John McKillop, chair of the Red Meat Council, has called on young beef producers to stand up for their industry in the fight against fake meat labelling.
Attendees of the Young Beef Producers Forum at Roma last week listened to a presentation from Mr McKillop on the importance of their place within the beef industry and the benefits of joining industry groups.
"So I suppose you're asking the question, why bother?" he asked the crowd.
"When you're busy running your own farms and running your own stations, you're doing what you have to do, you're out there trying to establish yourself. Why should you bother getting involved?
"It's really a matter of, if you don't, then someone else will make decisions that affect you."
The issue that Mr McKillop gave as an example to the young producers was the Red Meat Council's current fight against fake meat labelling.
Mr McKillop urged those at the forum to stand up with their fellow producers and help the council lobby because it will not only affect the industry as a whole, but also their individual beef operations.
"The reason I say that this is important, is that if you don't get involved in these sort of acts of politics and advocacy roles then other groups will ride right over the top of you," he said.
"You can be sure that every time parliament is sitting, and lots of times in between, they are out there lobbying to tell every politician they can find how degrading the beef industry is, how unhealthy beef is for you, and how much methane is emitted, unless we're willing to stand up and say no, that's actually not right, and these are the facts.
"This is one of the biggest industry's in Australian agriculture, the red meat and beef sector, and we can't afford to sit back and let things happen, we need to be proactive and make sure that we are in the room countering the lies and the half-truths.
"It's the only way way to make things happen."
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