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Show Protect nho's rights BY FRANK O. NBHIGUCHI, UTAH FARM BUREAU FEDERATION Americans have always been concerned about preserving the rights of other citizens to 'do their own thing', as long as exerting such freedoms didn't Impose on someone else's freedoms. The Founding Fathers of this nation went to a great deal of effort to protect our freedom to do things not harmful harm-ful to others. Today, In America, we have a small troup of people dedicated to a cause that would have all of us do as they do, not as we want to do. It's in the area of food production pro-duction and diet. Calling themselves protectors of animal welfare, this group the radical vegetarians vegetari-ans Is working to put an end to the use of animals to provide food or fiber for human use. Dennis White of the Humane Association Associ-ation states that the animal rights movement move-ment supported by these radicals 'will not tolerate any type of animal exploitation, experimentation, ex-perimentation, farming, killing or other areas where animals can benefit man.' That goal, If put Into practice, would eliminate from the human diet such products as honey, milk -including cheese, butter, ice cream, meat-lncludlng meat-lncludlng poultry and fish, eggs, gelatin and others. (Question: Would fruit also be eliminated, elimi-nated, along with other crops that depend on insect pollination?) The movement would also have us end the use of wool, leather, fur, feathers and down, and other animal products in clothing and other products. A less radical element of the animal welfare movement aims to protect certain rights of animals but recognizes that animals have been used for man's benefit for years. In the early 1960's a study group In Great Britain made managerial recommendations recommen-dations to Parlalment that suggested five basic freedoms the right to get up, lie down, turn around, stretch and groom.' Over the years other rights have been listed, such as adequate fresh air, sufficient food for health and vigor, readily accessible fresh water, and others. Animal rights workers seem to imply that farmers are not Interested In providing provid-ing those things to the livestock that provide pro-vide a living for them, and that provide American consumers with the tastiest, most varied, safest and most inexpensive diet in the history of the world. Farmers and ranchers have the greatest interest of anyone in keeping their animals well fed and watered, relatively free from drafts and cold or heat and free from stress. The ranks of dairymen are filled with wives discouraged because their husbands spend too much time with the cows. Many a poultry house Is better ventilated than the farm house. Ample meat In the diet is a basic measure meas-ure of a nation's standard of living. When a developing nation reaches that point, the major change in its citizen's diet is an additional meat. Most of the innovations In confinement rearing of livestock and poultry cam e about as answers to problems of the animals; laying hens were put into cages to avoic the incidence of internal parasites; calves were put in pens to avoid high mortality 0: open houslng;sheep were penned up to thwari coyotes and other predators. You don't force animal production. It is an animals response to the conditions we pro. vide for it. The animal rewards us for whai we give it. But the basic question for Americans, should still be this: Does one person 01 group hjave the right to decide what othei people will or will not eat, when food safetj is not at stake? |