When New Food editor Josh Minchin interviewed Nebraska’s first female director of agriculture Sherry Vinton, they covered a lot of ground. This included the challenges facing agriculture in the state, such as animal activism – which Vinton says greater awareness of the realities of animal agriculture could help resolve.
Vinton fears that states like California, with its Proposition 12 (a law that defines the minimum amount of space that farmers must give to cows, pigs, and chickens held in confinement) could affect Nebraska’s markets moving forward.
“The farmer and rancher know best how to raise these animals,” she says.
“They’re our number one concern. If the animal is healthy and comfortable and able to produce more, we do better too.”
Vinton says the issue is that sometimes, people don’t understand the reality of animal agriculture, so their expectations may be unrealistic.
“I would invite anyone to come and see a real farm and see what we do. The level of comfort these animals are provided and the care that they receive is second to none.”