The Plaza of the Americas got a taste of the cattle industry Tuesday as the Gator Collegiate Cattlewomen served students a slice of beef education.
The event titled What’s Your Beef? offered games, contests, demonstrations and free beef jerky to passers-by on the plaza.
The Cattlewomen, supported by UF faculty and members of the beef industry, put on the program to get students talking and learning about the meat industry.
“The whole point of today is to engage in conversation about beef,” said Melissa Miller, a campus events manager for American National CattleWomen.
Miller, a UF alumna, said the event would be the first of five at colleges across the country. UF’s branch planned it to fall on National Agriculture Day.
Cattlewomen member Jessie Roberts, a 22-year-old UF agricultural education and communication senior, said the goal of the event was to inform the public.
“We want to bridge the divide between industry and consumer,” she said.
At one of the most popular stations, UF Department of Animal Sciences associate professor Matthew Hersom and Cattlewomen member Roxie White, a 20-year-old UF animal science senior, demonstrated cattle roping with lassos and plastic steer, allowing people to try it themselves.
This station was situated just across from Krishna Lunch.
Krishna House Vice President Caitanya Long said Hare Krishnas regard killing animals for food as immoral.
She said she came from a family of fifth-generation cattle ranchers and cited the early deaths of family members as a reason she stopped eating a “Western beef diet.”
Long said although the Hare Krishnas on the plaza disagreed with the Cattlewomen’s message, their presence sparked conversation about the Krishnas’ diet.
“It prompted more questions and open dialogue,” she said. “That’s what the Plaza of the Americas is all about.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 3/26/2014 under the headline "Gators hold rare event on Plaza"]
