OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is railing against a proclamation by the governor of Colorado that encourages people to avoid meat for one day a week, calling it a "direct attack on our way of life" and signing a pro-meat declaration of his own.
Ricketts surrounded himself with top officials from Nebraska's meat, agricultural, and restaurant industries on Monday as he declared Saturday "Meat on the Menu Day" in Nebraska.
In a news conference, Gov. Rickets said meat is the state's largest industry, which generates $21 billion each year, according to The Associated Press.
Gov. Rickets adding that this was "a direct attack on our way of life here in Nebraska."
The day was chosen to coincide with Colorado's "MeatOut Day," a nonbinding proclamation signed by Gov. Jared Polis late last month and backed by an animal rights group.
"MeatOut Day" was started in 1985 by the Farm Animal Rights Movement and seeks to encourage non-vegetarians to consider a plant-based diet.
In Nebraska, meat is a big deal for they proclaim May as “Beef Month” and sell “Beef State” license plates to motorists, The AP reported.
In a news conference inside a meat shop, Rickets said getting rid of beef "would be undermining our food security."