The Cook County Farm Bureau sponsors an annual Ag Day event for Chicagoland students and promotes it under the guise of “learning about some of the top Illinois agriculture commodities. Students spent two hours rotating through stations, horticulture, dairy/beef, pork, embryology and learning how farmers ‘care” for their animals at the “live animal” station. The truth is "The cows will be sold later this year by students who keep a lookout for ideal prices on the beef market.”
By teaching students to review beef prices, the benefit is gained only by those who make a living off of commodifying animals — artificially breeding; that is raising them quickly to “market weight” and violently killing them in their youth, at just a fraction of their natural lifespan.
The program should actually help and care for the animals and teach students empathy and compassion, and it’s simple enough to encourage plant-based farming. Why is the Farm Bureau sponsoring any type of slaughter-based programming in this day and age? Two cows of six recently escaped from one school and were eventually returned so that they can be sold for slaughter. The students care, feed and bond with them so that these living creatures will then be killed for a profit? It’s more likely traumatic and upsetting for the students, not educational. They would have a much better experience that doesn’t promote violence and cruelty if the Ag Day event concentrated on plant based farming and the caring of animals for non-food consumption.
Let’s honor our farmers by encouraging sustainability and environmental stewardship as more and more people understand the benefits of vegetarianism and veganism. Let’s teach our students the importance of horticulture farming while teaching empathy and compassion for all living animals. They are living creatures, not commodities like sugar and beets.
December, 2015
To: Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences
To Whom It May Concern:
Please see the attached petition which protests the housing of farm animals at your school.
Recently, your students spent two hours rotating through stations, horticulture, dairy/beef, pork, embryology and learning how farmers ‘care” for their animals at the “live animal” station. The truth is "The cows will be sold later this year by students who keep a lookout for ideal prices on the beef market.”
The program should actually help and care for the animals and teach students empathy and compassion, and it’s simple enough to encourage plant-based farming. Why are you promoting any type of slaughter-based programming in this day and age? Getting to know these animals and naming them and then sending them to be killed is traumatic to students, not helpful.
These animals should go to a sanctuary to be able to live their lives out in peace.
Sincerely,
The over 400 people who signed this petition.
