Editor:
On Dec. 2, I heard something that made me sad and very concerned. Carrie Underwood gave a very large amount of money to the Humane Society of the United States.
This very powerful group has been outspoken about Livestock Producers and the products they provide. The goal of the Humane Society of the United States is to have everyone in America become a vegetarian.
This year, Livestock Producers worked very hard to share information with the general public about farming and food production. Issue 2 was passed by the voters in Ohio in support of rural life and its contributions to our food chain.
Country music is the listening choice for the majority of the farming community. We are loyal supporters of the country artists who write, sing and entertain us. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that we are not offered the same loyalty.
For Ms. Underwood to give financial support to the Humane Society of the United States feels like a slap in the face to those of us involved with livestock production.
Until now, I have enjoyed the music of Carrie Underwood, but now I will be changing the radio station when her songs are aired. I need to take a stand about farming and I can not support someone who appears to be working with the very group who wants to eliminate my way of life.
Nanette Blazer
Newton Falls, Ohio
Carrie Underwood is an outspoken vegetarian, as is Shania Twain. A number of country music people were against issue 2. Willie Nelson and Farm Aid were against it, and they are the protectors of family farmers. I know of small farmers near where I live who were opposed to it. HSUS wasn’t even involved in issue 2! That was all hype! They have commercials on tv all the time about saving animals. Maybe Ms. Underwood loves animals and wasn’t even thinking about issue 2. Food and Water Watch, Sierra Club, Leaague of Women Voters, and Ohio Environmental Council were just a few of the groups opposed to Issue 2.
Cheryl is you kidding me! You have no idea what the HSUS stands for and you are defending them. Many of Carrie’s fans are farmers, Any organization that wants to end agriculture should not be supported by then or her. Cheryl you are a prime example of the wool being pulled over your eyes and the HSUS manipulating their cause into that of animal rescue, which it is not!
First off, I also have boycotted Carrie Underwood because of this. But I found out before Nanette did. Second off, I’m offended by people calling her a country music singer. She is a country pop person NOT a country singer. There is a big difference. Her stuff isn’t country and isn’t music. It’s just a bunch of loud noise and screaming. I listen to real country music, such as Hank Williams Jr., Johnny Cash and George Strait. This stuff today isn’t country music. I also strongly supported Issue 2 and won’t back down. By the way, I just heard PETA is calling for a ban on horse-drawn carriages and wearing fur. PETA is a bunch of ignorant, extremist city people who can’t get hold of reality.
You are overreacting. Vegetarians are GOOD for farmers, too. Who do you think grows the vegetable, grain and fruit crops that the vegetarians eat? HSUS may urge more people to become vegetarians, but my experience with them has been they don’t want to outlaw livestock farming. They do, however, want all animals – dogs, cats, wildlife and domestic farm animals treated humanely, not shoved into tiny cages and stalls where they barely have room to move. I buy some, unfortunately not all, of my beef from a local grower who has normal steers – they walk around in a large pasture. And they aren’t pumped full of growth hormones or prophelactially administered antibiotics. Being humane and being profitable are not mutually exclusive ideas. It’s no different than factories arguing they can’t make a profit unless they are allowed to dump hazardous waste and air pollutants onto our land and into our air. Bull!