Western Producer staff
Animal-rights activist Jeremy Rifkin has begun to target the bovine somatotrophin (BST) cow hormone and is encouraging milk dumpings across the U.S.
Dairy producers should keep careful vigil over Rifkin’s activities and be prepared for a long fight.
Never underestimate such an adversary — particularly if he has money, confused consumers, and the audacity of a persistent pit bull on his side.
As president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and of the Greenhouse Crisis Foundation, Rifkin has in the past attacked the agricultural industry with his strong anti-beef sentiments.
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Statements by this environmental guru are riddled with misleading or downright wrong “facts” but have brainwashed consumers, bamboozled politicians and cost agriculture dearly.
He blamed cattle for world starvation, inefficiently using up valuable water supplies, and creating the loss of the ozone layer. When his writings and lectures first began to reach Canadian organizations, the beef industry countered quickly with speakers, literature and media campaigns.
Organizations such as the Ontario Farm Council and the Foundation for Animal Care in Saskatchewan sprang up to unite the industry against environmentalist or animal rights propaganda.
However, it’s difficult to fight Rifkin and his associates when they have millions of dollars. Rifkin’s teachings are like prairie fires: When they seem to be extinguished, they suddenly ignite from sparks somewhere else.
Vegetarians and university campuses are the most susceptible. Campus newspapers across the country continue to include devoted letters repeating Rifkin fallacies.
Rifkin’s fight against BST may seem like a splash in the milk bucket for now, but don’t underestimate him.
His Pure Food Campaign is aimed at biotechnology in general. All that potential could be lost if Rifkin has his way.
The dairy industry has voiced concerns about legislating BST too quickly in Canada without properly educating the consumer.
Educating the consumer is fine, but dairy producers should focus more attention at the source of the misinformation. They should ask for the help of beef producers and others in stifling the words of this misguided environmental prophet.
There are other agricultural targets still ripe for his aim, and Canada hasn’t heard the last of him yet.
