As y’all know, I love my kiddos with all my heart. They make me smile and make my heart swell with pride. At the same time, they also drive me crazy and I always feel like I have to be one step ahead of the game. It doesn’t matter what age, they are always trying to pull a fast one on Mom.

I wish I could say I catch it every time, but I don’t. I also wish I could say that I didn’t do it as a kid. Think back to when you were a kid: Did anyone else try and pull a fast one on Mom? I didn’t succeed very often but I did get an A+ for trying. My mom was usually a step ahead as well. It was the only way to keep me from getting into trouble or teach me to avoid making poor choices. The times I did get away with it, the outcome was usually not in my best interests. Lessons learned: sometimes consequences stink. Being sneaky doesn’t pay off, ever!

I believe that was the beginning of the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Seriously, when mom isn’t around to catch the sneaky, then the village steps in and says “NO.”. Notice my period after the word "no." That's not a typo. The village also coined the fact that “NO.” is a complete sentence. They nipped that bad thought (pre-behavior) in the bud and redirected us to better things and there was some learning along the way.

This feeling of being sneaky and having a village has come up a lot this week for me. We have some sneaky groups wanting to take advantage of our industry when we aren’t looking, and I hope that our industry acts more like a village to protect our best interests. This is the one time when competition needs to be thrown out the door and we must come together and work as a team. There is room for all of us in this industry if we are to provide choices to consumers.

As many of you read yesterday in Meatingplace, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against USDA for “allowing poultry companies to use what it contends are deceptive images on chicken and turkey products.” Specifically, the pictures of chickens in a pasture in the sun being “happy.” Also, Prop 12 in California has also been in the news lately. Thank you, NAMI, for pushing for a review of Prop 12!

And yet again this week, Nevada lawmakers have approved a law that will make large egg producers adopt “more humane, environmentally friendly practices.” By July 1, 2022, layers in Nevada cannot be in enclosures less than 1 square foot of usable space and by July 2024, egg producers in Nevada will have to be cage-free. Can anyone name a large egg producer in Nevada? Not really, but this legislation will apply to any shell eggs sold in Nevada. So, now we can start naming some suppliers that will be affected.

Both California and Nevada are ballot initiative states, which makes it easy for legislation like this to pass. This latest legislation went under the radar — no one really thinks about eggs in Nevada, right? Except maybe the casinos and consumers who are now going to have to pay the price for this legislation. It is a sneaky way for these groups to get their way. Unfortunately, these groups will not stop until we stop using animals for food. We should start talking and standing up as a village against these groups. We cannot allow them to be sneaky with these ballot initiatives. Do the people in Nevada or California understand the consequences to food prices, food choices or food insecurities? My opinion is no, and that’s the danger of not having awareness and strong representation with these initiatives.

We are the village and we are the link to food security and choices. We cannot do this alone. Let’s work together to stay a step ahead of these groups that want to see us gone.

It really takes a village

Join for free* to continue reading.