I often listen to talk radio when I cook. And today, while I was prepping for a Shabbat dinner I’m cooking tomorrow at the Foster City JCC where I’m facilitating a discussion on organic food, I heard an interview with Howard Lyman, otherwise known as the Mad Cowboy. If you haven’t heard of Lyman yet, you will.

A fourth-generation cattle rancher from Montana, Lyman converted his family’s small organic family farm into a massive feedlot with 5,000 cattle at one time. He was no different than all the other cattle ranchers, until he was diagnosed with a tumor on his spinal chord, paralyzing him from the waist down. Lyman had surgery, and was granted his mobility. But he also decided that that tumor was a wake-up call. He sold the farm, and decided to become a bit of a crusader, speaking out about the evils of the feedlots, and urging people to go vegan.

Imagine, a Montana cattleman promoting veganism. It is pretty funny when you think about it.

Lyman perhaps became most famous when he appeared as a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show. This was at the height of the Mad Cow disease scare, and Lyman spoke about how cows in feedlots are fed with other cows. When Oprah heard that, she declared it would stop her from eating another hamburger. The Cattle industry sued Lyman and Winfrey both, for defaming the beef industry, and lost.

There’s a lot more to this fascinating character, if you go to his website.