Denver’s climate campaign disrespects state’s ag industry
If one were to deliberately and systematically insult and alienate agricultural America, one could hardly be more effective or efficient at it than the city that hosts the National Western Stock Show.
The City and County of Denver has launched a $3 million ad campaign urging urbanites to change their habits in a number of ways as a way to fight climate change. One method prominently promoted in the campaign is to “eat less meat.” This from the capital city of a state that generates $4 billion a year in beef sales alone. That’s billion, with a “b.”
We don’t suggest that livestock producers should be free from scrutiny; indeed, unnecessary, ecologically harmful or even cruel practices on the part of a few tarnish the entire industry. That’s why ranchers and feeders are on the front lines of promoting sustainable livestock production while diminishing or eliminating stress on the animals involved. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Temple Grandin, who teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design at Colorado State University and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling, and animal welfare, has been lauded by none other than the American Humane Society for her advances in animal handling knowledge and technology.
At the same time, leaders in Colorado’s ag community have been preaching that, if we want to bridge the rural-urban divide in Colorado, we in agriculture have to work harder at getting the message out.
So it’s awfully frustrating to see the City of Denver putting out a message that can only be construed in terms disrespectful to livestock producers. How can the folks in the city’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency fail to make the connection between lower meat consumption and economic damage to Colorado’s beef industry?
The concept doesn’t even follow the latest science. The statistic that is most often cited is that livestock production is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse emissions. That’s a number arrived at in 2019 and has not been updated since. Meanwhile, dairy and beef herds have been producing more meat and milk with fewer animals while ranchers and dairymen move toward more efficient feeding and grazing practices that dramatically lower bovine methane emissions.
Even the hoary trope that meat consumption is unhealthy has been soundly debunked. Humans have been consuming animal protein for 2.5 million years and we’ve somehow managed to populate nearly every square mile of habitable land on the planet.
Yes, we heartily encourage our farmers and ranchers to continuously work to inform our city cousins of the reality of production agriculture. But it would be really helpful if those cousins would just listen once in a while.
