(Red Meat == bad, yet another research comes out about that, processed meat too).

So why is animal research to improve human lives good and animal agriculture research to give detriment to human lives also good?

You have made an excellent point and it makes for a nice tie in to animal research. Many people, even those of us in the field, forget that not all animal research is dedicated to improving human causes. At land grant universities such as Penn State, there is a lot of research in agricultural animals to improve diets, housing, medical treatments, etc. I think you’re absolutely right that we have to join forces to work against groups such as HSUS and PETA and to show that what we do has a wide range of applications. Thanks for your reply.

I am a family farmer from Iowa, and HSUS has us in their sites as well. Farmers take great pride in caring for their animals as well. We raise pigs and all of our pigs are housed indoors. My sows are in individual stalls for their protection as well as mine.

Barns and rooms are cleaned and disinfected between groups. Rooms are kept between 65 and 70 degrees even during the cold Iowa winters. Sows get fed a balanced diet that a nutritionist develops for us, and the animals always have access to fresh water. All animals are checked twice per day and sick animals are given treatments to get them better. We have a veterinarian on call to help at any time.

Livestock is important to the economy in Iowa. HSUS would like to eliminate animal agriculture and have us all become vegans. Family farmers are proud of the fact that we produce healthy affordable food for the US consumer. If HSUS gets their way and eliminate the use of individual stalls, food will become more expensive than it is today.

Our industries need to work together to eliminate the misconseptions that HSUS and others put forward.