. We are human beings just like yourselves, with emotions, determination, and compassion for everything that we do. My job as a beef ambassador is to inform the public of what the beef industry is all about and the decision making is ultimately up to you. What you decide is yours to choose, but I encourage you to make a well-informed decision and know both sides of the story. If you would like more information about any part of the beef industry, I recommend any of the following sites below:

Beef from Pasture to Plate - a site that goes over the entire beef production process and provides factsheets on environmental impacts, economic contributions and more.

Beef it’s What’s for Dinner - provides nutritional information as well as several recipes that are quick and easy.