I have a running question with vets around here each spring;" How many times have you had to rope a cow in a pasture and pull a calf this spring?" For the last several years it has been an overwhelming answer- 0. They tell me those kind of herds are all but gone and the ones left they won't call on.
I'm all for educating producers to do better.
The part that erks me most is that the packers are using it as marketing PR to give the bunny huggers a warm fuzzy feeling. When in reality we've been doing it all along because it's the right thing for our animals.