Do they really care where their food comes from? Or is this a bunch of bunk we are being fed by the media?

Dehorning, tail docking, keeping cows continually pregnant and administering antibiotics to sick animals – just to name a few – are all animal husbandry practices that have come under attack in recent weeks.

ABC’s “Nightline” was one of the most recently-wielded machetes in the livestock industry, beheading when the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) was in the spotlight as the authority on animal husbandry ethics: A news broadcast filled with a one-sided view made Charles Manson look like a kindergarten teacher, compared to dairy producers.

We were vilified throughout the whole piece, looking as though our entire purpose on the farm was to treat animals inhumanely – an amazing premise, considering our livelihood is dependent on making sure our cows are given the best care possible. I guess because we don’t allow them into our homes to sit on our couch and join us at the dinner table with a full set of horns, we are bad, bad people.

As the viewers were being told that dehorning is a horrific practice and the cows are psychologically damaged as a result, a dairy farmer just miles from my home was gored by a bull in his barn yard and has spent the last two weeks in the hospital fighting for his life.

Hmm. Human life? Dehorning? Human life? Dehorning? Such a difficult decision to make.

And since when is being pregnant the same as torture? (Ladies, don’t spend too much time thinking about that; you’ll miss my whole point!) As natural as the attraction between the genders, having offspring by all species is necessary in the cycle of life, is it not? I fail to see a cow with a calf growing inside of her as inhumane.

Yes, calving is painful, but so is getting rammed by a cow with a full set of horns standing at the feed bunk enjoying her morning TMR.
Which is better? At least one of these painful experiences has a positive result.

As I sat and explained to a consumer recently that processed cheese spread is not really cheese, I had to wonder why we are busy defending dehorning and pregnancy when it’s plain to see we are still in need of some old-fashioned education for the consumer.
Oh, wait – I’m sure she was worried about the animals that were dehorned, inseminated and milked twice a day to produce that fake cheese. Silly me.

When will the madness stop? Only when we take the time, on a daily basis, and tell our true story. That is, unless we want to hand our livelihoods over to animal rights zealots. Truth? Lies? Truth? Lies?

Which one do you want?

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments may write to Melissa Hart in care of this publication.