Omg you are dealing with the uneducated piblic, not farmer to farmer. If you blur the lines, you will lead people on. I don’t know why that’s so hard for people to understand.
Clearly they were making money off of an amphromizing a meat animal. If the owners had any common sense, they never would have done that.
Business #1 know your customers
As I said before, not everyone feels the need to compartmentalize pets and food animals. It doesn’t mean we lack compassion or empathy or don’t love our animals. And I would venture a guess there are city people who don’t need to compartmentalize either.
[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8635682]
Omg you are dealing with the uneducated piblic, not farmer to farmer. If you blur the lines, you will lead people on. I don’t know why that’s so hard for people to understand.
Clearly they were making money off of an amphromizing a meat animal. If the owners had any common sense, they never would have done that.
Business #1 know your customers[/QUOTE]
heaven forbid, we expect an adult interaction with a presumed grown person…
[QUOTE=roseymare;8635683]
As I said before, not everyone feels the need to compartmentalize pets and food animals. It doesn’t mean we lack compassion or empathy or don’t love our animals. And I would venture a guess there are city people who don’t need to compartmentalize either.[/QUOTE]
Uhhh how many city people have you been around? Lolol
A lot of this could have been avoided if they didn’t make out the cow to be a pet. Perception is reality and transparency is a good thing.
We don’t eat pets in this country. Therefore, making the general public believe the cow was a pet (and it seems they did) created this PR mess. What if it had been a horse and they disclosed they would kill and eat it? I know, some on this board would say bring it on, but I imagine quite a few would find it repugnant.
Perception is reality and you do have to make things clear, as Rodeo said. These are the same people that are objecting to carriage rides, for goodness sake,
Wait until the anti-farm people find out what happens to the chickens, and goat, and other animals when they stop being productive, or when their time comes. More petitions to follow I’m betting, and with enough pressure another historic farm goes away.
[QUOTE=Kwill;8635712]
We don’t eat pets in this country. Therefore, making the general public believe the cow was a pet (and it seems they did) created this PR mess. What if it had been a horse and they disclosed they would kill and eat it? I know, some on this board would say bring it on, but I imagine quite a few would find it repugnant.
Perception is reality and you do have to make things clear, as Rodeo said. These are the same people that are objecting to carriage rides, for goodness sake,[/QUOTE]
Most people would freak the bleep out if they found out a local riding barn was dumping old lesson horses straight to the meat man when they became too sick, lame or, otherwise old, working animals or not, so lets try not to act so superior about the upset.
My brother showed steers in 4H. Show steers are very pampered animals and their owners spend a lot of time feeding, grooming and handling them. So there is an attachment. So one year bro had the grand champion steer at the local show and was interviewed by a reporter from the local paper. She asked him how he could eat an animal he’d spent so much time with. Bro told her that he was such a fine steer and he cared so much about him that he couldn’t let a stranger eat him.
[QUOTE=wireweiners;8635761]
My brother showed steers in 4H. Show steers are very pampered animals and their owners spend a lot of time feeding, grooming and handling them. So there is an attachment. So one year bro had the grand champion steer at the local show and was interviewed by a reporter from the local paper. She asked him how he could eat an animal he’d spent so much time with. Bro told her that he was such a fine steer and he cared so much about him that he couldn’t let a stranger eat him.[/QUOTE]
priceless
[QUOTE=wireweiners;8635761]
My brother showed steers in 4H. Show steers are very pampered animals and their owners spend a lot of time feeding, grooming and handling them. So there is an attachment. So one year bro had the grand champion steer at the local show and was interviewed by a reporter from the local paper. She asked him how he could eat an animal he’d spent so much time with. Bro told her that he was such a fine steer and he cared so much about him that he couldn’t let a stranger eat him.[/QUOTE]
Nice.
[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8635682]
Omg you are dealing with the uneducated piblic, not farmer to farmer. If you blur the lines, you will lead people on. I don’t know why that’s so hard for people to understand.
Clearly they were making money off of an amphromizing a meat animal. If the owners had any common sense, they never would have done that.
Business #1 know your customers[/QUOTE]
They have many, many customers. Most of whom are perfectly fine with the concept that this is a farm. And most of whom are perfectly fine with the care and warmth the owners show toward their animals.
They do not anthropomorphize. The cow is treated as a cow. People see her and pet her in her own environment and this is exploitation and fraud and leading people on? No.
How do you suggest they present the cow(current resident, future meat) to the public?
Remember the rabbits, pigs, and lambs will need similar presentation, too.
As a child I learned that animals could be raised for meat and treated humanely and even with affection. That is the way I would want animals I ate to be treated during their lives.
Demanding that 2 years’ resources, planning and care of your animal be ‘given away’ into the anonymous care of a stranger to ‘save the life’?
When that animal if left in their care will die a merciful death and be used to continue the life of all the farm?
That is misguided.
For an outsider to attack the farmer for doing something so right? That ought to be vilified, not the farmer.
What is the world coming to?
Well, that’s really, really easy.
“Hello everyone, this is our wonderful 2yo heifer. She’s a blah blah breed and people breed these guys for cheese, milk, butter, and beef.”
No Instagram updates. No birthday parties. No cute pet names for the public to get attached to. No festival “Come see Minnie the cow” advertisements.
“This is our cow and this is why we keep cows on farms.”
Not sure why that’s so hard a concept for everyone. If you don’t appear to treat an animal like a pet, then people won’t confuse one for it.
Again, these are city people. Most have never even been exposed to live beef before. And they certainly don’t name their McDonalds cheeseburgers before they eat them, so you can’t assume that they’d even understand the concept of naming something you eat. It’s not something most would understand.
Hell, I don’t even understand it.
[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8635788]
Well, that’s really, really easy.
“Hello everyone, this is our wonderful 2yo heifer. She’s a blah blah breed and people breed these guys for cheese, milk, butter, and beef.”
No Instagram updates. No birthday parties. No cute pet names for the public to get attached to. No festival “Come see Minnie the cow” advertisements.
“This is our cow and this is why we keep cows on farms.”
Not sure why that’s so hard a concept for everyone. If you don’t appear to treat an animal like a pet, then people won’t confuse one for it.
Again, these are city people. Most have never even been exposed to live beef before. And they certainly don’t name their McDonalds cheeseburgers before they eat them, so you can’t assume that they’d even understand the concept of naming something you eat. It’s not something most would understand.
Hell, I don’t even understand it.[/QUOTE]
And the not understanding is exactly why there is a problem and a disconnect between people and their (meat) food.
It is also an opportunity to teach children about ownership, stewardship, compassion and kindness toward all animals, meat or not.
It is about including meat animals in your life during theirs.
It is about accepting death just as one accepts birth - both ends of life.
That is farming. That is what the Benners are trying to teach and share.
It is difficult to grasp. I grew up a city kid. I learned.
I didn’t offer death threats.
And I was and am glad to be able to pet the animals while still respecting the owners’ rights and their valuable ability to raise these animals for meat for the rest of us.
What that man was trying to teach did not work. Again, giving instagram updates on a heifer you were planning to butcher talking about how cute she is? To self-advertise the farm? “Hey, come see Minnie! We just love her!” Using her at children’s birthday parties? And not expecting the general public to get attached. And then get upset when they find out you plan to slaughter her?
Treat a pet like a pet and livestock like livestock. Goes back to perception is reality. A cow that gets treated like a walmart greeter isn’t going to be seen as a steak by the average, city-living, animal-loving public.
Having those kind of distinctions go farther to teach people where their food comes from.
I would never name anything I planned to eat because I don’t believe in anthropomorphizing my dinner. Treat it with respect and dignity, yes. Calling it Bessy? Eh no.
I have nothing personality against family farms, however. I love them. I buy my meat from them, when I can. But I don’t want to know the name of the cow/chicken/lamb/pig/rabbit I’m eating. But I do prefer it when the person who sells me the steak knew it from birth.
This was a PR mistake, like another poster said, and unfortunately everyone else is going to have to suffer because of this farmer’s bad judgement.
[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8635868]
What that man was trying to teach did not work. Again, giving instagram updates on a heifer you were planning to butcher talking about how cute she is? To self-advertise the farm? “Hey, come see Minnie! We just love her!” Using her at children’s birthday parties? And not expecting the general public to get attached. And then get upset when they find out you plan to slaughter her?
Treat a pet like a pet and livestock like livestock. Goes back to perception is reality. A cow that gets treated like a walmart greeter isn’t going to be seen as a steak by the average, city-living, animal-loving public.
Having those kind of distinctions go farther to teach people where their food comes from.
I would never name anything I planned to eat because I don’t believe in anthropomorphizing my dinner. Treat it with respect and dignity, yes. Calling it Bessy? Eh no.
I have nothing personality against family farms, however. I love them. I buy my meat from them, when I can. But I don’t want to know the name of the cow/chicken/lamb/pig/rabbit I’m eating. But I do prefer it when the person who sells me the steak knew it from birth.
This was a PR mistake, like another poster said, and unfortunately everyone else is going to have to suffer because of this farmer’s bad judgement.[/QUOTE]
Because you don’t, nobody else can?
And you do not see a problem in this?
Or that this IS the problem?!
No. That is what the Benners are lying about with their petting zoo/“farm” and its prettified, thoroughly misleading representations of farm life.
Honest farmers produce meat, eggs, milk and veg. They don’t do skeevy, underhanded shit to soak the unsuspecting. They just don’t.
[QUOTE=Red Barn;8635877]
No. That is what the Benners are lying about with their petting zoo/“farm” and its prettified, thoroughly misleading representations of farm life.
Honest farmers produce meat, eggs, milk and veg. They don’t do skeevy, underhanded shit to soak the unsuspecting. They just don’t.[/QUOTE]
Most farmers don’t treat their livestock like a petting zoo! XD
Did you both think this couple was making some sort of fortune on a single cow?
Is it okay that they also eat the chickens and those also have names? Or does it only count if it’s got fur and not feathers?
They say RIGHT ON THEIR WEBSITE that it’s a full working farm. That all of the plants and animals have a purpose.
If it’s not being milked, it’s going to be beef. They never hid that and having a name doesn’t hide that. Bringing it to places for children to see it close up doesn’t change what it’s purpose is.
And except for big commercial producers, pretty much most working farms name their livestock they will eat.
They teach the kids about sustainable farming. It’s for the city people to LEARN how farming works, it’s NOT for city people to dictate how they think farming should work to the farmer.
Just because you share the lack of common farm experiences with the city folk doesn’t make that ignorance correct.
How about some respect for jut regular rights? Like the right to run a working farm as a both a business and a personal lifestyle without being harassed, picketed, insulted and threatened and being given demands to kowtow to the misguided opinions of people ignorant of what you do.
[QUOTE=MistyBlue;8635902]
Did you both think this couple was making some sort of fortune on a single cow?
Is it okay that they also eat the chickens and those also have names? Or does it only count if it’s got fur and not feathers?
They say RIGHT ON THEIR WEBSITE that it’s a full working farm. That all of the plants and animals have a purpose.
If it’s not being milked, it’s going to be beef. They never hid that and having a name doesn’t hide that. Bringing it to places for children to see it close up doesn’t change what it’s purpose is.
And except for big commercial producers, pretty much most working farms name their livestock they will eat.
They teach the kids about sustainable farming. It’s for the city people to LEARN how farming works, it’s NOT for city people to dictate how they think farming should work to the farmer.
Just because you share the lack of common farm experiences with the city folk doesn’t make that ignorance correct.
How about some respect for jut regular rights? Like the right to run a working farm as a both a business and a personal lifestyle without being harassed, picketed, insulted and threatened and being given demands to kowtow to the misguided opinions of people ignorant of what you do.[/QUOTE]
Amen, Sister!
Maybe these kinds of farmers shouldn’t try making money off of the unknowing public, then. Their educational program was ineffective.
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