41.HOWARD LYMAN–RANCHER TURNED ACTIVIST

Howard Lyman was a prosperous cattle rancher who first became vegan, then turned into an outspoken supporter of plant food. He came to the forefront of the news in 1996 when Oprah Winfrey interviewed him on her show. At that time mad cow disease had struck thousands of cattle in England and had to be destroyed. As Howard shared that the U.S. beef could be at risk to develop mad cow disease, Oprah made the statement that echoed far and wide: “I’ll never eat another hamburger.”

The cattlemen brought a suit against Oprah and Howard, which carried on for several weeks. Oprah contended that her guests could speak their minds. The cattlemen said she was hurting the sale of beef. Six years later the judge ruled that Oprah was not guilty. It is estimated that Oprah had spent about a million dollars defending herself and the cattlemen had spent hundreds of thousands. The notoriety given to Howard probably boosted interest in his message as he has become world renowned as the “Mad Cowboy.”

Howard Lyman was born in 1938 on a ranch in Montana. He graduated from college with a degree in agribusiness, then went home to turn a small dairy farm into a large corporate chemical farm with thousands of cattle and 30 employees.

At age 41, Howard had a tumor that brought paralysis, bringing the possibility he would never walk again. At the time, he was spending thousands on pesticides, fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics, which he was told by doctors were the cause of the tumor.

A few years later, he again faced serious health issues, which motivated him to become vegetarian, then a year later, he became vegan. He lost 100 pounds, His blood pressure became normal and his cholesterol dropped from 300 to 135.

As this awakening came to Howard, he realized he had spent 45 years in the cattle business pretending he loved his animals, but he had to admit he was far more interested in the profits than in the animals’ health. He has visited hundreds of slaughterhouses and the sight of the terrified animals in their last few moment of life is indescribable. He thinks about all the animals he has sent to the slaughterhouse and can only make the commitment that never again will an animal be sent to its death for his lifestyle. Since 1991, Howard has traveled the world with his message of health, environment and animal issues.

Since he was a farmer for years, he loves farmers, but he says what they are doing today is not sustainable. The water and the environment are being ruined while all of them believe they are trying to feed a hungry world. Howard says we need to stop feeding our food to livestock. It takes 16 pounds of grain to put a pound of meat on your plate. Sixteen pounds of grain will feed 32 humans. Farmers need to stop feeding their grain to animals and use that grain to feed the human family.

Howard has two websites, “Mad Cowboy,” and “Voice for a Viable Future.” Hopefully We hope the day will come soon when farmers will take hold of Howard’s message: FEED OUR HUNGRY WORLD WITH THE GRAIN THAT IS NOW FED TO ANIMALS!

POTATO PRIMAVERA
4 large russet baking potatoes
2 c broccoli florets
2 c cauliflower florets
1 c carrots sliced diagonally
1 c onion diced thinly
1 c zucchini slices
2 c almond gravy
Wash and scrub potatoes. Place on sprayed baking sheet
and bake at 425 for 50 minutes until skins are crispy.
While potatoes are cooking, wash and prepare vegetables,
cutting into bite-sized pieces. Steam vegetables until just
tender. Cut the potato in half. Pour gravy over, then top
with 2 cups of vegetables, then add more gravy.

GRAVY
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic cloves
1/2 c blanched slivered almonds
3 c water
5 T white flour
2 T chicken-style seasoning
2 T nutritional yeast flakes
1 T coconut oil
1 t salt
Saute chopped onion and garlic in oil. Blend almonds
with 3/4 cups water until smooth. Add remaining water,
flour, chicken seasoning and yeast flakes and blend well.
Add to sautéed onion and garlic and boil until gravy thickens.