The Importance Of Animal Welfare And Ethics

Throughout my entire life I have been involved with agriculture. My father is a corn and hay farmer with a few cherry orchards; my grandpa raises beef cattle which we should show at the County fair every year, and now my husband is a Dairy Farmer. I felt like my knowledge relating to issues in Animal Agriculture was pretty broad coming into this class, but as the term has progressed I’ve noticed that I was pretty bias to a lot of issues, as well as having limited knowledge on certain subjects. When it comes to the issues of grazing I felt like my knowledge was limited, I was not aware of all the negative impacts grazing has on land. Animal Welfare and Ethics I understand pretty well and still have a lot of the same views. And lastly, …show more content…
Farmers and ranchers work 24/7 to take care of their animals and ultimately know that what is best for the animal is best for them. To create a good product, animals have to be cared for and raised in the best possible way. My all time favorite article from this class is Michael Pollans, Power Steer article that was in the New York times. I quote it often, but that is because it really shows what it takes to raise animals in the animal agriculture industry, especially if you do it in a way that’s best for the animal. Troy Hadrick a Ranch hand at Poky Feeders said, “Everyone hears about the bad stuff, but they don 't ever see you give C.P.R. to a newborn calf that was born backward or bringing them into your house and trying to warm them up on your kitchen floor because they were born on a minus-20-degree night (2002, p. …show more content…
I was very unaware of the benefits that biotechnology could produce for animals which in turn would benefit us. In the CAST article Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture it states, “Another type of biotechnology in development involves using animals to produce donor organs for human transplant. Heart valves from pigs have been used for many years to replace heart valves in humans.” I knew many of our antibiotics came from animals but I had no clue we could use animals to produce donor organs for humans. I didn’t even know heart valves from pigs were used today in humans. It is amazing how technology can develop and the good that it can create for us. However, all things need to be done in a safe manner. As long as these products show no signs of danger when consumed or used I think they are a wonderful resource to have. This class has opened my eyes to many different viewpoints which have either altered my beliefs, or helped solidify why I believe in certain