They used to say, Don’t Californicate Colorado. Now, we got to say, Don’t Coloradicate California.
I have friends and family in Colorado, so with due apologies to them I have to ask: Has your state gone nuts?
The Governor is a vegan, and he thinks we should be too. He declared Saturday, March 20, as “Meat Out Day”, and asked all Coloradans to only eat vegetables that day. His plan backfired. Lots of Colorado folks responded with a massive “Meat In” day, holding barbecues and cookouts across the state. The governors of Wyoming and Nebraska chimed in, declaring the same day a “Hearty Meat” day and attending beefy barbecues in their state capitals. It was a major victory for the livestock industry, and a huge embarrassment for the Colorado Governor. But the storm is not over.
An animal rights group is sponsoring a new ballot measure to end the cattle, chicken, and hog ranches in the state. The proposed law would require ranchers to keep animals alive well past the age they usually go to slaughter, which would destroy the meat’s value. They also want to redefine many animal husbandry techniques as sex acts. The new law’s language defines sex with animals to include – quoting here – “any intrusion or penetration, however slight, with an object or part of a person’s body into an animal’s anus or genitals.” It would make it illegal for vets or ranchers to preg-check cows, or to assist in delivery of farm animals. Why should a medical procedure to help a creature during a difficult birth be considered a sex crime?
It’s a dirty trick. When those earnest animal rights activists go out and collect signatures for the ballot measure, all people are going to hear is, do you want to outlaw people having sex with animals? It’s a dishonest deceit and a clever distraction from the real issue.
That issue is, of course, we are omnivores. Some people can’t stand the thought that humans eating meat is every bit as natural as the grains of sand on a California beach. They want to think that munching on plants is somehow more natural, more civilized. Sorry to disappoint. But keep your hands off my steak.
I’m Len Wilcox and that’s the Western View from AgNet West and Citrus Industry Magazine.
About the Author
Len Wilcox
Len Wilcox is a retired scientist who also ran a newspaper and has written for agricultural publications since the 1980s. He was a regular contributor to California Farmer Magazine. His commentary “The Western View” is a regular feature on Farm City Newsday and AgNet West.