Go to any agricultural college in America, find a class studying agriculture of any variety, and ask those students if they dislike PETA. I guarantee the response from 90% of the class is that they actually hate PETA. That sounds a little harsh, but it's true. Because PETA tries on a daily basis to ruin the very thing that gives us drive, fuels our passion, and provides us with a future; agriculture.
Recently peta2.com, an animal rights group that claims to be an expansion of PETA, put out an article that angered many of my Facebook friends. The post was entitled "FFA is Lame AF". I sighed with disgust before I even took the time to read the article. Sure enough, five minutes, later I too, was angry.
Temple Grandin stood before me and 349 other agriculture students at Texas A&M University and said, "some people are just too radical; you can't even talk to them, it's not worth your time". So, my response is not for the small minded person who wrote that article, this is for my friends and family that might read it. I want you to hear our side of the story. Why FFA is not lame.
Touching on the same points as the peta2 article:
1. "Develop my potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success."
The other article used this point to bash FFA, saying we as members are encouraged to raised animals to be slaughtered. Not true. Each FFA member is required to complete a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and fill out a record book. At no point in my FFA career did I ever hear my advisor encourage a student to kill an animal, as the article suggests. Personally, my record books were done on swine finishing. I purchased a pig, treated it with the utmost respect and care, and exhibited it with pride at the county fair. Yes, I then sold my pigs at the Junior Livestock Auction. But no one is forcing us to do so. If I wanted to keep that pig for the rest of it's life, even when it weighs 500+ lbs, I could do that. (With parent approval of course). So peta2, FFA does not encourage killing! A record book can be kept on a job at McDonald's if that's what the member wants.2. "Make a positive difference in the lives of others"
Meat judging is in fact a contest FFA members can participate in. It prepares members with an interest in meats for their possible future careers as meat inspectors, meat scorers, etc. peta2 briefly touches on this event and then moves on to say what happens in slaughterhouses. There are many standards and regulations on how an animal is to be ethically slaughtered. Also, FFA does not have a direct effect on what happens in the slaughterhouse!3. "Dress neatly and appropriately for the occasion."
This time peta2 decided to talk about the wool judging teams. Yes, we evaluate wool. Wool that is removed from the sheep carefully and ethically. There is no harm done to the sheep in order for this contest to take place. FFA does not control what happens in the wool industry in Australia. Their comparison is once again irrelevant.
4. "Respect the rights of others and their property."
Oh it's time to bash the dairy industry. *insert eye roll here.* I could have seen that one coming. Participating in the All American Dairy Judging Contest was one of the highlights of my year, every year in FFA. We spent the day judging multiple classes and testing our knowledge of the industry. During this event, members proved to be respectful towards each other and the cows. Once again, I'm no expert, but I'm knowledgeable enough to know that the cows and their calves are not harmed during milk production. Dairy farmers treat their cows better than many humans treat their children. Let's think about that for a moment.5. "Be courteous, honest, and fair with others."
Multiple contests revolve around the dairy industry; dairy judging, handling, knowledge, etc. Many of my fellow FFA members come from family run dairy farms and will one day be managing their own herd. So, these contests educate them, prepare them, and allow them to execute their skills and knowledge while being courteous, honest, and fair with others. peta2 doesn't bother to address this, instead they take to bashing the dairy industry once again; specifically, artificial insemination. When this is done the cow is artificially impregnated. But no peta2, I've never heard of this happening in a "rape rack". So, good one. You may be vegan, and good for you. However, I like drinking milk produced by cows and so do millions of other people in this world. In order for the dairy producers to efficiently produce milk for us, artificial insemination is key. The process is fast, precise, and efficient. Once again, no cows are harmed and it is done with care.6. "Communicate in an appropriate, purposeful, and positive manner."
Props to peta2 for using their imagination, I guess? I'm kidding. But where does poultry evaluation and bashing the poultry industry fit in here? It doesn't. To gain these skills listed above, FFA members compete in public speaking contests; another event that is near and dear to my heart. From reciting the FFA Creed, by E. M. Tiffany as a freshman, to competing on a regional winning Parliamentary Procedure Team my senior year, this is where I developed and polished my public speaking skills. FFA members conquer fears, gain skills, and become effective communicators.7. "Demonstrate good sportsmanship by being modest in winning and generous in defeat."
FFA members foster the importance of both winning and losing with grace. We compete against our best friends many times. There is no better way to learn these lessons. As for the peta2 article, bringing hunting into this again makes little sense. However, hunting was a way of life even in biblical times. That's one tradition all the animal rights campaigns in the world won't end.8. "Make myself aware of FFA programs and activities and be an active participant."
Participants have the ability to chose from an abundant variety of activities. peta2 relates this to the billions of animals being killed for food every year, stating, "no compassionate person should ever want to participate." The way I see it, (everyone's entitled to their own opinions) is that there are animals put on this earth to be companions; like dogs and cats. But livestock are here to provide for us. Does that make me not compassionate? No. There is no greater compassion than a farmer awake in the wee hours of the morning feeding a new born calf to keep it alive.I could finish the list, but you see my point. FFA members across the country learn the best life lessons, the best way Americans know how. We are hard working. We are kind and courteous. We are respectful. But you know what else we need to be? Tolerant.
Part of why we have a strong disliking for PETA is because they are everywhere. Just like the article I'm referencing. There are millions of people out there who don't agree with us and follow them, even if their information is inaccurate and misleading. We need to see their point of view, but work our butts off to educate the public about agriculture; respectfully, courteously, and accurately. It is time for us to get creative and get loud. We need to shout our ag stories; share our knowledge and our passion! As FFA members, we make up the largest youth organization in the country. We hold the power to educate the world and beat PETA to it.
peta2, FFA is not lame and your article does not even make sense. I am completely okay with anyone being vegan. Live your life how you wish. But please, please, please stop criticizing me. You may love tofu, but I love a big, juicy, steak. You tolerate me, I'll tolerate you.
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Well done!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteThere's a difference between animal rights activists and animal welfare activists. The latter have ground to stand on. PETA being extremists in the animal rights division is dangerous. Many people I talk to don't actually know what PETA's goals are, what they stand for. It's frightening to know that the public can unknowingly follow and give support to them without knowing the whole story.
ReplyDeleteI was also raised in 4-H for 10 years and FFA for 4 years and continue to work with animals several years after that. It is a real struggle to defend every aspect of your animals' existence when they don't fully understand the reasons behind certain practices in any industry. Many practices are only in place for the animal's safety and well being.
You are so true. It's sad to know the reality of PETA and see people unknowingly following them.
DeleteThank you got posting this. I was rather irritated after reading peata2s article. It seems that every time I hear anything represented by the peta name it is written with thee least amount of inelegance and research into the topic possible. Yet there are so many other people in the world that believe everything they read to be 100% fact that a post like this can actually cause a lot of harm towards thee FFA an organization that has become near and dear to my heart. I eventually made the decision not to pressure agriculture as a career choosing instead to go into health care but many of the lessons I learned through FFA are still with me today. I had been through every public speaking CDE that was offered through my chapter. The confidence and knowledge these events gave me taught me to speak with passion and an understanding of my topic that could only come from either an expert or someone who spent hours interviewing and researching to find the truth. These skills helped me write multiple papers through collage to the highest expectations and have given me confidence in job interviewing. These are skills that are not typically taught in high school anymore and if they are they are a poor attempt that only reaches a percentage of the class. Instead of being told to learn these skills I pressured them on my own and was able to develop a passion to do well with nothing but a felt banner as a reward if I were to succeeded. This lead me to other CDEs that offered benefits to my future and SAEs that taught me the responsibility of caring for my animals. I learned what true pride is after working with my animals for months and finally seeing the finished product at the county fair, strong and well tempered sheep and goats with a rosette ribbon draped across their back. Showmanship was taught in a hand shake to each of my competitors and in one case helping them prepare for next year and hugging them in excitement when they won even though it meant I lost. FFA even offered me real career opportunities through food science. My team had spent all year training to win at the state level after a loss the year before. We improved our study habits and made it a priority in our lives and we overcame the odds beating out our states long standing champions and moving on to compete at the national level. I took a week off my fist semester at collage to travel to Indianapolis even though it meant I would have to study every spare second of the trip and miss out on sight seeing with my younger team mates who did not yet have the same worries. We did not win at the national level but received a respectful 19th and I received a personal placement of 21st. I was then approached by a judge who worked at craft foods and was offered a job in their marketing department upon completion of my food science degree. I turned it down as that was not what I chose to study but knowing that the option was there was as if I has won first prize because I knew I could work as hard as I did for this competition in my field and be given the same offer again.
ReplyDeleteFFA was a rich part of my education in high school filled with unique opportunities that put me ahead in life.To say that is lame is to speak without the facts. FFA members grow to be some of the most hard working and respectful people not only in agriculture but everywhere. this statement dose not only come from by personal bias to FFA but from the mouths of many others when I tell them I am FFA alumni. This statement shows in the lives of many other alumni who can look back on FFA as one of the best learning opportunities ever offered to them. If anything about FFA is lame it would be to speak about it and it's members without getting your facts straight first.
You are absolutely correct! Thank you for reading and sharing your experience!
DeleteThank you I am not an FFA alumna, but I've held FBLA positions requiring close interaction with several. Many in my family farm today and the entire family are strong supporters. Thank you for providing a well-reasoned rebuttal of an insensible commentary.
ReplyDeleteIt was my pleasure to defend the FFA and agriculture in general. I want to thank your family for being one still farming today! Also, thank you for reading and for your kind words!
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