Ranchers Have Beef With Magazine Story Kids’ Publication Features Cow Saying, ‘Please Don’t Eat Me’

Cattle ranchers are upset over an anti-beef article in a children’s magazine linked to the Smithsonian Institution.

“Please don’t eat me!” says the cover of the current issue of Muse, a calf peering into the camera.

The magazine contains quotes such as “The hamburger on your plate is some dead cow’s muscle.”

“It was one of the most biased articles I think I’ve ever seen written about vegetarianism,” said Alisa Harrison of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which represents 230,000 cattle producers.

The publisher of Muse isn’t denying that assessment, blaming miscommunication.

Lawmakers from Texas, the nation’s top beef-producing state, are upset about Muse’s ties to the taxpayer-supported Smithsonian Institution.

“We feel the Smithsonian has no business in promoting to anyone, especially children, one view or another on such an issue as the morality and health risks of including meat in one’s diet,” says a letter drafted by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, to Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman.

Under a licensing agreement, Chicago-based Carus Publishing pays the Smithsonian for use of its name. Smithsonian magazine has the right to review the content of Muse, a publication for kids age 6 to 14, with a circulation of 80,000.

Smithsonian reviewed the article’s text. But because of a mix-up, the pictures, graphics, sidebars and quotes weren’t screened, Smithsonian officials said.

“It was a physical mistake, not one of an agenda or a special interest,” said Ron Walker, publisher of Smithsonian magazine.

In the next issue, Muse will publish letters from ranchers’ kids rebutting the earlier article.