Bonnie, thank you for sharing your opinion and insights.

I got something different out of the story. But to each her own.

It is of my opinion from what I know of John Robbins, is that he is an ethical person. It is my understanding that he gave up his part of the Baskin Robbins fortune, because of his beliefs. I personally don't see someone with these type of personal ethics to make up stories.

John's uncle, Burton Baskin, a co-founder of Baskin-Robbins, died in his early 50's from a fatal heart attack. John talks about it in his book, The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World on page 11.

"The only son of the founder of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire, John Robbins was groomed to follow in his father's footsteps, but chose to walk away from Baskin-Robbins and the immense wealth it represented to ".....pursue the deeper American Dream...the dream of a society at peace with its conscience because it respects and lives in harmony with all life forms. A dream of a society that is truly healthy, practicing a wise and compassionate stewardship of a balanced ecosystem."

If John's writings were lies, I would think that the meat industry would purse something more against John, then to send him parcels of bovine excrement. Instead of getting angry, he just applies it to his garden. A Little Insight into John Robbins by Ted Altar. Remember the cattle industry went after Oprah and Howard Lyman. Howard Lyman: The Mad Cowboy

Being Human in This World, A Personal Credo by John Robbins

John Robbins is a recipient of the Rachel Carson Award, the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, and the Peace Abbey's Courage of Conscience Award.

Crater,
You simply have no understanding of the type of mind set you are dealing with. For those that do this they will tell you they are operating with the highest ethics. Whatever it takes to shut down, make more rigid the laws of these evil people that raise animals for food consumption. One on one they will tell you they will lie if necessary and will accommplish what they consider the best for the animal.
And most is not opinion thank you, it is from living on a farm for seventeen years, and having neighbors that raised hogs

The first thing he is dead wrong on is his description of the housing of the hogs. Generally only the sows are crated and done so in such a way as to allow the babies to nurse at will without the mother laying on them and smothering them.
Funny he didn't mention any baby pigs having to scale a height of three crate to nurse.

As to this man's son having to butcher the pet pig by himself, almost certainly not true. I could give you a very descriptive account of how this is done on the farm, but for those squemish will forgo that. A young boy or teen cannot kill and butcher a full grown pig.
But many farm children have seen an animal that they have made a pet of butchered and eaten.

No responsible livestock raiser will allow people into his facilities randomly. Just doesn't happen. No livestock raiser knowlingly and willingly allows any animal rights activist on the place. As soon as they realize who they are, they are shown the shortest route to leave.

What do you expect that the livestock raiser can or should do against people like this. I will take a quick check and give you a link to some pig crates and then maybe you can tell me how these can be stacked three high and yet allow for the nursing of the babies.

Not opinion, mainly 17 years experience with animal activists and having farmers for neighbors.

These are the same people that DO NOT want sheep sheared. Nor do they want their tails docked and if they could you would be put out of business. Docking tails serves a very real purpose

Can someone explain how they think these type of crates are stacked three high and yet the babises have a way to nurse in the feces and uring. Not going to happen by anyone remotely concerned with the bottom line

http://www.vittetoe.com/farrowing.htm

Here is a classic example of their less than honest approach. For those that are unfamiliar they just suck up the propaganda they are fed.


HSUS >> Factory Farming >> Multimedia >> Gallery >> Pigs
Mutilations and Overcrowding




(quote)USDA
Factory-farmed pigs raised for meat undergo painful mutilations—including castration and tail docking—without anesthesia. For six months, they are fattened in overcrowded, filthy sheds or pens.(/quote)

What a bunch of nonesense and No not opinion. I did both while raising cattle and sheep.

By the time you could deaden the area, which is not without discomfort by itself, the job is done. That is the type of explaintion that is conveniently left out.



A animal that is in pain does not nurse or join in with the with the antics of the other young stock.
By the time I was done docking and castrating an animal it took all of 3 minutes max to do it, disinfect and watch to see there were no adverse affects. They would immediately run back to nursing and running around.

I read this thread this morning. I just studied the the SS lesson for today, and in the very first scripture, Luke 5:1-11, Jesus works a miracle for Peter by having him let down his fishing net and supernaturally filling it with fish.

I wonder how many PETA supporters consider this animal abuse by Jesus, as those fish came into Peter's net at the command of Jesus. He, for all intents and purposes, killed those fish so that people could eat.