Last week, the agricultural community loudly and with great passion responded to Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar speech, where he called to end speciesism and officially give the same rights to animals as people.

In case you missed my blog post, you can read it here: A person is worth more than a scallop

Despite what critics in some agricultural circles would believe, we cannot stand by and let these celebrities make these statements without some sort of response. Make no mistake about it, Phoenix isn’t just calling for better animal care in America; he is questioning the value of every human on this planet. I fact, this actor isn’t just casually talking about animal welfare in his speech.

In addition to being named PETA’s 2019 Person of the Year, Phoenix is an active and vocal member of a group considered to be a domestic terrorist organization by the FBI — the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).

According to HumaneWatch, “The ALF, for the uninitiated, is considered a domestic terrorist group by the FBI. The agency estimated in 2004 that the ALF and its sister network, the Earth Liberation Front, had committed over 1,100 criminal acts resulting in at least $110 million in damages. A 2013 Department of Homeland Security report identified 239 arsons between 1995 and 2010 linked to ALF/ELF. The terrorist network is still active today.

Related:Activists are ramping up with new tactics to end ag

“The ALF is the underground, criminal element that seeks to bring about the animal liberation ideology pushed by PETA, Phoenix, and other activists in public. This ideology holds that no one should be allowed to drink milk, enjoy a hamburger, own a pet, or benefit from cancer and AIDS research that uses rats.”

Should Phoenix’ and the ALF’s ideologies be put into place, it would not only make animal ownership and usage obsolete, but it would devalue every man, woman and child walking this planet. This isn’t just a casual difference of opinions; this agenda puts our very livelihoods, freedoms and food choices at risk.

If there's one key messsage you take away from this blog post, it's this: I don’t care if you’re a vegan or carnivore — what I do care about is protecting our freedom to farm, our freedom to own property and most importantly, our freedom to choose the foods that best suit our needs, not the ideals of politicians or celebrities.

These Hollywood elite may have good intentions, but at their core, their mission to impose sin taxes on meat, dairy and eggs and to regulate livestock farmers out of business really hurts the most vulnerable people of all — the food insecure and the impoverished people in our country and around the world.

Related:Activists strategize at the Animal Rights National Conference

I’m proud to produce safe, affordable, nutrient-dense beef to feed a hungry planet, and stripping those options away from the hungry who desperately need high-quality protein isn’t caring at all!

Think Phoenix’s Oscars speech was just the idle banter of a Hollywood A-lister with the spotlight on him? Think again. These activists are hard at work, ready to dismantle ranches, rodeos, circuses, the fur industry and even pet ownership.

Check these headlines out and see for yourself:

1. “No rodeos for New York! Advocates and lawmaker call on MSG to cancel June event” by Denis Slattery for the New York Daily News

Slattery writes, “An animal-loving assemblywoman wants to rein in rodeos. Assembly member Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) is pitching a bill that would ban in the Empire State techniques used in rodeo competitions, such as calf roping and the use of electric cattle prods and sharpened spurs.”

Rosenthal said in a press conference, “Rodeos are modern day gladiator games – blood sport masquerading as entertainment. Make no mistake about it: Bull riding and other rodeo events are not family-friendly entertainment.”

2. “Proposed law would make it easier to remove livestock from public lands” by Nate Hegyi for KUER 90.1 Utah

Hegyi writes, “New legislation introduced in the U.S. House would make it easier for conservation groups to remove cattle and sheep from federal lands. The proposed law, sponsored by Rep. Adam Smith, D-WA, would allow environmentalists to buy grazing permits from ranchers who are willing sellers and then retire them — essentially ending grazing on the public lands the rancher was using.”

3. “Fur industry sues San Francisco” by Katy Grimes for the California Globe

In response to California’s statewide ban of fur, the International Fur Federation released a statement saying, “Memo to California politicians: You do not have the right to stop people from buying things just because you or special-interest lobbyist allies don’t like the products.”

According to the article, “The International Fur Federation, based in London, announced it has filed a lawsuit to prevent San Francisco from implementing a city ordinance banning the sale of fur.

“The ordinance, passed in 2018, gave existing department stores until Jan. 1, 2020, to sell off their remaining fur stock and prohibits the sale of newly manufactured fur coats, hats, gloves, lined parkas (such as Canada Goose jackets), and other products.

“The lawsuit also argues San Francisco has no legitimate local interest to ban fur sales and that the ordinance is an unconstitutional restriction on interstate and foreign commerce.”

4. “England circuses finally ban wild animal exploitation for human entertainment after 20 years of protests” featured on Totally Vegan Buzz

Here’s an excerpt: “The Wild Animals in Circus Bill passed by the British Parliament in July 2019, was put into effect in Jan. 2020. According to the bill, no traveling circuses in England can now employ wild animals for human entertainment.”

5. “Animal rights group PETA says the word 'pet' objectifies animals, and we should stop using it” by National Post staff

According to the article, “PETA has a problem with the word ‘pet,’ and wants you to stop using it. Instead, the group says, dog owners should call themselves dog ‘guardians,’ and pets should be referred to as ‘companion animals’ — because how we describe our animals dictates how we treat them.”

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Farm Progress.