HSUS Organizes “Ag Council” in Oklahoma
HSUS Organizes "Ag Council" in Oklahoma
Tue, 07 Oct 2014 14:51:11 CDT
Oklahoma becomes the eighth state in the nation to have an agricultural council established by the animal rights group The Humane Society of the United States. Four individuals have been named to the HSUS Agriculture Council for Oklahoma, including Harlan Hentges, Paul Muegge, Lauren Nitschke and Adam Price.
Hentges has practiced law for more than 20 years, focusing on issues such as air and water pollution, eminent domain, agricultural contracts, regulatory compliance and estate and business planning.
Muegge served in Oklahoma State Senate for 12 years, where he chaired the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee and participated in two national task forces. He farms with one of his sons and supports environmental causes, with a particular interest in monitoring the growth of industrial agriculture. He resides in Tonkawa.
Nitschke and her husband, Gary, run the Circle N, a cow-calf grass-fed cattle operation in Texhoma. As a American Grassfed Association certified cattle operation, they markets calves to the southwest region of Whole Foods Market through the Grassfed Livestock Alliance. The "Nitschke Natural Beef All Pasture—All the Time," label is marketed on-line to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Price is the operations manager for the Oklahoma Food Cooperative,where farmers and producers can sell and distribute their products statewide. Price said he would like to see sustainable, humane agricultural practices grow in both the rural and urban environments.
According to the HSUS website, council members provide advice and guidance to HSUS, as well as assist other traditional family farmers who want to make the switch to more humane practices. "By highlighting farms that exemplify the best practices and helping connect these farms to the market, the councils promote policies that foster better animal welfare and environmental stewardship. Working together with each other and within agriculture communities is another step toward building a more humane economy," according to HSUS.
HSUS has established Agriculture Councils in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio and now Oklahoma.