Ask any kid a question and you’ll probably get a pretty blunt, usually correct answer. Kids say the darndest things right?

Well ask any kid what they want to be when they grow up and usually a pretty good number of them will tell you they want to be a veterinarian (Disclaimer: I have nothing against vets). Delve a little deeper into the little munchkin’s answer and ask why, and they will tell you its because they want to make animals “feel better”.  Why didn’t they say farmer? Or rancher? Or feedlot owner? Don’t all those guys make animals “feel better” at some point or another?

We could easily blame this entire problem on PETA and the Humane Society and an ad campaign that they started using toddler celebrities to preach to masses of other toddlers about animal abuse (I know it actually sounds like something they would try). Unfortunately, we have to blame ourselves a little bit for this, because it is all about perception. Yes the American public still has a respectful view of farmers and ranchers at least according to the latest reports by some organizations, but does the public really understand what farmers and ranchers actually do?

 Look at the famous children’s movie “Babe” (Minus a point in the manliness column for me) at various points in the movie, humans, even the main farmer in the movie Hoggett, are portrayed as ruthless. They use bloodthirsty dogs to herd sheep, contemplate pork or chicken dinners (Gasp!) and underestimate the herding abilities of a pig that stays the same size the entire movie (what is this world coming to?).  But where in this movie does the farmer ever work his sheep to vaccinate them? Not once do I see him sew up a prolapse or walk out at 3 in the morning to check his calving heifers in a blowing snowstorm? Where is the scene when he gets kicked in the shin trying to doctor foot rot (don’t lie its happened to all of us). Yet this is what kids are raised on, I remember watching this movie when I was young and I was fortunate enough to have my parents stick it somewhere in the rotation between “Rodeo Bloopers” and letting me ride a toy horse with dish towels as chaps (yes there’s even photo evidence).

But a lot kids don’t have this luxury, they see “Babe” or any number of children’s movies and see farmers and ranchers portrayed as selfish beings bent on abusing animals. This is where we play a part, especially with a younger generation built like sponges ready to soak up everything they see or hear on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook. It’s time for farmers and ranchers to take the time to portray their own “Babe” whether it be through a video, on Facebook or even just that extra 30 seconds it takes to tell your own kids how what you do helps animals “feel better”.