Read the original article by Brendan Pringle at washingtonexaminer.com here.
Animal rights activists, led by the local chapter of Direct Action Everywhere, have been holding frequent protests against California Polytechnic State University’s meat processing center, and say they won’t let up until the center is closed — or at least until the cows come home.
The on-campus J & G Lau Family Meat Processing Center is not unlike other on-campus meat processing centers. It is actually a glorious example of Cal Poly’s “Learn by Doing” motto at work.
“We are trying to show students how to do it right,” Jaymie Noland, head of Cal Poly’s animal science department, told The Tribune. “It’s one of the premier meat processing centers on any university campus in the world.”
The center prides itself on maintaining humane and ethical treatment of animals at all times. And yes, like most meat processing centers, they kill animals for food.
“Cal Poly employs a staff of dedicated veterinarians throughout the year to ensure all animals are always given the medical care and attention they need,” university spokesman Matt Lazier said in a statement. “Cal Poly recognizes its responsibilities to ensure that animals are well cared for, and therefore adheres to all applicable federal, state, local and institutional laws or guidelines governing animal welfare.”
This assurance falls on deaf ears with the angry mob of animal activists, who believe it is unjust to kill animals. During a recent protest, about 50 protesters reportedly stood along the fencing by the center, reading letters they had written to the animals that had been slaughtered.
One of the leaders of this movement is Zoe Rosenberg, a 16-year-old activist who has already been arrested once this year during a protest on campus back in April. During that protest, she chained herself to a corral behind the meat processing center. Rosenberg is the founder of a rescue for farm animals called Happy Hen Chicken Rescue, and wanted to save one of Cal Poly’s cows from being slaughtered.
Apparently 1,200 people with nothing else better to do live-streamed the protest as it happened.
“The time is now,” Rosenberg told Mustang News, Cal Poly’s student newspaper. “The time for the animal rights movement has come.”
Unfortunately for Rosenberg, most Americans think this is a bunch of bull. Consumers will eat an average of more than 220 pounds of red meat and poultry in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For Cal Poly students trying to learn about animal science, these protests have intruded on their education.
“These activities caused classes to be disrupted and even canceled,” notes student Sarah Dreyer in an op-ed for The Tribune. “As animal science students, we have chosen to pursue an education in that field of study. We do not deserve to be called murderers or criticized for our hard work.”
Dreyer hopes these activists moo-ve on and end their beef.
“We love animals,” said Dryer. “[Direct Action Everywhere] and [Rosenberg] also love animals. The difference is we are not going to [Rosenberg’s] place of study or work and telling her that her viewpoint is wrong, nor encouraging other people to tell her she’s a bad person. We are not disrupting what she’s worked so hard to achieve, nor attacking her personally.”
