Thoughts on Veganism, Regenerative Agriculture, and Playing Nice with Others

You guys. I made the vegans real mad. I was just doing my thing, posting my videos on Facebook and YouTube, continuing to further my goal of educating humans about animal agriculture. As I usually say, I respect people’s choice to eat how they want to eat, live how they want to live, etc. I do not, nor do I wish to, actively seek out conflict with anyone who makes different choices than I do. However, that’s not always how everyone else chooses to go about life.

Now, that’s okay. That’s just as much their choice as is what food they use to fuel their bodies, clothes they chose to wear, or cars they chose to drive, just like it’s my choice to share my own thoughts and opinions on these matters. The difference is that I can appreciate someone with a different point of view without instantly assuming the worst possible things about that other person.

For one, I made a quick video you can reference to learn a little bit more about how animal agriculture actually makes a vegan lifestyle possible.

However, this video garnered even more exciting comments on all the ways in which those who live and work in animal agriculture are REALLY not great people. One comment accused me of sexual assault and murder, and I won’t lie. That made me more than a touch curious as to what people think is going on around Wilsonview Dairy. Another commenter suggested I don’t understand veganism at all. So, let’s clarify a few things.

I will always support people’s choice in how they feed themselves. I feel totally comfortable with being “called out” by others with differing opinions. In fact, I encourage it as part of the steps of the scientific method. Innovation is not created in a silo (except maybe those super cool ones that have been turned into AirBnB’s). I simply ask that people do their research before they assume I commit atrocities on my farm. There are absolutely parts of being a dairy farmer that may seem odd to someone who has never step foot in a diary barn. That’s one of the main reasons I invest so much of my time trying to educate people who may not have the opportunity to be exposed to animal agriculture in their daily life. In fact, I made an entire Facebook page for this very reason. In fact, I offer even more in-depth conversation and discussion here.

I have done a fair amount of research on veganism. If I’m going to make videos educating others, I feel like it’s only fair to try and educate myself first. I believe many vegans come to the proverbial table with good intentions. They don’t want to see animals harmed or mistreated. They don’t want our finite resources to be exploited. They have concerns about global warming. I would venture to say that none of those concerns are irrational or bad. Rather, I feel some vegans don’t take into account that many people who work in animal agriculture share those same concerns.

My girls are incredibly important to me. If I were to find out someone mistreated one of them, I think it would be mild to say I’d be displeased. God help them if Reagan and Lambie were to find out. Traci would be right behind them. She knows how much I care about keeping my girls healthy. I also take exception to the comment mentioning my girls were deformed. I will not be telling them about that. Could you imagine the damage to their self-esteem? We practice body-positivity around these parts.

I am also incredibly cognizant of the finite resources on our planet, and the need to take science based action on global warming. In fact, some research suggest vegans and those in animal agriculture can only truly make the kinds of necessary changes we need by working together, i.e. we cannot eliminate animal agriculture if we want to make real change. The regenerative agriculture movement believes livestock animals are integral to saving the planet.

Now, not everyone is going to agree, but there is credible research showing that livestock will play an invaluable part in “helping with carbon sequestration, soil biodiversity, nutrient distribution, and weed control.” Is regenerative agriculture the answer? That has yet to be determined. However, I have yet to find any scientific evidence that truly shows how eliminating animal agriculture will make for a healthier planet. Most research actually shows the opposite, and the practices used to grow vegan products may actually be making soil degradation worse.

I don’t have all the answers. I do know that we’re only going to make agriculture better by working together, rather than leaving nasty comments on my YouTube videos. I make every effort to be transparent. I want to engage in meaningful conversation. If you’re ready to do that, let’s talk.