Governor Polis and ALL those who support the radical anti-animal agriculture movement-

We see you, we got your message loud and clear. This is no longer about animal husbandry, the environment, or any of the things you claim to represent. This is about the extinction of our way of life. This is a personal and public attack on the very industry that feeds you and your families. This is about the eradication of animal agriculture. The proposition of “MeatOut Day” is a direct and blatant proclamation against the second-most profitable industry in your state, shame on you. Shame on you for spreading falsities about the very industry that provides over 4.1 billion dollars in agricultural commodities every year (USDA/NASS 2020 State Agriculture Overview for Colorado). This industry; the ranch wife raising three little kids and countless bottle calves to make ends meet, the farmer praying to God that He sends rain to make his crops grow in this crippling drought, the cowboy helping a first-calf heifer deliver a breach calf, these incredible and selfless people, hear you. Clearly, there is a very real disconnect between producer and consumer; about everything that goes into your dinner plate. If you didn’t know where you got it so wrong, you will now:

Your proclamation states loosely that you proposed the “MeatOut Day” to bring awareness to animal cruelty, the negative environmental impact of animal agriculture, and the negative impact of meat consumption on our health. All of theses claims are falsified and have time and time again been debunked by SCIENCE. With a little bit of fact-based, unbiased, unpropagated information, you would have easily found none of these claims to be true. Animal cruelty within animal agriculture is rare for several reasons. To abuse livestock in any way is not only morally wrong and widely frowned-upon within our industry, but it is also bad for business. Poorly cared for livestock don’t produce well and don’t “bring the money” as we say. That aside, our industry is one of prideful people. We take pride in everything we do from how we care for our animals, to their perfectly rationed and nutritionally-balanced diet, our safe and reliable animal handling systems, and ethical animal husbandry practices. To responsibly care for our animals is of the utmost importance to us. This is made obvious in the late night calving checks, bringing our cold bovine babies in our home’s to shake off the long-gone look in their eye, chopping ice and feeding in sub-zero temperatures; I don’t see your pals from PETA out here helping when things really get “ranchy”. The negative environmental impact of animal agriculture is one that is also widely disputed and has been disproven in several studies. If you’d like to educated yourself further, please refer to my previous blogpost, “The Baseless Attack on American Animal Agriculture and why it’s Wrong.” Animal agriculture is not only able to sequester carbon emissions through responsible rotational grazing practices, but we also do everything we can to ensure the health of our grass and water, as it is the basis of a successful operation. We are first in the business of growing grass, second in the the business of raising cattle. Without the health of the land and our most precious resource of water, we can’t pass down our legacies for generations to come. Producers are the original environmentalists, you know! When it comes to the health of our bodies, meat, specifically beef, has been proven to be one of the most nutritionally-dense and perfect sources of protein and iron in the world. Beef is an essential part of a healthy diet and provides countless nutritional benefits for our bodies. Beef has essential amino acids, minerals, antioxidants, and protein. All of these together are building blocks for heart health, our metabolism, prevention of anemia, muscle building, immune support, and countless other health benefits (11 health benefits of eating beef – Beef Central). To suggest that meat consumption, more specifically beef consumption is unhealthy, is a fallacy. Ruminants as well as pseudoruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, camelids, and cervids) are able to turn food sources that humans are unable to consume into the most valuable food source in the world. To undermine the value of our industry is just plain ignorant.

American animal agriculture not only provides the safest, most reliable, and affordable source of food in the world, it also provides countless non-food related resources to the American consumer and the world. Without animal agriculture, we as a nation would be completely unable to provide basic commodities, nutrition, and pharmaceuticals to our people. For you to blatantly shame the very industry that makes life possible for you and your family, is a slap in the face to every producer in this state, and our great nation. I urge you and implore you to withdrawal this proclamation, to change it to “MeatIn Day.” I urge you to celebrate and appreciate the most vital industry in this state; the one that fuels the bodies and minds of every single living being in your state. Without the less than 2 percent feeding 100 percent of the population, no one would be fed. Without us, you couldn’t do what you do. Regardless of what you do on March 20th, we’ll still show up. We’ll still check water, feed cows, wake up at all hours of the night to do calving checks, sacrifice family and personal time to care for our livestock, and forge on in this thankless profession to provide nutrition for the very people that try and destroy our legacy. I’ll tell you one thing, we are tougher than you give us credit for. We will continue to do what we do with gusto, passion, and integrity because it’s not just what we do, it’s who we are. It’s not just “our job”, our animals and ranches are our life. Enjoy your tofu, as for me and my family, we will be enjoying Colorado Proud steak.

God Bless America and God Bless the American Rancher.