Pelotonia Recap

It's been a few weeks now since the Pelotonia and life still hasn't slowed down enough for me to take a break and recap this great ride, so I'm stealing a few minutes at work. It is fresh in my mind because I just wrote the thank you letter we will be sending to our donors and I want to blog just a bit while it's in my head.

The ride was much more fun for me than last year. I know where I'm going now and had trained more properly for the long ride. Hills weren't something I trained for, but at least I'd racked up a few 50 mile rides prior to the big day. Knowing where you're going is not overrated in the slightest. I knew every big hill, dangerous intersection and even when to save water between fill-ups. I guess that's what you'd call a veteran, and at 2 out of the 3 years the ride has existed, I did feel a bit like a pro at it.

Amanda and I were separated the day of the ride. Luckily, she and Mom could ride together, but the 43 milers were released in a different time than the 102 and we couldn't afford to wait the extra hour to go. The early morning hours are so critical when you're riding as far as we were. By the time we got into mile 70, the heat was terrible and an air quality alert was out. If weren't out of the hills by then, the girl riding with us might not have made it. She was already strapped for lung and energy capacity as it was.

I think this year's ride had a lot more gravity to it than last year. Becky, a family friend of Amanda's, died the week of the Pelotonia despite the best treatment available and heartfelt prayers for a miracle until the very end. She left behind a young husband and younger children, one of which is too young to even ever have a memory of her mother. It is for the future of people like this that we rode and I know Becky weighed heavily on both Amanda's and my minds as we rode towards the finish line, only to leave from there to a wake.

The people on this day are so amazing. I know I said this last year too, but as you ride through towns, up hills, past farms, and even at the random hilltop stop in the Hocking Hills, there were people out ringing cowbells, cheering, honking and waving at us. They were so supportive of our efforts and I felt very appreciated. For those of you who supported us during the ride or before it in some way or another, I just want to pass along these peoples' appreciation to you. To quote the great Red Green, "Remember, we're all in this together, and I'm pulling for you."



Pelotonia has already raised $9.5 million and it's still about 40 days from the fundraising ending. We're sending out thank yous now, and in about 2 months this all starts again. It feels like this Pelotonia adventure never ends, especially now that Amanda and I are captaining a group which is ever-expanding (hopefully 10+ riders in 2012). With such a large group, we're going to need bigger corporate sponsors (Thanks this year to Champion Feed & Pet Supply, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and Amanda Hills Spring Water) totaling close to $10,000. If you know of anyone or want to join our cause, keep an eye out for a link to a Facebook group for 2012. It's the next step after our thank yous.

Our day ended with a country concert by a group called Bomshel. I was pretty content to just sit there and eat big, drink a beer and listen to them. But even though the day was over, our work is far from done. Patients still need treatments, children need to know about preventions, and families need hope for a cure.

ODA Civil Penalties for Welfare Violations (duplicate post)

The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board met and finished the released draft of their proposed civil penalties for livestock neglect and abuse. I read through the draft and am impressed by the timeliness of this released document as well as the increased stringency of the proposed fines and punishment. Hopefully these proposed penalties will be enough to deter those farmers who potentially would give a bad name to the rest of farmers doing a good job of caring for their animals in Ohio.

Response from Edie

I checked OFBF repeatedly through the night and finally received response for my comments yesterday. For those of you who don't know, the link below is the petition being circulated by the HSUS. Please view the response and my discussion.

Edie Olson:
Thank you for your response Benjamin. I can definitely see where you are coming from and it makes sense.

https://hsus.salsalabs.com/o/17002/images/OH%202010%20language.pdf

I can see how your statement applies to #1. Ok, you want some evidence/scientific reasoning that those accommodations so-to-speak would benefit the animal. I can see that. ... See More

#2 and #3, do you really need scientific evidence to be in favor of those? One deals with not being able to hang or strangulate an animal in order to kill it. Surely farmers have some better options already available. #3 disallows downed animals for transport or human consumption. I'm in favor of that one definitely!! It's hard for me to imagine that someone wouldn't be and would need more proof for that one.

Are these truly such renegade proposals? Would there be anything wrong with farmers addressing these specific proposals and why they don't support them and/or why they feel they do not follow a rational approach as well as what more science-base they would need in order to support such proposals? I would be interested in knowing their view. For example, I definitely don't want animals being hung/strangulated in order to kill them but I would have to know what farmers are facing in regards to this. If there is an issue, I don't know what it is but would like to know.

To be fair, there are quite a few organizations that back this initiative although I am unsure if you consider them all to be "biased" or they carry a negative connotation such as HSUS seems to for a lot of people here. I am unfamiliar with HSUS and horse slaughter. I will look into it. Again, thank you for discussing this topic with me.


Me:
Edie. I appreciate your respect for my discussion.

I believe you fail to recognize that the #2 and #3 on your link are not the big ticket items to this petition. From my personal experience with the livestock industry, it is my understanding that we do not consume downer cattle anyway, nor is strangulation and acceptable means of euthanasia. Instead, this euthanasia clause is meant to gain emotional subscribers based on footage shot from a facility in Ohio which is old news now.

Your comment about #1 needing rational and scientific justification duplicates my feelings on the issue. Until this research finds suitable answers (and research in this area is very difficult, but currently ongoing) I would prefer that legislation not be forced upon a committee before we have truthful verdicts on how we can best improve animal well-being. Additionally, this wording provides no clear understanding of what is actually being required. Without defined goals on how animal welfare will be improved, it is obvious that this is idealistic and emotionally written merely to gain a momentum vote which then proceeds to leave animal considerations by the wayside after the vote is passed and HSUS and their kind proceed to the next state. No true improvements can be made in animal well-being by an out-of-state activist group who has no apparent legitimate interest in animal well-being or the state in which they are campaigning. I see that there need to be improvements in animal well-being, but I would rather that these come with deliberate actions within the State of Ohio by those appointed with authority due to their experience to make these decisions.

Fired up

I finally couldn't take it anymore. Props to the OPA for getting me onto OFBF's facebook page. Here's someone's comment and my response relating to several of their other scathing remarks and disdain displayed to other pro-animal farmers.

Edie Olson
Why does it seem that the people here that are opposed to this initiative cannot give a straight answer about why they do not want the proposed standards for these animals?

Me
Edie. I oppose the standards that activist groups are attempting to force upon livestock producers because I have yet to see compelling scientific evidence that these standards actually improve the well-being of the animals. It's not just about the government forcing regulations on producers but it is additionally objectionable that activist groups with little actual experience with animals suppose that they have the right to tell hard-working people with generations of livestock experience how they can best care for animals. Without the proof that this will actually provide better care for the animals in the long-run, I refuse to support ballot-based activism that disrespects both the scientific process and legitimate government support for deliberated actions designed to uphold and improve animal well-being. Otherwise, this will just become another issue with similar results as banning horse slaughter. Ask PETA what they think about HSUS's efforts towards horse slaughter. Two vice-presidents in a row actively denounced it on behalf of their organization. Ask horsemen/women what they think about how the bill has "improved" the well-being of American horses. If you refuse to use rational, scientific approaches to improving animal care then you risk the results following the general trend of eventual failure and harm to increased number of individual animals that correlates to HSUS's interests.

Conklin update

For those of you who are interested in what's going on with the Conklin Farm incident.

OFBF's press release (still worth reading)

Andy Vance's recent blog (interesting)

Cincinatti News Report which helps you understand just what an idiot this kid is who did all this stuff. And about the dead unburied cows... Just a speculation but a) this is nothing in the big picture of what's happening over there right now, and b) they might've been kinda tied up with all the stuff going on?

Central Ohio Dairy Cruelty Video

In other news, I think that the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation adequately expressed my personal response to the recent Conklin Farm incident publicized by Mercy for Animals. Obviously, if there are issues like this occurring then they must be stopped. The cruelty captured on film is despicable and I hope the guy filmed doing these horrible actions spends jail time. However, this is not typical of farming and we must end it and not defend them.

On the flip side of the issue, I was very happy that the OFBF directly addressed my own specific concerns and frustrations with the filming by Mercy for Animals in their press release. Why didn't they put an end to this? Did they help instigate it? I also want a full investigation to the neglect that their undercover filmer exhibited when refusing to stand up for what he/she claimed to uphold. Instead he/she filmed the cruelty and made no effort to stop it over the period of a WHOLE MONTH! Shameful. Mercy for Animals once again proves to be nothing but a media front for a political agenda that is merely remotely related to animal well-being. If they cared about the animals that they claim to be serving the interests of, then by the traditional definition of animal rights they would care about each individual and stop every act of cruelty as quickly as possible to help save that individual. Read your books people, the founders of the animal rights movement would be disgraced by you.