"How cute does an animal have to be before you care if it dies to feed ya?" - and drop the mic.
This one line delivered by the television series Yellowstone's lead character John Dutton while interacting with an animal rights activist had farmers fist pumping in their loungerooms.
For once the argument was flipped on it's head and the activists had to think about the food they eat and how it's produced.
Like many animal activist protests around the world, these characters were protesting against the industrialised animal farming and "the mass murder of millions of animals every year".
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If anyone has watched the show they will know the American rancher Mr Dutton is not a man who minces words.
And he didn't disappoint in his response: "Ever plough a field...to plant the quinoa or sorghum or whatever the hell it is you eat? You kill everything on the ground and under it, you kill every snake every frog, mouse, mole, worm, you kill them all. So I guess the only real question is how cute does an animal have to be before you care if it dies to feed ya?"
This line left the ringleader of the animal activist group speechless but in reality it sums up the hypocrisy of it all. Animal rights activists call out farmers for killing livestock yet they kill animals to create habit to grow plants.
When ever you have to alter a habitat to build a city or grow food something is misplaced or dies. Activists wear their opinion like a badge on their chest and force their philosophy on others without hearing out the other side.
It's a cheap criticism that farmers aren't looking after animals when animals always come first.
These people who want to stop the world eating meat think we are abusing our animals.
But in fact Australian producers love their animals and work hard for the best animal welfare outcomes.
Throughout drought we saw many farmers put their cattle before their own welfare - that doesn't sound like someone who fails to look after their stock.
I'm preaching to the converted when I say this but Australian farmers are the best environmentalists and animal welfare operators in the world.
And we are fortunate we live in a society where you have the right to choose what you eat.
There is an abundance of food grown for vegans or for people who like meat.
However when it starts getting politicalised or preached like a religion, that's when the conversation departs from reality.
If people choose not to eat meat, that's okay, but they shouldn't attack people's livelihoods because it's not 'woke'.
I proudly choose to eat meat and grow beef (as I bite into a steak sandwich with a healthy side of quinoa) because I love it and take great pride in supporting a cracking innovative industry.
A balanced ecosystem and a balanced diet has both animals and plants in it.
The emotive argument is not well founded as most animals live comfortable lives until their job is done.
And you rest assured that Australian farmers look after all their animals - even the ugly ones.
Escargot anyone?
Taking Stock is a weekly column which appears in The Land.
