The evolution of science and technology that classified itself as industrialization has been perhaps the best thing to happen to our world. Mankind as a collective whole turned the tides of progress in a mere matter of decades. For thousands of years prior, growth had been negligible, with cultures remaining stagnant. After industrialization, all of this changed. Unfortunately one of the worst things possible has happened to our world rose out of industrialization: urbanization. For those of you who do not know, urbanization as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, "...the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more and more people begin living and working in central areas". If you were to considering an example of urbanization, imagining the evolution of a major metropolitan city such as New York would be accurate. Whether urbanization occurs at a rapid or slow pace does not matter. For some cities, it has been a gradual change from a once rural town to a booming and shining hub. For others, the change was immediate.
There is a fundamental difference between urbanization and industrialization that has quietly chipped away at the soul of our nation. This difference has gone unnoticed for too long and unless it is noted within the very near future, life as we know it will be irreversibly changed. I cannot tell you whether this would be for the better or worse, but I can tell you that the change itself would effect the entire world and every aspect of life.
To cut to the chase and end the ridiculous climax, I'll lay it out simply for you. I'm talking about agriculture. I'm talking about farmers, ranchers and producers. I'm talking about the men and women who put greens in your belly and beef on your plate. I'm talking about agriculture, and quite frankly I'm livid. Agriculture just so happens to be my field of study and thus I am deeply insulted by the current state of affairs. I am enraged by the manner in which men and women deemed "more intelligent" by society has treated my field and my people. I am frustrated with the current status quo that is actively distributing inaccurate information regarding agriculture and the practices utilized. While I am enraged, the rest of my field has quietly taken the blow. Men and women with hearts of gold have folded their hands, bowed their heads and allowed their livelihood to be sacrificed, all because they are too tired to fight. They cannot summon the energy to stand up against current legislation and the big-wigs pulling the strings because sixteen hours on the back of a horse or in a tractor will literally drain the life out of you.
Well, I'll tell you what... I did not put in a full day processing herds or planting crops. I have spent my days of late in a classroom being lectured by brilliant professors about what is going on in our world outside of college. I have spent my time sitting in a plastic-backed chair, boiling over with indignation. I have spent thousands of hours compiling research, reviewing data, and interviewing those affected by it most, and it's about time someone stands up.
The issue for me is the current state of the cattle market. Right now, we are dying via death by one thousand cuts. Markets are so low that every single cattleman is bleeding. Cow-calf producers can no longer sit back in comfort while the backgrounders and finishers squirm because that economic discomfort has wormed its way into all facets of cattle production. Backgrounders and feed yards are constantly pulling their hair out over trying to make ends meet. To put it into perspective for you, a very close friend of my husband's operates a backgrounding operation and hasn't seen a bit of profit in two years-not one penny. While populations grow, demand for beef increases. This should be a good thing, but with the current sociopolitical movements, no one wants beef that's been raised in a feed yard. The hot commodity is grass-fed beef, and let me tell y'all, that just cannot be sustained on a large scale. Animal welfare groups are calling for our heads for the way we manage our herds, but federal grazing rights have been stripped from ranchers across the US, causing us to turn to alternate housing sources. "Organic" competitors are utilizing straw-man fallacies to distort the way consumers view traditionally raised products. Legislation is being passed to actively cut the legs off of our systems, and no one seems to care anything about it.
I won't go into detail about all of this. If I did you would be confused and exhausted by the time you finished reading. I do want to leave you with a charge, however. Take a moment to research before you simply believe what you are told. Investigate legislation you see that are related to agriculture, read studies about the science so that you can learn the science, and if you really want to get angry, look into the reopening of Brazilian beef markets in the United States.
