Agricultural News
Ag Commentator Urges Consumers to Make Beef Decisions Based on Fact, not Emotion
Fri, 04 May 2012 15:26:51 CDT
Trent Loos, a Nebraska rancher, radio commentator, writer and speaker on farm issues recently attended the Oklahoma FFA State Convention in Oklahoma City.
In his articles, speeches and programs, Loos urges his audiences to examine the facts and make sound decisions based on facts, not misinformation.
He spoke with Ron Hays at the convention and addressed a number issues including the controversy around Lean Finely Textured Beef where the market for the product dried up almost overnight after stories appeared in the media questioning it. Loos says that everyone in the cattle industry shares some of the blame for the economic impact that has resulted.
"Now we have 600 people that are not employed. Now we have the rejection of a technology that eliminated the need for 1.5 million additional cattle in the pipeline each year. And, most importantly, it's part of the American agricultural system of producing more with less. And we've had a hiccup. And it's all because of a bunch of internet folklore that's simply not true.
"So, I accept the responsibility, along with everyone and particularly the beef industry and all of agriculture, that we did not respond quickly enough."
He says the only way he knows to resolve the problem is by fighting disinformation with facts. He has come up with an image that helps him explain to people why getting so upset over LFTB that contains trace amounts of ammonium hydroxide is nonsensical.
"If you're worried about the ammonium hydroxide that we use in Lean Finely Textured Beef, make sure you understand the whole picture. Because if you were to take a bacon double cheeseburger and the burger using Lean Finely Textured Beef, there is three times as much ammonia in the cheese as there is in the burger. There's twice as much ammonia in the bun as there is in the burger. There is more ammonia in the individual packets of ketchup and mustard and mayonnaise than there is in the burger and everybody's worried about what's going on with the burger."
He says all the uproar over LFTB is artificially manufactured by people and organizations with ulterior motives. He says they've learned the public can be easily stampeded.
"There are some true lessons to be learned: If people want to create fear and pandemonium over misinformation, involve school kids and anything can happen. And we should have known right away when they started talking about the school lunch program that we needed to get on top of this because our nation's food supply is at risk. And it's the consumer, by the way, that's going to pay the price.
Loos says he doesn't see an easy way to turn back the clock on LFTB. It will only be through deliberate action that the damaged inflicted by the "pink slime" scare will be undone.
"Every day. Every person we talk to. In every way. We all want the silver bullet. We want the perfect celebrity spokesman, whatever the case may be. The truth of the matter is that if you eat, you're involved in the American agricultural system and you need to make sure that your purchase decisions are based upon the facts, not something that you heard."
Loos says that at its root, the "pink slime" scare is just another tactic in a long series of battles fought with those who don't have the best interests of the country at heart.
"If you look at a way to cripple the backbone of America-I'm not talking about American agriculture, I'm talking about America-it's the places we add value to the grains and crops that are produced on United States' farms and ranches. And we do that through livestock and livestock finds a way to improve lives not only in the United States but around the world. And so we have a concerted effort that truly is finding a way to penalize and destroy the core of America which is value added livestock agriculture and that's what we've got to expose and make sure people really understand what we're working against."
He says the same type of disinformation campaign is being used by those who would exploit the discovery of a single case of BSE in California recently, but he says, long term, he's encouraged by what he sees as he travels the country to places like the FFA convention in Oklahoma City.
"Here we've got 4,000 young people wearing a blue jacket that are fed up with people telling them that as a kid they shouldn't work on a farm because it's dangerous. They're fed up with the government telling them we're going to eliminate French fries from your school lunch program because you're getting fat. They understand that all of this information is based upon fear and sensationalism and not based in reality. That's who I see grabbing the reins, driving the bus and saying 'We're going to travel this country and we're going to let people know what's really important for the future of our nation. And that is domestic supplies of food, fiber, pharmaceuticals and fuel coming from rural Oklahoma, rural America like the founding fathers intended for it to."
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear the full interview with Trent Loos.
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