Thursday, August 03, 2006

Cows Fer Eatin' Vs. Cows Fer Milkin'   [Jonah Goldberg]

Here's a completely random, far from analytically rigorous , observation. I'm driving through Oregon at the moment (actually, the Fair Jessica is driving). We're gonna have lunch in Pendleton (which is where I was on 9/11) .

Anyhow, TFJ has a certain animosity toward Oregon because it's the most nanny-state of the Pacific Northwest States. The moment you enter the state, the speed limit drops, you're hectored to wear a helmet (if you drive a motorcycle), you can't pump your own gas. Etc etc. And then of course there's the general political climate here. It's sort of the Vermont of the West. Indeed, as you drive around there are armies of cows.

Which got me thinking. When you think about it, cow-rich states dedicated to dairy seem to have more left wing politics than cow-rich states dedicated to meat production. Doing no research whatsoever and merely going by stereotypes about cheese and steak, cow-dairy states are:

Wisconsin
Vermont
Oregon
Minnesota
New York

Cow-meat states are:

Idaho
Texas
Wyoming
Montanna
(and I suppose) Oklahoma

Two possible partial historic explanations (i.e. guesses) come to mind. First, the sorts of people who historically went into dairy production were Scandinavian socialist types while the people who went into meat production were Scotch-Irish cowboy types.

Two: Perhaps dairy regulation occurred a lot earlier than meat regulation. This generated a culture of state-intervention and therefore a politics to match (or vice versa). Dairy also seems to be more about small-farmers and lots of labor, making it more prone to Populist appeals, while meat is run by wealthy ranchers and rugged cowboy types who have a more leave-me-alone ideology.

There's also a more metaphorical - i.e. b.s. - theory: dairy is nurturing. It's about sustainability. Dairy farmers can afford to fall in love with their cows. Making cows into steak, handburger and wallets requires more tough-mindedness. Dairy is soft America. Meat is hard America. Or Something Like That.

Discuss.

08/03 02:56 PMShare