Propaganda Hurts Industries

Propaganda Hurts Industries

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “propaganda is ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are often spread to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc.” Now when most of us, think of propaganda, we think of WWII and the false information spread by the Nazis. But there is a much more recent use of propaganda that hits close to home that many people aren’t aware of.

To preface this let me say that I am an agriculture major and grew up on a farm, now that may not matter to the most of you who read this but there has become a range of uses for communication and communication tactics when talking between producers and consumers and scientist and families. How to relate all this to propaganda has got you wondering, in today’s culture the use of antibiotics in cattle livestock production has got people worried about the food they eat. The statement that antibiotics in cattle are harmful to the human body is a form of propaganda that greatly affects the livestock industry.

            Whenever a consumer asks me why I use antibiotics on my livestock or doesn’t that hurt them, my reply is always the same. If your child were sick would you do what ever you could to get them better? Usually, I get the reply of but we don’t eat our children then, which is true. Multiple studies have been done as well as multiple protocols implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. According to South Dakota State University Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, “withdrawal periods are a period of days set for each antibiotics so that there is accurate time for the antibiotic used to metabolize into the blood system.” These withdrawal periods insure that human consumption of the meat is safe for humans.

            The propaganda stating that antibiotics used in cattle is harmful to humans, hurts the agriculture industry. It has hurt the livestock industry by having producers questioned by consumers, as well as producers having to lose animals to illness because they don't want to treat them so consumers can have antibiotic free meat. Accusations made on the livestock industry have become increasing more wrong. The propaganda has hurt the livestock industry and makes it hard for producers to meet the demanding needs of consumers. Propaganda is more common than we realize in the modern day. Propaganda can cause reputations to be ruined as well as industries put into turmoil. Propaganda is a powerful tool of communication but is the easy way out for people to attack others.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda

http://www.sdstate.edu/vs/extension/beef-procedures-antibiotics.cfm