“Slaughter houses are disgusting, blood-infested buildings. Confinement buildings are nothing but a way for man to administer a slow, painful death to livestock. Pesticides and manure will be the cause of us losing all of our crops within the next ten years.”

MEAT-EATERS BEWARE!

If you have never heard these words come out of a vegetarian or vegan’s mouth before, then you are one of the lucky meat-eaters of the world.

For those of you who are clueless, a vegetarian is one who does not eat meat, and a vegan is one who does not eat anything that has anything to do with animals, not even honey.

Before this past summer, I had never thought twice about the controversy between meat-eaters and vegetarians. Heck, I didn’t even know what a vegan was. I guess I just didn’t think it was that big of an issue.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

As I went through internship orientation week at the botanical garden last summer, I learned quickly that this farm girl was the oddball of the group. Almost everyone around me dressed differently, had extremely different interests and definitely ate differently than me.

Most of the interns I would be working with for the entire summer were completely against the only way of living that I was familiar with.

During the first week at my job, I heard many of the quotes I have listed above, along with several others.

As I sat and listened quietly, I became angry. These people were knocking the lifestyle that puts food on the table for my family and many of my friends’ families.

There are two types of vegetarians and vegans. There are ones who choose not to eat meat products or animal products simply because they don’t like them, or they think they are unhealthy food products. This is also the group of people that won’t lecture people who do enjoy meat and feel that everyone has the right to do as they choose.

Although I disagree with the vegetarian philosophy, I respect this group of vegetarians and vegans because they are not forcing their opinion on others.

This brings me to the other group — the extremists. This group is convinced that they are right, and the rest of the world is wrong. They have little to no respect for the traditional, meat-eating lifestyle.

For example, I often heard my fellow interns express how they thought farmers are destroying animals’ lives by confining, selling and slaughtering them. I also got to hear all about how farmers are ruining the soil of America by using pesticides and some even felt using manure in the fields was a negative form of animal treatment. Give me a break! What else are we going to do with livestock feces?

I have been in plenty of confinement buildings in my day, and I know that some farmers keep those buildings cleaner than they do their own homes. So believe me, the livestock is not suffering.

Granted, pesticides might not be best for our soils, but from what I have learned on the farm, successfully planting 500 acres of corn without them is nearly impossible. Manure is definitely good for our soils, and if we didn’t use it, the fields and gardens wouldn’t be the same. I learned that at the botanical garden.

My theory on this issue is if we quit using pesticides and manure then that would create a food shortage for our nation and, hence, the world. If we start losing large quantities of our crops, then vegetarians and vegans would probably die, ’cause God knows they wouldn’t eat meat to survive.

My brother raises thousands of hogs every year and has several confinement buildings. My father raises beans and corn. Most of my cousins also farm in one way or another.

I am not your typical “live and die” type of farm kid. I am originally from a city in Arizona, but I have known the life of a farmer’s daughter for the last nine years. I must admit that I have not always defended this lifestyle, but I can now say that I am damn proud of my father, my brother and all farmers, for that matter.

This pride not only comes from knowing they have such a strong work ethic, but also because they have the patience to put up with the nonsensical arguments of extremist vegetarians.

We are all animals. It is natural for animals to eat other animals for survival.

After all, we’re all a part of this food chain. Now, if a deer can figure out a way to hunt me down and throw my buns on the grill, then more power to him. But until then, humans just happen to have a little more seniority on the food chain.

I have found that the extremist vegetarians I have encountered have never even taken the time to see a farmer’s crops or a confinement building. So to these extremists I say go visit a farm sometime and check it out. You might just understand the viewpoint of the farmers of America.

For now, I am going to go smell the cow and hog poop in the air and know that it’s the scent of money. After that, I think I am going to go cook myself a big, fat, juicy steak.

Giddy-Up!

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Amy Hillman is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Grand Junction.