Why does the world need Agricultural

Education?

Why?

Has it out lived it’s usefulness? Has the time come for us in ag ed to say

we have done our job and now fold-up shop and do other things?

Is there a future to farming/agriculture? Would the world carry on just as well

without us, if we were gone?

These are Questions that some uninformed, well

meaning person might ask you some day.

Don’t be shocked! Don’t be dismayed! This is a great opportunity for you! So be prepared with an answer!

Ok what is/are the answers?

Agriculture Provides Society With….

Food Clothing Shelter

Growing Interest in Agriculture and Natural

Resources

Recreation Relaxation (mental health) Physical Health Medicine Enhancement the Environment

Of course I want to eat! Let he/she miss a few meals and then they will

understand the need for ag ed But what does eating have to do with ag ed? Well……Well …… uh,,,,,,uh (dumb look) You are what you _________.

– Do you like to eat well? – Do you want a safe food supply?

– Do you want the food supply to be rich in nutrients?

– Do you want a clean environment?

– Do you want variety ?

– Do you want abundance?

YES, of course...You want all of this!

Without – Science

– Math

– Engineering

– Technology

– Management

– Communications

Without an educated labor force Without these you ask for the impossible

Does Ag Ed do this? yeah…. sort of…. well….Part of it Develop interest and awareness

– Careers in production (2 % of pop)– Careers in a related field (1 in 5)

Provides basic foundation in science, management, etc.

Provides opportunity for career exploration experience

Vocational function

How many farmers are there today?

Is farming the only job in agriculture?

NO Farmers are important! But agriculture is more than farming! 1 out of 5 jobs related to agriculture How many can you name? DOT lists 12,000 jobs 1 in 5 = 2400

different jobs

Look at the Markets…..! Corn is less than

$2.00/bu Rice is about $6.00 Hogs are cheap Red meat consumption

is on the decline Cost of production is

more than some products brings at market.

Does Low Prices Mean Anything?

YES, OF COURSE……. However….. It does not imply that there is no need for ag ed. Price is a function of demand and supply and

policy, imports, etc. With droughts and other weather related factors supply levels vary.

Prices on some farm products are down, but not all.

Some are at record highs Not all ag jobs are production jobs.

?

Where do people live today?

City/urban decline pop less preferred cost are high

Country/Rural increase more preferred reasonable cost

What does it mean to live in a rural area?

Once upon a time it meant you knew more about agriculture, but not now.

90% of all Americans have been non-farm for 30 years or more

So rural people need ag ed also.

Do City/Urban folks need Ag Ed?

Why? or why not? Many of the non-production jobs

are the 1 in 5 non-production Jobs, some of which are in the city.

Knowledge of food source They also vote on ag issues Believe it or not some have a

deep appreciation for Agriculture.

How important is Agriculture to balancing

international trade?

What does religion have to do with it?

Our background Influence of other cultures A new religion, with influence Bottomline is that religion, or absence of,

influences the thoughts and actions of people in many ways, some of which are associated with Agriculture.

Don’ t eat that Chicken!

"Six million Jews died in concentration camps, but six billion broiler chickens will die this year in slaughterhouses."

Ingrid Newkirk Cited in the Washington Post, November 13, 1983.

Too Many Eggs

Making chickens lay more more eggs is cruel.

Legislation to stop forced molting.

Is it a boy or a pig?

There is no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy."

Ingrid Newkirk, founder of People for the Ethical Treatments of Animals (PETA). Cited in Washingtonian magazine, August 1986, and Vogue, September 1989.

An ant is = to a child

"The life of the ant and the life of my child should be granted equal consideration."

Michael Fox, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States. Inhumane Society (Fox Publications, n.d.)

Don’t put them in Cages!They were meant to be free

Before After

Meat eaters areburden to society!

Meat production , some say, taxes our natural resources more than grains and veggies.

Your future employer might care what you eat! If health risks are increased, as some say, because you eat meat, you may cost more $ to insure.

So you eat how much meat? And you want the government to pay for your health care when you eat the way you do!!!!

Thou Shalt Not Kill

PETA Holiday Campaign Calls on Christians to Give Beef the Boot

Grand Jury Issues Indictments Following PETA Undercover Investigation

PIG FARMERS PLEAD GUILTY IN LANDMARK CRUELTY CASE

Proud Parent

Curtis and her daughter Annie launched PETA's "Proud Parent of a Student Who Won't Dissect" Bumper Sticker Campaign.

Cruelty-Free Shoes

A Parents magazine poll found that 69 percent of the respondents were opposed to killing animals for leather.

MILK SUCKS

MILKSUCKS .COM

MILK: FOR YOUR HEALTH ?

Dairy products are a health hazard. They contain no fiber or complex carbohydrates and are laden with saturated fat and cholesterol. They are contaminated with cow's blood and pus and are frequently contaminated with pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Dairy products are linked to allergies, constipation, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.Source: Milksucks.com

Some of the Issues of our time that relate to

agriculture Water quality Food safety Environmental issues Animal welfare fur coats hunger Many more…..

How do these facts, fit in with our discussion of the need for

Agricultural Education?

Where do people get their information?

Where do little peoplechildren get information?

Children’s TV -- meat free Monday Potically correct children’s TV Children’s books Movies -- i.e. Babe

What About Older Youth?

School – Social studies, history, geography– Science and biology courses– Even math courses -- test questions based on

selection of a politically correct answer. Internet Newspapers and TV AND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

Who provides this information?

People for the Ethical Treatments of Animals (PETA) and other groups like them.

Humane Societies Movie Stars Serria Club Movies, and TV shows Nightly News, and News Magazine shows Many, many, more AND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

What Does Agricultural Education Do?

Brings information Brings balance Relates both sides of the story Focuses on farming and

beyond Defends rights Promotes responsibility Shape the issues How will they know unless

someone teaches them?

More reasons...

Contributes to individual and national economy

Opportunities for young people to explore career opportunities in agriculture

Vocational education Leadership education Builds character

Who is opposed to AG ED?And why?

Iotoloa in Iran Mao Zedong, 1949 in China Or most any communist or socialist model of

government, because we promote entreprenureship.

Programs which compete for funds. People with bad experience

– Superintendent/Principle who had a bad teacher People who just don’t know what Ag Ed is about.

So, who Opposes Agricultural Education?

Not just individuals and organizations are out to

stop agriculture but at least one religion is at odds with what we do in agriculture.

????????????????????????????

Pantheism

Pantheism is the view that the natural universe is divine, the proper object of reverence; or the view that the natural universe is pervaded with divinity.

Source: http://altreligion.about.com/

You might be a Pantheist if You:

Like to hug trees Spent your vacation in a Redwood tree to prevent

logger from cutting it down Derive your religious experience through a

personal relationship with the Universe Hate bulldozers! Refuse to eat anything but organically grown food Mourn during the first few weeks of deer season

The Earth Is Sacred

Environmental concern is so strong among pantheists that Paul Harrison lists as the second of pantheism's central tenets the claim that "the earth is sacred." He explains it as follows: – When we say that the earth is sacred, we mean it with

just as much commitment and reverence as believers speaking about their church or mosque, or the relics of their saints. But we are not making a statement about the supernatural. We are saying that we should treat the natural world as believers treat their temples and shrines--a place to be revered and preserved in all its glory.

Will production agriculture become a thing of the past? Not if you like eating! How could that be?

– Send those jobs over seas

– Over specialization of society

– Too dependent on other countries

– Importing too much

– Negative opinion of using the earth in any way that will harm “Her”

– New religions

Be Prepared to Defend Agriculture

Not with Guns or Fists But with hard facts and

sound information

Because You Are a Teacher

The End