Unsuccessful Farming?
UPDATE 10-6-10: Several readers have emailed us with a new response, this time from BHG's editor in chief:
Dear [NAME],
Thank you so much for contacting me regarding our charity pumpkin stencil program. Your opinion is important to me, and I sincerely appreciate hearing your views and receiving the information that you’ve provided.
The goal of our Carving for a Cause program is to give readers a chance to support the various causes that they are passionate about, and we selected these charities with that goal in mind.
With respect to the Humane Society of the United States, our contribution of $5,000 is a one-time restricted donation to the Animal Rescue Team’s efforts to aid animals after natural disasters. We know that our readers truly love their pets and domestic animals. In retrospect, I should have made that focus clearer in my editor's letter. As an editor I strive for clarity, but fell short in this instance.
Thank you again for reaching out. I so appreciate that you wrote to share your views and this information.
Gayle
Original post:
We’ve heard from many of you who have contacted Better Home and Gardens following its editor in chief’s promotion of HSUS in the October issue. (Read this for background.) An astute reader emailed us today and pointed out something ironic—the Meredith Corporation, which publishes Better Homes and Gardens, was actually founded in 1902 with the Successful Farming magazine.
Here’s the problem: Promoting HSUS and promoting successful farming are mutually exclusive endeavors.
Why? HSUS wants to end animal agriculture. That couldn’t have been clearer when HSUS Vice President for Farm Animal Issues told an animal rights conference:
We don't want any of these animals to be raised and killed. But when we're talking about numbers like “one million slaughtered in the U.S. in a single hour,” or “48 billion killed every year around the world,” unfortunately we don't have the luxury of waiting until we have the opportunity to get rid of the entire industry.
And so because of that, a number of organizations including the Humane Society of the United States, we work on promoting veganism.
It couldn’t be any more transparent than that. HSUS’s version of “successful farming” means putting every dairy, livestock, and feed-crop farmer out of business. More and more folks are getting the picture, with Nebraska’s governor and U.S. Rep. Steve King becoming very vocal about the threat to farmers’ livelihood.
One HumaneWatch reader sent us the response she received from Better Homes and Gardens after she emailed them to share her disappointment with the magazine’s promotion of HSUS. BHG told her:
Thank you for taking the time to comment on the charity stencil program.
We respect your right to disagree with our choices, and hope you will consider another charity stencil option from the assortment offered through the program, or one of the many stencils we offer on our website:
BHG.com/charitystencils
http://www.bhg.com/halloween/pumpkin-carving/printable-pumpkin-stencils/
Again, thank you for writing. You are a valued reader.
Does it sound like they “get it”? If you want to share your thoughts with BHG, you can email [email protected].
