Amanda Radke, of Mitchell, South Dakota, serves as a mouthpiece for America?s beef industry.
When she first started advocating for America’s producers, animal welfare posed the biggest threat to livestock production. Today, she believes a much larger issue threatens producers’ livelihoods.
Climate change has recently been tied to animal agriculture. Amanda Radke, fifth generation cattle rancher, cites a current example.
?Savannah Guthrie on the Today show said, ?These plant-based burgers don?t taste good. But it?s not about you; it?s about the plant.? It?s guilting people into saying, ?I can?t eat meat because I?m concerned about climate change.? We know that?s not based on facts. That?s propaganda,? Radke said.
Radke cites several resources, which suggest livestock production plays a small role in climate change. Among her favorite is Frank Mitloehner, professor at UC Davis.
?He?s an air quality specialist, studying greenhouse gas emissions. He debunked the 2006 Livestock?s Long Shadow, a report from the UN, which claimed beef cattle contribute upwards of 20-percent of greenhouse gas emissions,” Radke said. “He aligns with the EPA who presented that its (contribution is) between three- and four-percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation and electricity are 25- and 29-percent.?
Radke says producers can overcome this challenge by ?finding shared values with consumers.?
?Because I?m tied to agriculture, I feel confident when I go to the grocery store. Our consumers do not. They end up paying a lot of money for these assurances and guarantees because they aren?t sure conventional agriculture is doing what?s right. I think we have a responsibility to find those values our consumers are concerned about, whether it?s animal welfare, environment, nutrition, taste, budget, food or safety, and connect with them on those values,? Radke said.
