You could say that I am more than a bit peeved at the HSUS these days. Their shameless promotion of meat-eating—especially their sponsoring the hedonistic “Hoofin’ It” event—has me downright pissed off.
I have to wonder if they can even see above the bullshit they’ve sunk into this time.
For years I was an ardent supporter of their policies—until they went out of their way to join Whole Foods in perpetuating the myth of “humane” meat. Instead of sticking to their guns and helping to usher in an era of evolution that takes us beyond animal agriculture, they’re bent on reviving the “Old McDonald’s Farm” fantasy.
I live next door to Old McDonald, and I’ve seen how he treats his farm animals. It isn’t pretty.
One of the flesh food purveyors featured in the “Hoofin’ It” event (the ranch that raises bison) waxes poetic about their “product” as though it were a hand-crafted ale or fine wine: “Our bulls are…finished with a natural diet of whole corn, sunflower pellets…” and “are harvested and processed at the prime age of 24-30 months, weighing approximately 1,100 pounds.”
Photo Copyright Jim Robertson
Prime age for whom? Certainly not for the Bison! Bison don’t even reach maturity until 3 years of age and can live well over 30 years in the wild when allowed to. The bison whose flesh they’re selling are still babies. In the wild, male bison remain with their mothers for at least 3 years before joining in with groups of other bulls. It’s like eating a lamb who is never allowed to grow up to be a sheep. And who the fuck eats a lamb anyway, HSUS?
The big question is, how does one “humanely” kill (“harvest” or “process”) a 1000 pound, gregarious, empathetic herd animal who relates enough to others to make a habit of mourning over their dead? “Processing” day must be a real sad, morbid, not to mention horrifying day for those waiting in line for their turn to get slaughtered.
This whole alternative “humane” meat issue reminds me of the popular new micro-brewery that cropped up in the small town of Twisp, WA, where I used to live. Their menu featured grass-fed, organic beef from a local rancher who turned out to be none other than wolf-hater/poacher Bill White. White, along with his son, was responsible for baiting and killing off most of Washington State’s first wolves, the Lookout Pack. (Yes, they’re the same folks who got caught trying to send a bloody wolf hide through the mail to Canada.)
Is the HSUS being led down the garden path by other (possibly wolf-hater/poacher) ranchers who are eager to sell a higher-priced product to a new generation of starry-eyed foodies who think the sentient animals they’re eating were happy to know they were “sustainably” harvested?
It was partly because of the wisdom of a few friends working for the HSUS on wildlife issues that my wife and I went vegan 16 years ago. Those friends are still as dedicated to the animal rights cause as ever, but somehow the HSUS as a group must have lost its nerve, its soul and now, its ever-loving mind.
Exposing the Big Game 
I gave up on them a long time ago. Royally eff HSUS.
I so lost all my respect for HSUS. They’re criminal welfarists, convincing people it’s “okay” and even “great” to eat animals. Tosspots.
Wow, your comments are so spot on as usual…thank you for your non stop work to indeed make this a better place for the “other” species!
I can’t say enough about all the work you do…and the message continues to soak in ..I was at my dr office and somebody was discussing factory farming…and we started discussing, I was shocked they were so aware…so all these messages are getting out here and there…don’t stop and none of us will either….knowledge is power .
Thank you for being a REAL advocate for animals, Jim. The HSUS event so reminds me of the ending of Animal Farm. It’s surreal but tragically real. With frienemies like that…
Thank you Mary
Great cartoon!
a local rancher who turned out to be none other than wolf-hater/poacher Bill White. White, along with his son, was responsible for baiting and killing off most of Washington State’s first wolves, the Lookout Pack. (Yes, they’re the same folks who got caught trying to send a bloody wolf hide through the mail to Canada.)
Is this creep and his spawn, and the dimwit wife who mailed the wolf hide Fedex still roaming the earth? I would have hoped he’d met Karma in one of Washington’s wildfires, and lost everything he owned.
I think with all of the opposition and uproar to reintroducing wolves in the Southwest, something like this happening again to these poor wolves is a given. I hope state and federal F&W departments will be on guard and prepared, but with the willful naïvete we have about ourselves (awww, people are good!) , somehow I doubt we’ll be careful with these valuable wolves.
I actually got a death threat myself, but to shut me up they’ll have to send my bloody carcass home in the mail, and we know they don’t have the balls for that. They only can kill animals that can’ speak or fight back.
Sorry to go off topic. Ahem, back to our regularly scheduled programming! 😛
Thanks Jim! You helped me change my mind! I kept saying to friends “United we stand”…but wrong is wrong…as in this case. Thank you for your wisdom and compassion as always…
Thank you Claudine. I’d hate lose any friends over this, but as you said, wrong is wrong and sponsoring a meat celebration is dead wrong. Even if the goal is to move people away from factory farming, so-called “humane meat” is just going to used against animals by sanctifying raising, killing and eating them. Just recently someone used the line, “not all eggs are produced that way,” in an argument against factory farmed cruelty in everyday egg production. The one who said it spoke of free range chickens, yet still gets their eggs at Costco.
I’m very sorry to hear that. Coincidentally Peta had made a video on ‘humane meat’ a while ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKeWdOeVZn8 I am very disappointed as I’ve been supporting them for some time now.
Thanks for the like link. I see that Ingrid Newkirk has a U-tube against ‘Humane meat’ too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfUBMKwVl7Q
I saw it! Having a quick browse through the comments below the video one gets so disheartened as to how people still think – this day and age…
It must be willful ignorance and feeble attempt at rationalization for people to think like that in this day and age.
Great article as always, Jim, thanks. It’s disappointing to hear that the Whites still have a local market for their beef, after all of their wildlife crimes. Do you consider Humane Society International to be a sellout too? They seem to have done a lot of good in Asia
These Farm-to-Table Celebrations are despicable. If it’s so happy for the animals why don’t they really show all the links in the chain they are touting by having the animals slaughtered right at table? Or at least, as part of the entertainment they could have large screens and surround sound projecting the the whole process of this happy journey from impregnation by rape to kidnapping of offspring to the final blow of premeditated death of a life too short while everyone enjoys their dinner. If it is so warm and fuzzy and humane no one would have a problem watching it, right?
Well said Jim, well said.
The other day I rode the train with a woman. I was telling her about this awesome local vegan alternative ice cream called FōMū. She didn’t believe me that the stuff tastes better than real ice cream.
ANYWAY. She asked me “Why vegan?” When I told her meat was murder and I couldn’t contribute to the slaughter of innocent animals she said, “Oh I don’t care about that. Who cares about a bunch of stupid animals.”
That was the end of our conversation.
What can you say to that? If she’s that cold-hearted, nothing you say will matter.
Exactly.
I’ve heard infuriating things like that too. So I’m asking why should I care about a bunch of stupid people?
Good question.
Reblogged this on Ann Novek–With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors.
“Clap, Clap”…Just an excellent editorial on a massive betrayal by an organization I once trusted and respected. They can’t have it both ways. “Prime age for whom”, indeed!!
Thanks Nabeki. The HSUS does a lot of good things, but they don’t seem to realize that you can’t just get a little bit pregnant when sleeping with the enemy.
Reblogged this on Exposing the Big Game.
Harvesting! We haven’t got the guts to say the real word. How would people like it if pro-choice people referred to “harvesting” at the abortion clinic? Apparently there is a “harvest” going on at Yellowstone among the bison in the traps. Seeing the pictures of those magnificent animals battered after their capture and loaded on transport trucks to their death is sickening beyond words. Too bad the bison can’t reap a harvest of their own on their human tormentors.
Oh god, how can I not have known this?? I know I’ve missed a lot but I’m so appalled! This is betrayal of the worst sort. I’m stunned that an organization I’ve so admired and supported and volunteered for can expect us to accept this bullshit~ There have been a few other questionable moves (Michael Vick as spokesman against dog fighting? More than questionable, downright stupid and wrong!) Thanks, Jim for all that you and Carla do for innocent animals. Bravo!
Betrayal of us AND the animals.
HSUS lost its way they vehemently supported Vick the dog killer. For them money talks louder than truth.