In regards to Jeremy Oehlert’s column, “Eating meat is murderous and wasteful,” (March 8), we truly feel sorry for Oehlert. He will never have the privilege of understanding and appreciating agriculture in Iowa or eating our high-quality meat. Being citizens of Iowa, we feel he doesn’t quite understand what it is that makes our state great.

The biggest problem with Oehlert’s column is that he makes no mention of the benefits of the meat industry and animal agriculture as a whole. So, we have a few questions for him. Since when is land used for agriculture considered wasteful? Should we let the land erode to an unusable state, let developers ruin the quality of the land or force farmers to run their industry on inadequate land space? That would be wasteful. This land is used to feed America, and whether Oehlert likes it or not, I guarantee the food he eats every day comes straight from this “wasted” land.

As for his statements about meat and how vegetarians will live longer, we urge him to look at the facts regarding protein. Meat is the most complete protein source, providing the eight essential amino acids our bodies cannot produce. Sure, there are other ways to get protein, but we’ll stick to our meat.

To address his questions about animal handling and agriculture in Iowa, we request he talk to any ISU student who has ever worked with animals. Farmers care more about their animals than Oehlert will ever know or take the time to appreciate. Animals are their income, their life and their passion. If he can find anyone who would jeopardize their income, their livelihood and their passion by not treating animals ethically, we would be interested to meet him or her.

Livestock are not brought into this world to be our pets, our best friends or our equals. In short, livestock are meant to be eaten, plain and simple.

Give the farmers and producers of Iowa the credit that is due. We are good neighbors, not bad people. We care for our animals. We feed the world. We create jobs. We fuel Iowa’s economy.

Alison Dreeszen

Senior

Journalism and Mass Communication

Brianne Tabke

Senior

Agricultural Education and Communication