Thursday, October 15, 2009

“It’s not realistic to have 40-acre farms with a mule.”

Pollan is going to be challenged wherever he goes.

It seems like agriculture is not going to let these (Pollan, HSUS, PETA) anti-agriculture individuals walk onto our campus without a little bit of a challenge and that is the way it should be.

On Thursday, Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," was schedule to speak at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo University. However, after criticism from Harris Ranch Beef Company chairman the format was changed from a single speaker lecture to a panel discussion with representation form both sides of the issue.

Now, there is a catch David Wood, Harris Ranch Beef Company chairman, is a potential donor to the school. Wood had already made a pledge of $150,000 to the university's meat-processing center, and Harris Ranch owner, John Harris, had pledged $350,000. Both were rethinking their donation after news of Pollan's appearance, which lead to the change in format. You can view the full article here.

I guess I am glad that these donors threw their weight around a little. I am all for open discussion, but I agree that both sides of the argument need to be expressed. Especially since Pollan has been criticized for not backing up his claims with fact.

I hope more agriculture groups and students step up the plate when these anti-agriculture groups show up on our campuses. Take a look and see how MSU students handled a PETA situation a few weeks ago.

2 comments:

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