Foods With Benefits
Food has been sleeping around with your stomach and no condoms have ever been involved. It’s like a 60’s love fest in your belly. Groovy, baby.
It turns out that the human stomach isn’t that discriminating. It’s a go-with-the-flow kind of hipster dufus (probably wearing a fedora) who blindly trusts decisions made by the brain and mouth. Ha ha ha! Like they give a shit about downstream organs!
Tom’s Law #42
As one becomes less involved in the production and preparing of one’s own food, the odds of unwanted contaminants, unknown ingredients, lessened nutrition, deception and malice are exponentially increased.
Chew on that!
For example, the average fast food patron eats an average of 12 public hairs per year. And probably in a public place! Some things are meant to be handled in pubic.
Continue reading →
Crowbar Ranch: Ag-Gag Update
Some of the most successful posts on this humble blog pertained to Crowbar Ranch. That’s the term I came up with in 2010 for Conklin Dairy Farms where an employee was videotaped abusing animals.
It’s time for a very, very disturbing and frightening update. For those of us who were left wondering how industry might respond, now we have our answer.
Industry groups and forces with deep pockets and with purchased politicians in tow have joined forces to push for laws that will criminalize the act of secretly videotaping animal abuse.
Yes, you read that right. Industry could have responded by saying, “We are outraged. These cases are outlier events. We are eager police ourselves and prove that industry can be responsible. This sort of activity will never be tolerated.”
They could have done that. They didn’t. Instead they unleashed their lobbyists and let the money flow to politicians who now support draconian industry-sponsored legislation.
Stop animal abuse or attempt to stop those who attempt to uncover it? That’s a tough choice for some. The farm industry is basically saying, “We want the right and the protection for animal abuse to continue. And we will do whatever it takes to protect this status quo. Even labeling those who seek to expose the truth as criminals and terrorists.”
Is it too much to ask that an industry that profits from animals should be expected to treat the animals responsibly? Industry steps up and emphatically responds, “Yes!!! That is too much to ask.”
Sad.
It’s not just about the animals, either. Some experts have speculated about the deleterious effects to the food supply and the risk it poses to the health of human beings. As usual we are more than willing to cut off our noses to spite our faces if, while in the process, we can make a few bucks.
Transparency is the best weapon against this sort of thing. Most forms of evil thrive best in the seclusion of privacy.
So called “Ag-Gag” laws criminalize attempts to discover animal abuse by means of secret videotape, failure to disclose ties to animal rights groups during the hiring process, and require all video to be turned over to police within 24-48 hours, etc. (The latter eliminates the power of viral videos.) A bill in Arkansas seeks to prevent “harm” to a “livestock or poultry operation.” Animal abuse is acceptable but don’t try to harm a sacred cow like an “operation.” (Rhymes with “corporation.”)
Last year, Missouri, Utah and Iowa passed ag-gag laws. There are now five states with ag-gag laws on the books.
In a bit of good news, three states (New Mexico, New Hampshire and Wyoming) killed proposed ag-gag legislation this year.
Even so, more states are currently considering getting on board in the ag-gag game: Arkansas, California (the land of “happy” cows), Indiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont (the home of Ben & Jerry’s).
Without the power of video people will still have the right to report what they see. And we all know how that story turns out. They’ll be fired, harassed, maligned and marginalized and caught in a He Said, She Said situation where nothing of any value will ever happen. Industry thinks of that outcome as the freedom to operate with total impunity.
Behold the power of the agricultural lobbies. They can take fast, swift and decisive action when they are in the mood. Unfortunately they have opted to use this power for ill. It’s enough to make me sick to my stomach.
Important reading:
Meat Me in Montana
Hey! What are you doing? Are you checking out my marbling? Well cut that out! I’m not a piece of … well, you get the idea.
Big Bird has been pondering what new career opportunities might present themselves if his funding gets cut. Let’s put it like this: He doesn’t want to end up at Chick-Fil-A.
So, at his urging, it’s time for a post about your friend and mine. This post will explore a few randomized thoughts about meat. Some will be deadly serious and no joking matter. Some will be as frivolous as what you’ve come to expect from the likes of me. Some will be philosophical. And at least one will be a reveal of a personal nature. I hope you’ll find this post to be a cut above the rest.
Does this post have anything to do with Montana? Not really, if you get the cut of my jib.
Make the jump for the first cut-scene.
Continue reading →
Follow-up: Gary Conklin and Crowbar Ranch
In case you missed it, go read Crowbar the Cow for a recap regarding the story of workers at a dairy farm caught beating cows with crowbars, pitchforks and metal pipes.
Ever get stuck for a new post idea on your blog? On idea is to go back and check something you’ve written about and see if you can find anything new.
Gary Conklin. That’s a name that has been stuck (no pun intended) in my mind ever since I first heard about the story involving workers at a dairy farm attacking cows with crowbars and pitchforks. Ungh. Can we go even one day without constant reminders of what we humans are capable of?
Gary Conklin. The guy is the owner of Conklin Dairy Farms, a fourth generation family owned dairy in Plain City, Ohio.
Gary Conklin. Who, as seen on video footage, personally joins in on the abuse of dairy cattle.
A fourth generation family owned dairy farm that has landed in the lap of Gary Conklin. I’m sure pa, grandpa, and great-grandpa must all be very proud of their progeny.
I went looking for an update on this story. One of Conklin’s workers who was featured in 20 hours of video and charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty. Last I heard bail for this worker, Billy Joe Gregg, age 25, had been set at $100,000. Woot!
However, Conklin himself was also seen in the footage taking an active part in the abuse of dairy cattle. I was curious. What was his status?
Well, as far as I can tell, the man himself has so far avoided animal cruelty charged. What a crock of cow pies!
It seems, however, that something stinks at Conklin Dairy Farms besides animal cruelty. Since this story broke the state of Ohio has issued a “notice of violation” against Conklin Dairy Farms after dead cows were found “improperly disposed” in a open pit in violation of state law. Ohio law requires that bovine carcasses must be buried at least four feet underground. A subsequent visit by a state inspector found that the violation had been corrected.
Our hero, Gary Conklin, had previously petitioned the state Department of Agriculture to upgrade the dairy farm’s “milk rating” from Grade B. A milk rating of Grade B in Ohio is only sufficient for milk produced at the dairy to be made into cheese. (What a lovely and comforting thought for us cheese eaters!) A milk rating of Grade A is required in order to sell milk for “human consumption.” (That’s odd. I thought humans ate cheese, too.)
In other recent developments, our other hero, Billy Joe, appeared before a judge and said he’s a wounded Iraq war veteran and that he needed to be released from jail so he could “take care of” his own animals. Oh sweet irony! And, get this, he needs to get out of jail to continue working on his degree in fucking “law enforcement.” Jesus Christ! If this guy ever qualifies to be a police officer we’re going to have to fucking nuke the whole state!
Everyone knows you don’t put the wolf in charge of the hen house!
And it doesn’t stop there. We’ve learned even more about Billy Joe. He’s seen on the video taking guns into the milk house, firing them, and also bragged about stealing M-16 guns from the U.S. Army in Iraq.
If there was ever a guy who should never be a cop this is it. My own opinion is that if you are sick enough to actually get off on that sort of treatment of animals it is only a small step up to move on to the real thing. Know what I mean?
I’m hoping and praying for a happy ending to this sordid tale. That means Billy Joe kept away from animals and humans and Gary Conklin facing criminal charges for his own incidents of animal cruelty. He’s hoping Conklin’s “business owner” card doesn’t turn into a “get out of jail free” card. Please let there be justice!
Crowbar the Cow
Ah, humans. Is there anything they can’t do?
Today’s bit of gushing goodness comes to us from Plain City, Ohio, home of the world famous Conklin Dairy Farms. Of course, in this context, the word “gushing” means blood.
One of their employees, a wonderful young man named Billy Joe Gregg, Jr., age 25, was recently video taped by an animal welfare group. What, pray tell, did the videos show? Billy Joe and other workers doing things like:
- beating cows with crowbars.
- poking cows with pitchforks.
- striking cows with metal pipes.
- holding down newborn calves and stomping on their heads.
- wiring a cow’s nose to a metal bar while it was beaten.
- punching and striking cows in the face.
I often hear people say that when it comes to your job, you gotta love what you do. Billy Joe sure seems to have a certain sort of enthusiasm about his, eh? He’s already done more in his short life than I ever could. Imagine, he still has his whole life in front of him! Of course, I find the techniques described above a little odd for a dairy operation. Maybe this ain’t exactly what you’d call a modernized dairy.
Our good old boy Billy Joe was jailed and charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty. Each count has a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.
Meanwhile, the good folks at Conklin Dairy Farms were quick to point out that this sort of behavior on the part of their employees is not condoned. They condemned what was shown on the 20 hours of raw video, fired Billy Joe, and said they were cooperating with the authorities.
“We will not condone animal abuse on our farm,” the dairy said in a statement released Wednesday. “We have launched our own internal investigation into this matter and will be conducting interviews with everyone on our farm who works with our animals.” (Source.)
How very touching. The dairy wants to maintain a certain public image after their employees were caught red-handed doing unspeakable things.
We have conducted an initial review of the video that the activist group has released. The video shows animal care that is clearly inconsistent with the high standards we set for our farm and its workers, and we find the specific mistreatment shown on the video to be reprehensible and unacceptable. (Source: Conklin Dairy Cattle Sales LLC media release.)
Eh? “High standards” must mean something different to the Conklins. Maybe it means management is required to be intoxicated all the time. Who the hell knows?
My simply question? How could the dairy possibly not have know what was going on? The total lack of supervision required for that level of ignorance is almost unimaginable. They don’t even know what their employees are doing? Pulverized cows are invisible??? Either that dairy is one of the most mismanaged operations in history or their public statements are full of shit.
But that’s the rub, isn’t it? Whether the dairy ownership knew about the behavior or not is utterly irrelevant. “We couldn’t be bothered to look” is the card that is too often played in these sorts of situations. Sorry, but failure to keep yourself informed about your own operation is not a valid defense. By owning and operating the dairy you are responsible whether you decided to keep yourself informed about your fucking employees or not.
Conklin Dairy Farms has their “high standards” or so they say. They allow their employees to engage in disgusting behavior, either with the organization’s implied consent or by their own indifference, then they quickly throw their employees under the bus as soon as they are caught in an attempt to salvage their own image. That’s classy.
Judging by some of the recent comments on Google, I think Conklin Dairy Farms may have a few problems in the days ahead. I call that justice.
Moral of the story: Never hire someone named “Billy Joe” and leave him alone with your cattle when it could destroy your entire operation and livlihood. Ooops.
Stick a pitchform in them. They are done!
Click here to see public comments regarding Conklin Dairy Farms from Google Maps
Text of media release:
DONNA MILLER – Media Statement – Conklin farm
CONKLIN DAIRY CATTLE SALES LLC
Media Statement – Conklin Dairy Cattle Sales LLC – May 25, 2010, 10:15pm
The following statement can be attributed to Gary Conklin of Conklin Dairy Cattle Sales LLC in Plain City, Ohio.
The statement is issued in response to a release of undercover video by an animal activist group.
“As fourth-generation farmers, our family takes the care of our cows and calves very seriously. We take equally seriously the allegations that have been made about our farm operation and the mistreatment of our animals.
“We have conducted an initial review of the video that the activist group has released. The video shows animal care that is clearly inconsistent with the high standards we set for our farm and its workers, and we find the specific mistreatment shown on the video to be reprehensible and unacceptable.
“We will not condone animal abuse on our farm. We have launched our own internal investigation into this matter and will be conducting interviews with everyone on our farm who works with our animals. We will immediately terminate any farm worker found to have willfully abused our cows and calves.
“We intend to cooperate fully with authorities in this situation. Further, our farm will institute immediate retraining of all those who remain on the farm and who work with our animals.
“The trust of our customers in the way we operate our farm, care for our herds and produce quality, safe milk is of critical importance to us, and we will work to maintain that trust as we address this issue.”
###
Greetings, to ALL Earthlings
Some Earthlings share a water hole
“I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.”
–Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln’s cat, Tabby, was the first of several White House cats. Source.
Here’s a bit more about Lincoln and his love of animals:
Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth President, loved cats and could play with them for hours. When asked if her husband had a hobby, Mary Todd Lincoln replied, “cats.” President Lincoln visited General Grant at City Point, Virginia in March of 1865. The civil war was drawing to a close and the enormous task of reuniting the country lay ahead, yet the President made time to care for three orphaned kittens. Abraham Lincoln noticed three stray kittens in the telegraph hut. Picking them up and placing them in his lap, he asked about their mother. When the President learned that the kittens’ mother was dead, he made sure the kittens would be fed and a good home found for them.
President Lincoln’s compassion extended to turkeys, too. Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation on October 3, 1863, setting aside the last Thursday of November, “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” A turkey was sent to the White House for Thanksgiving dinner in 1863, and Tad, Lincoln’s son, named him Tom. Tad befriended the turkey and pleaded with his father to grant “Tom” a stay of execution. Abraham Lincoln took time out from a cabinet meeting to issue “an order of reprieve,” sparing the turkey’s life.
Mr. Lincoln’s compassion extended to dogs, too. Fido was a mixed breed with floppy ears and a yellowish coat. When fireworks and cannons announced Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the Presidential election of 1860, poor Fido was terrified. The Lincolns were worried that the long train trip to Washington,DC, combined with loud noises, would terrify Fido. John and Frank Roll, two neighborhood boys, promised to take good care of Fido. Mr. Lincoln made them promise to let Fido inside the house whenever he scratched at the front door, never scold Fido for entering the house with muddy paws, and feed him if he came to the dinner table. The Lincolns gave the Rolls their sofa so Fido would feel at home! Did you know “Fido” is Latin? Fido is from “Fidelitas” which translates as “faithful.”
Nanny and Nanko were White House goats. Tad and Willie liked to hitch the goats to carts or kitchen chairs and have the goats pull them through the White House. Both Nanny and Nanko liked to chew things. Nanny got in trouble for chewing up the flowers at the Old Soldier’s Home. Nanko got in trouble for chewing the bulbs planted by White House Gardener, John Watt.
The Lincolns also had rabbits and cats. Mr. Lincoln named his horse Old Bob. Old Bob was the rider-less horse with a pair of boots turned backward in the stirrups in Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession.
Source: NPS.gov
While researching Joaquin Phoenix for a blog post I discovered that he had narrated a film called “Earthlings” back in 2007.
Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, EARTHLINGS chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
This powerful movie currently has a rating of 8.4 out of 10 starts over at IMDb.
And, I just found out yesterday, this movie is being made available for free at the web site earthlings.com. If you care about how animals are treated on this planet it is a movie I highly recommend.
DISCLAIMER: The film is extremely graphic and contains a lot of footage depicting the killing of animals. This is an important film but may be too upsetting for some viewers.
If you are willing to take a look, visit the earthlings.com, click “Watch Now” near the top-right corner, then scroll down to the bottom and click the thumbnail image labeled “Full video.”
Shouts from the Abyss 
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