A Cowboy and Two HSUS Supporters Boarded A Plane…
Despite disliking being away from the ranch and family, I look forward to traveling and challenge myself to meet new people, learn new things and make each trip memorable. This trip is definitely going down as one to remember.
Perhaps it is my hat, but folks seem inclined to make eye contact with me and that typically leads to a minimum of a simple greeting in passing. Yesterday morning, as I passed through the scanner in Sacramento, one of the TSA agents, watching folks gather their belongings and getting dressed, asked me where I was from. I told her from Etna, North of Mt. Shasta. Surprise! She grew up in the Scott Valley and we shared some names of the old family names who used to reside there, when the timber industry still flourished.
I boarded my flight to Chicago and while we sat on the tarmac, waiting for 20 minutes to be allowed to take off, engaged in conversation with the two gentlemen next to me. One was in construction and knew several of the same people I did from Chico State and Modesto Junior College. The other was good friends with a lady who had lived and taught in my home town. She had lost her husband to an unexpected heart attack, while he was running his small saw mill in a remote area. It was good to hear about her continued teaching and the success of her sons, following the sudden loss.
As I prepared to board my last flight, from Chicago to Washington D.C., I wondered what conversation would take place on this leg of my journey. A young couple, in their 20’s, sat next to me and inquired my occupation….lol. I shared my background, to which they replied that they were strong supporters of what I did and were doing their part by donating monthly to…..HSUS. I let that register in my brain for a moment, sent out a tweet and mentally laid out a plan of engagement. Surprisingly, by asking a line of questions about their understanding of what HSUS does and how they do it, the couple then began asking questions about how I and other family farmers and ranchers cared for our livestock and why I did not appreciate the “help” of the HSUS. By the time we landed in Washington, the couple stated that they would be changing their monetary contributions from HSUS to their local shelter and even begin donating old towels and sheets. In addition, the fellow sitting across the aisle, volunteered that he was going to start helping his local shelter as well, and would help spread the word about what HSUS was really doing.
As I headed from the baggage claim area, on my way to the Metro, we parted with handshakes and appreciation for the conversation. It was a great start to my time in Washington D.C. and a reminder of the importance for farmers and ranchers to share their stories. Look for opportunities to share, wherever you are. You never know the difference you can make as an individual.
UPDATE: Lots of questions about my feelings towards HSUS, I wrote a blog post about that previously “Thoughts on HSUS“
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Honors
Jeff, When I saw the tweet yesterday I knew a story was to come. Thanks for taking time to capture this while you are busily working on behalf of farmers & ranchers in DC. Helping others of us understand how to successfully go from a possibly uncomfortable situation to understanding where others are coming from and able to share our differences to yield mutual understanding is incredibly helpful. Thanks, jp
Thank you JP.
Awesome! Comes after seeing a comment from an HSUS supporter “I don’t think there is such thing as a Humane Farmer. The animals all scream when being slaughtered ! If he/she wants to be a humane farmer, then grow apples !!!” hmmmm…
Appreciate your comments Jan.
What a great agvocating story!
Though I always cringe when I meet someone who openly supports HSUS, more times than not it only takes a simple conversation to change their mind and direct their generous donations to a charity that will actually help animals.
Keep up the good work!
Why do you cringe when you meet a HSUS supporter? Everyone agrees with the writer, but no one says why including the writer. Please give me some facts.
Why cringe? Most farmers I know are fact driven (including myself). Groups like HSUS use emotions to get into the pocket books of their donors. I have sat through HSUS presentaions and have become emotional upseeing the video they show. They are very good at what they do. For a person who is very fact based, they normally have challenges dealing with an emotional issue such as the way the AR groups package their advertising campaigns. The supporters of AR groups really don’t care about the facts I can spit out at them, all they see are the “puppy dog eyes” looking back at them from the advertisiment they may have. Hit up an HSUS employee with facts and they will fact you to death with their own facts. The ones I have been in contact with are very smooth, high paid and well versed to steer you away from facts.
Most of the individuals, like myself, have seen too many actions of the HSUS that have been based on perceived issues, not on science. For me personally, I do not “cringe” when I meet a supporter, rather I see it as an opportunity to engage in conversation to discover why they do support the HSUS.
Thank you Celeste. You’re correct, it only takes a few minutes of civil conversation and dialogue.
Here’s a tool you can use to help talk with HSUS and other anti-animal activists: http://www.harveker.com/2011/03/the-four-nicest-words/ Lots easier if you understand where they are coming from first, lust like this post.
This story is a beautiful work of fiction. Donors of HSUS know EXACTLY where their money is going. And people with the money to donate do their research ahead of time. You guys are all for personal responsibilty when it suits you.
I take it you are a supporter of HSUS, can you tell me where your money is going? More specifically how is it helping ranchers like Jeff Fowle here as the two individuals on the plane had been led to believe?
Frequent Flyer, you are absolutely wrong. HumaneWatch’s NATIONWIDE POLE indicated that 7 out of 10 Americans erroneously believe that the HSUS is an ‘umbrella shelter’ that gives money to their local humane societies (see http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/nationwide_poll_7_out_of_10_americans/). They had no idea that HSUS gives less than one half of one percent of their monies to local shelters, nor that their local humane societies are in fact NOT affiliated with HSUS. Changing people’s minds and donating practices starts with educating them. Your attitude is self-defeating.
Rachel, you may want to ask this individual who they work for, that may shed some light on their perspective.
Everyone needs to read HSUS’ mission statement. They are not a shelter nor do they provide money to shelters. With their extensive list of contacts, they urge these folks to contact their state and federal legislators on animal protection issue. We, in turn, write, call, e-mail our legislators asking them to support or vote against a particular proposal coming before them. Many times the legislators don’t really read the bill in front of them — they don’t have time and some, not the interest. It also conducts undercover investigations and brings those results to its supporters. The HSUS serves primarily to education and investigate matters concerning animal protection. Its mission statement says nothing about supporting local shelter.
Personal responsibility suits me 24 hrs a day, 365 days of the year. Unfortunately many people do not research where their money is going. I have run into people who have donated to the HSUS thinking they have just helped their local animal shelter. You should see the looks on their faces when they actually do, do the research and find out where their money just went. I have seen that look.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a supporter of HSUS that knew the difference between them and their local humane shelter. People throw money at things all the time without knowing all of the facts. They ‘assume’.
7 out of 10 people don’t know who the Vice President is, but actual donors of HSUS know where their money is going. I work in the financial end of the hospitality industry. Now I predict you’ll say “you know nothing about farm animals so shut your mouth”, while in my industry we listen to those who contribute to our paychecks and cater to them. We change in response to market demands. We don’t run scared from improvement. We enjoy the challenge of criticism and change accordingly.
I’m cheering on HSUS’ efforts on behalf of gestation sows and battery caged hens. These beings aren’t even allowed to turn around or stretch their limbs. They give their lives for us and deserve just that tiniest bit of compassion. And don’t yap about gestation crates being necessary- Temple Grandin knows best. And it’s ridiculous that cattle ranchers spend any time being afraid of HSUS like paranoid old ladies- animal advocates have few issues, if any, with cattle ranchers. It’s hard to screw up a feed lot I guess.
FrequentFlyer, I am glad to know that you are confident in your support of the dollars you send HSUS. I don’t think that’s always the case, but since you understand the issues at hand, I commend you for supporting the causes you have faith in.
What I’d be interested in is whether you’ve taken time to get to know Jeff & his ranch? You throw around a lot of words implying you know how his farm is run, afterall, this is the blog of his ranch, not some big group you can’t pin down. If you’d like to get a feel for it, you can take a tour on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENCgyjh_jdg
It seems here that Jeff put forth his ideas and his opinions and you immediately said it was a work of fiction. I respect your ability to consider the facts & come to your conclusion. Please respect the same from Jeff and others on his blog.
Frequent Flyer,
I find it interesting that you say you listen to and change according to market demands. HSUS doesn’t give the market a chance. HSUS bullies farmers out of their livelihoods and deceives the whole way. And as far as whether you know “anything about farm animals”,hands on experience does wonders in every field.
You’re right Leia. People also shouldn’t criticize the hospitality industry unless they put in time as a chamber maid.
Frequent Flyer you talk of hens and hogs and much more beyond what Jeff discusses here. Now I don’t know what industry you’re in but you mentioned hospitality. There’s a difference between listening to the customer (which we do) and doing what is not good for our animals because of misinformation the customer thinks is good. I think hotels are too high - $100+ per night are you kidding? For a bed and shower…all should be half of that. Now do you really think all hotels are going to drop to $50 rooms?
Regarding hens being caged free - are they better dead, with people hungry? They CAN turn around and move - but if “turned free” (cage free, no restrictions) EVERYTHING wants to kill chicken! Cougar, coyote, dogs, hawks, owls, fox…how protected are they? When chickens are forced outside how comfortable is a five pound chicken in a driving blizzard?
If Temple Grandin knows best then should HSUS plants face charges for cruelty? You are very dismissive of farmers and ranchers - perhaps that is a good reason to not take comments or suggestions. Yes there are usually good reasons things are done as they are - that’s why blogs and videos and other social media show and tell clearly what and why, and yet you still say it’s fabricated. Perhaps it’s true that fiction writers after a while don’t believe the truth.
I worked at HSUS as the Director of Ed and did not know where the money was going.
Frequent Flyer / Stop Humanewatch - With all due respect, not all of the donors to HSUS understand how their money is spent. Many are under the impression that their money will be going to directly to assist shelters. We both know that this is not the case. The HSUS is very effective in their advertising and play on emotions to draw funding.
I’m not familiar with HSUS, what is it?
HSUS is “The Humane Society of the United States”. Dispite its name, it is not associated with your local shelter. In fact less than 1/2 of 1% of its $120,000,000.00 annual budget ever sees local shelters in the forms of grants according to their annual tax statements.
Jeff also outlined his thoughts on HSUS in this blog post https://commonsenseagriculture.com/2010/02/26/my-thoughts-on-hsus/
Jean, if you have further questions, feel free to ask.
Mike, thanks for providing your insight.
Frequent Flyer must be thinking of a different HSUS or perhaps a different planet than most of us. Recent polling indicates that almost three quarters of the population believes that the HSUS is an umbrella organization for local shelters and that donations to the HSUS go to help shelter animals. Virtually no one knows that the primary mission of the HSUS (based on what they DO, not what they SAY) is lobbying for laws that will put farmers out of business and pile so many socialistic laws on other animal owners that they will achieve their actual goal of ending all human/animal interaction.
Thank you for adding your comments Marguerite.
Hurray for ranchers and farmers! I just discovered your blog via a post Judy Williams, the genius behind the Divine Bovines, shared on Facebook. Glad to make your acquaintance.
Thanks for stopping by Elizabeth. Judy has a neat site.
Loved the video tour of your place, particularly seeing the results of your use of natural training with the horses. What a happy looking bunch of goofy critters :-).
@Frequent Flyer, it’s the Humane Society of the United States, and lots of data is now showing they aren’t what they claim to be at all. They’re anti-farming, anti-ranching, anti-meat, and anti-pet ownership. Sounds incredible, I know, but just start Googling around. The information is all out there in the public domain. And last year the HSUS gave less than 1% of its massive funding (nearly all generated by misleading public appeals) to the actual care and welfare of animals. And they do not operate ONE single animal shelter.
OOPS, I take that back. Judy Williams’ post was right above this one. HumaneWatch deserves the credit :-). But do please look at her website and enjoy her cowriffic humor: http://www.divinebovines.com.
Thanks for capturing this for other farmers and ranchers Jeff. I think many are not familiar with what HSUS is, stands for or represents. The supporters need to know farmers and ranchers. You are truly impacting conversations one at a time. Now we can get 100,000 farmers or 500,000 farmers having conversations just like this we can impact positively for family farmers and ranchers, our food system, our country and the growing global population.
Thank you for commenting Katie. You are absolutely correct. Empowering farmers and ranchers to share their stories is crucial. Together we can and will make a difference.
In addition to all of the previous statements regarding HSUS’s stance on farming and ranching, one of their other primary goals is to end all sport hunting in the United States.
Thank you for sharing Ted. You did not mention that they also were instrumental in eliminating needed tools to manage preadators in California, placing livestock and humans at risk.
Great blog will be retweeting the link. Thanks for this!
I appreciate it. Thank you.
I have so enjoyed all of posts…even the ones I don’t agree with. It helps define the task ahead and that is that to reeducate is more difficult then educating in the first place. I am against HSUS. Propaganda is their main source of fund raising. My husband and I are ranchers…have been for so many years and we are constantly working to make our animals and our lives more comfortable. People must eat protein and masses of people need it now! How are we going to meet these needs of so many when we are being hammered and squeezed continually? 90% of all ranches and farms are family run. I seek balance ..I see it in nature and life in general. Stop the hunting? then..too many geese, too many ducks, too many deer..deseases..oh my!.. mountain lions are eating our dogs…bears in the house…My own mother gave to HSUS…she thought she was helping local shelters..the dogs and cats…”Why?”, I ask myself is there so much interest in these movements…$$$$ think of what “they” make in a year compared to other persons with the same work hours…Many pulling in 6 figure paychecks…who would want to stop? The same goes for PETA and the Nature Conservancy..(sorry to say)..Big, Big bucks there.
Thank you very much for sharing Heather. It’s all about being able to have a conversations and discuss issues rationally.
It’s these one-on-one opportunities that help us clarify the difference between HSUS and local shelters for those who believe their donations are going to help animals.
Keep up the great work - I also cringe when HSUS is mentioned, but I consider it an opportunity to educate.
Thank you for commenting Sally. It is indeed an opportunity.
Great job, Jeff!
Thank you Ned.
I am a cash crop farmer. The one on one with public does huge amount of good. Once Joe & Julie public get info instead of soundbites from alarmists they do support ag. I educate people every chance I get on geneitc modified crops, BST milk,and how greenpeace destroyed rain forest in South Ameirica by “boycotting U.S. soy” because it was “frankenstein food”. Take BST free milk for instance. People know it must be bad; who would want milk from a cow given a synthetic hormone. When you put in perspective for them that millions of women every day injest synthetic hormones to keep from becoming pregnat; the light goes on “Gee; I never thought of it that way” Then it just blows their mind they were duped by scaremongers when you point out that the women when they do become pregnat, they nurse their baby after injesting synthetic hormones. Through technology like genetics I have increased my farms production 50% this last decade while putting less chemicals in the envirement. Facts do wipe out years of senstionalist BS by these groups.
Thank you for sharing Mark. I appreciate your taking the time. It is all about connecting, being transparent and having meaningful dialogue.
It seems here that Jeff put forth his ideas and his opinions and you immediately said it was a work of fiction. I respect your ability to consider the facts & come to your conclusion. Please respect the same from Jeff and others on his blog.
Ditto!
I appreciate your kind words Leia. Thank you for posting.
@Frequent Flyer. Your comments that everyone who donates to HSUS knows what they do and do their own research really astounds me. If that was the case, why would HSUS need to spend more than 1/3 of the funds they raise on advertising and using professional fundraisers? If all of their donors were as informed as you suggest, their mere existence should be enough to keep the money rolling in the doors. In my experience, HSUS is one of the least transparent national non-profits in any sector. My opposition to HSUS first began when I was doing a due diligence engagement for a client who wanted to leave a substantial bequest to several different organizations. HSUS was one of those potential beneficiaries. I was unable to get audited financial statements from them on request, found numerous inconsistencies with their financial statement allocations and found many inconsistencies with their actions compared to their mission and other statements. Where there is smoke, there is usually fire. The fact that the HSUS was well aware of their potential benefit to my analysis but still refused to cooperate made my recommendation very easy. Since that time, as an active opponent of the organization, all too often I wish I didn’t know what I do about HSUS, their motives and operations and presumably some of their long term goals. It is certainly much different than what is printed in their mission statement.
Thank you very much for sharing DWhite. I appreciate your taking the time to stop by and post.
A very informative day for that 20 something couple sitting next to you on the plane, I’d say:) Jeff, I think it’s fantastic that you will take any opportunity given to you, to engage and share your story and the story of farmers across the nation. We need more of you!
Thank you Nancy! For all of the visitors here, Nancy has an outstanding blog at http://thewifeofadairyman.blogspot.com/.
So you are to have us believe that these travelers made donations to HSUS thinking it would benefit cattle ranchers? Did they hop on the short bus when the flight was over? As Judge Judy says “If it doesn’t make sense- it probably isn’t true”. Yup. This a fiction.
These two individuals were under the impression that HSUS “worked with” livestock producers and financially supported shelters, plain and simple. As for the means of transportation after picking up their luggage, they were in the line for a taxi as I headed to the Metro.
I felt as if I was reliving an experience I had last summer with an airport employee and a gentleman on a flight from Newark to Cleveland. As we sat down he asked where I was traveling to. Instead of a hat, all I have to do is open my mouth and the questions start when I respond to the first one of ‘Where are you from?’ My accent is a dead give away for Texas. The airport employee came away realizing the bulls weren’t hurt in rodeo and the gentleman from Cleveland decided to vote against Ohio’s Prop 2. Of course we know a so called compromise was reached. It is a joy to answer questions from those who want to learn more about what we do.
Thanks for sharing Kim. I stopped being surprised by the questions I am asked long ago. 🙂 Sometimes the questions from children are priceless.
It’s difficult for new watchers of rodeo to comprehend how much fun the animals are having. I was just thinking about that while watching a couple of Jeff’s Youtube videos. The one bronc, in particular, was clearly relishing the chance to go throw a cowboy a few feet :-). That fall might have dampened the enthusiasm a bit, but for anyone who can read the tiniest bit of horse language, the mood was clear.
People are so isolated from all aspects of agriculture. I’ve lived in NJ for over 20 years (pity me HA!) and have never gotten accustomed to the way folks just assume the food chain consists of delivery trucks and store shelves.
“””The HSUS serves primarily to education and investigate matters concerning animal protection. Its mission statement says nothing about supporting local shelter.”””
I receive in the mail at least once a month a letter asking me to send my money to HSUS. And by the way, their letters and pics of starving abused animals really turn me off. Why do they need SO much money if they aren’t even helping the animals with even a small part of the monies? I will send my money to my local horse rescue and our local SPCA. HSUS will never get my money.
Thank you for sharing Anita. Your local rescue and shelter appreciate your support.
@Frequent Flyer- Temple Grandlin is widely respected by farmers of all kinds. However, her research has been with young feeder pigs. The social and physical needs of pregnant and nursing sows are totally different. It’s like comparing teenagers with women nursing newborns. If a 17 year old boy just wants to eat and sleep, he’d probably get sent to a doctor. I work on a 2800 sow farrow to wean barn and we use both crates and pens. Close-up sows will literally gallop down the hall to get into a crate, which is similar to the wild pig’s narrow tunnel. If the crates were stressful to the sows, they wouldn’t milk well and would have thin or small pigs. Happy pigs are *profitable* pigs.
Thank you for sharing Anna. I had the pleasure of hearing Temple while I attended CSU in the 80’s and have implemented many of her handling techinques. She’s an amazing woman.
Seems some are trying to dismiss Jeff as fiction writer. Well I meet people all the time myself and their thoughts are stranger than fiction till you set them straight. I have been asked by Farmville players how many corn crops I get off a field in a year before. And YES; people donating to HSUS think they are helping ranchers…by helping educate ranchers how to take care of animals. The only fiction tellers here are the ones trying to keep together their long history of BS they have been feeding public in guise of doing good.
I appreciate your sharing Mark. I have to chuckle….you mention Farmville…lol I’ve had some humorous questions and comments based on that game. I finally blocked it a while back, but I personally think it needs to have some more “real world” situations added to it. IMHO 🙂
Anna- you are referring to farrowing crates. They rush to get in them because they feel the strong urge to nurse their piglets. I doubt a pregnant sow rushes back to a gestation crate and why would she? She’s never let out of it. And Temple Grandin knows plenty about gestation sows.
Pam,
The farmers here are not telling you how to run your nursing homes or insist that you are doing things incorrectly. Perhaps you should be more open to their thoughts before jumping to conclusions that HSUS has led you to believe.
Ed Weasel
haha! Ed Weasel! Nursing homes are VERY regulated and those regulations are created by the public.
It’s better to put the sow in the crate becuase they can harm their own piglets. It’s a matter of fact that sows will eat their own offspring if given the chance but I guess putting them in a crate is more inhumane than letting the piglets get eaten alive.
All these people are saying is that you need to do research instead of taking things at face value. H$U$ doesn’t give much money to shelters but their advertising states they do. They are lying. Farms aren’t horrid places for animals. I live on a farm and none of our animals are treated badly but I will be accused of animal abuse because I live on a farm. That is their goal, to get the public angry with the farmers. That is no good because without farmers your entire food supply is gone. I don’t see city people growing their own gardens. We, as farmers and ranchers, need to unite and spread the word that we aren’t factory farms or cruel. We are human beings making a living.
Would love to see this discussion continue. HSUS is powerful and is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying our elected officials to change private property rights. The biggest mistake any of us can make is thinking that it won’t effect us, but it will.