Howard Lyman

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Howard F. Lyman was born in Great Falls, Montana, on September 17, 1938. He was raised on a farm that produced dairy and meat commodities.

He attended Montana State University and graduated in 1961 with a BS degree in general agriculture. Upon graduation he spent two years in the United States Army before returning to work on the farm.

From 1963 to 1983 he was actively engaged in animal and grain production. The areas in which he was involved were dairy, pork, registered Hereford, chicken, range cattle, feedlot beef production, veal, grain, silage, and hay production.

In 1979 Lyman was diagnosed with a tumor in his spine. Faced with the prospect of paralysis, he vowed to return to non-chemical means of farming if he beat the cancer. He survived an operation to remove the tumor and set out to transform his land into an organic farm.

This attempt to fly in the face of the chemical-based farming establishment led him to take a try at political office but he lost his first contest. He became a lobbyist instead and moved to Washington, D.C.

Circa 1990, again facing health concerns, he became a vegetarian and found his health improving. In 1989 Lyman began to investigate Mad Cow disease, which was just becoming an issue in Great Britain.

It was not until April 1996 that Lyman became well known. In an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, Lyman made remarks which in turn led to Oprah renouncing hamburgers. The National Cattleman's Beef Association sued Lyman and Winfrey. Both were found not guilty of any wrongdoing early in 1998.

Eventually Lyman became a vegan, co-authored the book Mad Cowboy , and became president of EarthSave. Leaving that post, he became president of Voice for a Viable Future.

He has a free electronic newsletter (details at his website) and has recently published a new book No More Bull, as well as three DVDs.