Amanda also hit the nail on the head with this statement: “There are also a lot of uninformed people drawing up opinions on practices that they do not understand.” Over a century of research has been and continues to be conducted to learn about the best ways to care for our farm animals. In fact, many universities have entire departments dedicted to animal science teaching and research. Many animal husbandry practices that seem cruel are actually more humane than the alternatives that the general public perceive to be better. The bottom line is that if farmers (big or small, family or corporate, organic or not) do a good job of caring for their animals their animals will produce and be profitable for them. In fact, cow COMFORT is one of the most important aspects of a well-managed dairy! We choose cow housing and bedding that keeps our cows clean and dry, and provide shade, fans, and sprinklers during periods of summer heat stress. Comfortable cow = happy cow = productive cow. Animal welfare is extremely important to all farmers, despite what some of those biased sources would have you believe.

So, please don’t paint all of animal agriculture with the “bad” label. Yes, there are farmers that do it better than others, and, just as in every industry, there are people who don’t do what is right or ethical. But, for the most part, farmers (organic or not!) are good people who do the best they can to take good care of their animals and the environment. That is their livelihood, after all!

As you can probably tell, I am very passionate about this topic, and I could seriously go on for days. I do appreciate your open-mindedness for all eating styles, and that you open up questions like this for discussion on your blog!