From: jhoskins@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (James M Hoskins)
Subject: Re: Better to be slaughtered than never to have lived? Re: Meat eaters
 (LONG)
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 00:02:22 GMT

In article <BzzqrM.q1@wpg.com> russ@wpg.com (Russell Lawrence) writes:

>From article <1992Dec28.202235.18123@spdc.ti.com>, by achenbac@epcot.spdc.ti.c
om (Jeff Achenbach):
>> If I may add my 2 cents. I've never met a farmer/rancher who didn't have
>> a genuine love and concern for the welfare of his/her animals. Without it,
>> they wouldn't tolerate the long hours and hard work for little pay. It's a
>> 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job, and damn near any good trade will make
>> you a better living with a lot smaller investment and a lot less risk. Maybe
>> you can get a summer job on a farm, if you're lucky. It would probably be
>> a real eye opener for you.
>
>75% of the food consumed in the US is produced by 3% of the farms/ranches.
>Do you think the large operations have a genuine love and concern for
>animals --- hidden away somewhere between the mail room and the executive
>boardroom perhaps?
>
>--
>Russell Lawrence, WP Group, New Orleans (504) 443-5000
>russ@wpg.com   uunet!wpg!russ

I think both Jeff and Russell make important but not necessarily mutually
exclusive points.  There is still in the United States a very significant
number of smaller farms channeling livestock into the production stream.
Yet the concentration of production (cereal, fruit, vegetable and meat)
could be interpreted as being in the hands of large outfits.  In 1990,
farms with sales over $1,000,000 (16,000) were 0.7% of the total number
of farms with gross sales of $1,000 or more , and had 31% of net cash income.
There were 1,254,000 farms with sales less than $20,000 (59% of of all
farms) and as a group this sector had negative cash income.  The true
"family farm" lies somewhere between these extremes:

Sales of $500,000 to $999,999;
1.3% of total U.S. farms
12.1% of net cash income.

Sales of $250,000 to $499,999;
3.0% of total U.S. farms
16.4% of net cash income.

Sales of $100,000 to 249,999;
10% of total U.S. farms
24.4% of net cash income.

Sales of $40,000 to $99,000;
14.3% of total U.S. farms
12.8% of net cash income.

Sales of $20,000 to $39,999;
12.1% of total U.S. farms
3.9% of net cash income.


I have visited or worked on many smaller family farms.  I know from
the vegan perspective these farmers are vile executioners cynically
raising beasts for inanimalane and horrendous painful deaths.  Yet,
from my omnivore perspective, I agree completely with Jeff.  Although
I have seen a farmer take a swipe at a cow, much as Russell Lawrence
might discipline his dogs in a weaker moment, I am certain of the respect
that most smaller farmers have for their animals--I've felt it.  Jeff's
use of the word "love" is not at all misplaced.  Where I don't have
experience is in the conditions animals on the large farms face, and the
conditions faced by small-farm produced animals entering the high volume
slaughter meat packing houses.  I have read the anecdotal evidence of
"factory farm" animal mistreatment, primarily in this group, and I don't
like it.

Furthermore, I feel caught in the middle between Russell Lawrence-type
zealotry and the rabid apologists for any possible criticism of meat
production practices in this country.  We may find a middle ground where
reasoned action is possible in this extremely polarizing issue area,
assuming "I" here represents the vast majority of Americans who probably
will be formulating an opinion on such questions in the years to come.


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