Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Megan Brown is a sixth generation cattle rancher from Oroville, California and is passionate about raising awareness of climate change to her community. However, growing up in a conservative town, navigating climate conversations and addressing environmental issues to local communities have been challenging. In this fireside chat, Megan opens up about how her lived experiences with climate related disasters have shaped her today and what it’s like to engage with communities in Rural America about climate.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
By speaking with communities outside of her bubble, Megan is learning to think about climate change in a holistic way.
What’s your background and how did it influence your current work today?
I’m a cattle and pig rancher, which I’ve been doing my whole life. I raise heritage hogs and angus cattle, and I help sell food directly to consumers and my community.
Every year since 2015, I’ve had a major climate related event—fires, floods, grasshopper infestation, etc. My ranch burned down in 2017, which was a year before the paradise fires.
As a sixth generation rancher in this family, I realize that I’m the only one who is experiencing these horrible natural disasters yearly—more than what all of my family members combined have been through in 6 years. It’s not normal and it’s frustrating.
Growing up in a conservative town, it also inspired me to have conversations with people who aren’t ranchers and are outside of my bubble. Engaging with different people changed my perspectives on agriculture and all things climate.
What’s it like to engage in the intersection of agriculture, Indigenous knowledge, social justice, and climate change?
I began to have conversations with people who weren’t white farmers and began to understand different points of views. I realized how valuable it was to understand how all of these topics are connected.
Wildfires are an important issue for me and I’ve heard people say they’re not manageable. But, Native Americans have managed it for several years before we put them on the sidelines. We need to take responsibility and fix what we broke.
What conversations influenced you to think differently about our planet?
I used to get angry with people who had different opinions. But now, I look back through my old Twitter conversations from many years ago and I get really embarrassed about my past POVs. I’m glad I’ve changed a lot.
I began to have conversations with other ranchers about different practices and how they treat their animals. Even though their practices are different, it made me realize that I shouldn’t single out any point of view immediately. That sparked other conversations and made me realize how climate and the way we treat our land is so interconnected.
How did you change your mindset?
It took a lot of years. I began questioning a few things about agriculture. I had some peers attack me even though I was just asking questions. I realized that’s how I used to react when engaging with activists. It’s not a good look and I didn’t want to embody that.
It took a lot of self-reflection and therapy. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on conversations and think about the questions that were running through my head. A huge part of my job involves me being alone with my animals. When you’re alone, you start questioning your behaviors and thoughts. In the meantime, I also read a lot, which exposed me to a lot of scientists, experts, and their research on climate and social justice.
How do you work in the farming world knowing that farming is a huge contributor to climate change?
I’m trying to operate my farm in a way that minimizes my climate impact. It can be difficult, but I’m trying to avoid using practices that are harmful to our planet. For example, I’m planting trees, trying to get involved with programs that are preserving range land, and moving grazing cattle away from land that is at risk of fire danger.
I acknowledge that a certain part of my ranch is commercial and I’m working towards selling to consumers directly. But, it’s going to take some time.
What’s the agriculture space like?
It’s very white, male, straight, and Christian. I don’t check all those boxes and it makes people uncomfortable.
When speaking with the California Cattlemen's Association, they often dismissed climate change as a critical issue. It was the most willful ignorance I’ve ever seen.
Why is climate denial so common in the Ag community?
Some people in the community are entitled and are used to getting their way. Climate change feels like an issue they can’t fight (which is not true) and they’re not used to that.
How do you engage with the people in your community about climate change? Is it difficult to be vocal?
Over the past couple of years, my own peers have harassed me for being outspoken. When I was a baby activist, I got hauled into my local cattlemen's meeting where many of my neighbors and community members yelled at me.
Although it wasn’t very fun, it turned me into who I am today. I’ve learned to embrace my identity and my beliefs. The fact that I upset so many people means I'm doing something right.
Therapy has also helped me a lot during those times. It hurts to hear your peers tell you you’re dumb and crazy. But, I’ve learned to build a good support system.
Are you open to having conversations or debates with someone who has different thoughts?
Yes! I will have a conversation unless someone brings up fallacies and refuses to listen. I’m active on Twitter. There’s going to be some people who engage with me, but there are others who watch. If I stay polite and reasonable, other people may start to learn and understand my point of view instead of immediately shutting it down.
How do you effectively approach conversations and get people to care more about climate?
I try to tell personal stories of how climate change has impacted my life. For example, I talk about how the wildfires led me to evacuate and my fears of my animals dying from climate-related disasters. People start to understand why it’s an important issue to me and it gets them to listen.
How do you manage your energy?
My job involves working with animals everyday, so any opportunity to hop on a Zoom call or engage in conversation on Twitter feels great! I do feel the mental drain sometimes, but I try to spend time with animals or go on a walk.
It took me a long time to learn how to manage my energy. I’ve learned to draw boundaries and limit what I engage with.
How do you cope with climate denial, climate change, and the attitudes that exist within the Ag community?
I sometimes vent on Twitter and I occasionally see how other people on the platform may be experiencing the same emotions that I’m expressing. It helps to know that I’m not suffering in silence.
How can people advocate for your work?
I enjoy engaging with people because it helps me get out of my bubble. Having people listen or read this fireside chat is an example. You can also follow me on Twitter and read about the work that I’m doing on my ranch!
Check out Megan's feature on the Slate here and support her on Twitter!
Get our free bite-sized climate action plans before you go!