DENVER – Saturday was officially MeatOut Day in Colorado, thanks to a proclamation signed by Governor Jared Polis.
The day, named after a movement that began in 1985, aims to promote plant-based diets. Polis writes that they are better for our health and the environment.
But the proclamation did not please ranchers and ranchers who think the governor is not being fair.
“Many of these farmers and ranchers were offended by what we do, where it seems that we are being [demonized] sometimes through the media, through agriculture, “said Andrew Timmerman, a Sterling farmer.
He helped organize an unofficial “Meat In” event to protest the governor’s proclamation at Denver’s Civic Center Park on Saturday.
With the help of about a dozen food trucks, Timmerman says he planned to distribute 1,250 meals to the homeless and those affected by the pandemic. The park is on the other side of the State Capitol.
“We want to come here to Denver and show people who we are, what we do and, you know, let everyone know that we exist. We are real people,” said Timmerman.
Sam Maher, general manager of Somebody People’s vegan restaurant on South Broadway, understands what the governor was trying to do.
“I think it is a very good concept to try to get people to think about what they are eating,” he said. “I think people need to add more color to their food and kind of create a better life for themselves.”
However, he agrees that we should keep politics out of food and that people should eat what they prefer.
“If it’s Meat In Day or MeatOut, I think the best thing is for everyone to take care of the soil, do proper agriculture and try to keep chemicals out of the soil as much as possible,” said Maher.
In response to criticism of the proclamation, Governor Polis’s spokesman said the governor “receives hundreds of requests for proclamations throughout the year and rarely refuses these non-binding ceremonial proclamations that are autographed by the governor.”
Monday is Colorado’s Livestock Pride Day, which celebrates ranchers and farmers who help produce part of the state’s meat.
“I think instead of having all these different days,” said Timmerman, “let the consumer choose and let everyone have freedom of choice.”