Temple Grandin turns 70

Temple Grandin, viewed by many as an icon for both Cattle and Autism, remains a staunch advocate for humane animal care. But, more than that, she is a published author and professor, and the impact she had on the beef industry in particular was captured in an award winning HBO movie titled after how own name. I had the pleasure of talking with her only a couple of years ago and writing an article on her view of sustainability. What she had to say still holds true today.

by Cam Patterson

“I think we have to look at a lot of things in what is practical and sustainable when it comes to getting our animals to market,” she started off by saying and Temple knows. She wrote the book – literally – on improved animal handling and welfare that went on to become bestsellers in the industry. She single-handedly redesigned animal stockyard scoring and handling systems used all over the world, lectured throughout the globe, and taught courses on livestock behaviour and facility design at Colorado State University.

“We have to look at how these whole systems interact together and decide on what is the optimal thing to do,” she stated. “Because if these cattle are done right on pasture, well that’s where sustainable starts. But you have to do them right, you have to manage your pasture right, because how these systems interact together is the key to being sustainable. That’s the key to this whole thing.”

“A professor of animal sciences for more than 20 years, Grandin has made enormous contributions to the livestock industry”

 

In February of this year she was named to the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

“We are pleased to add 10 American women to the ranks of inductees whose leadership and achievements have changed the course of American history,” said Betty M. Bayer, the Hall’s co-president and professor of women’s studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

“Honoring Dr. Temple Grandin in this esteemed group of women not only speaks to the power of her research and advocacy, but also her impact as a role model for young women everywhere,” Colorado State University President Tony Frank had said during the award presentation.

The National Women’s Hall of Fame award placed Temple among past luminaries Madeleine Albright, Louisa May Alcott, Maya Angelou, Susan B. Anthony, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sylvia Earle, Ella Fitzgerald, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Georgia O’Keefe, Rosa Parks, Sally Ride, Eleanor Roosevelt and Oprah Winfrey, to name only a few.

In 2010 Grandin was honored in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and in 2016 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

But it was her autism that allowed her to think in pictures, and that ability made her a visionary whose insights into animal behavior shaped innovative approaches to livestock handling that have become the meat industry standard.

Temple Grandin turned seventy this month.