Pork is Under Pressure

While we know that it is not most consumers leading these efforts, this small group is still loud and making it difficult for suppliers to navigate these difficult situations, Abby Kornegay says.

Any company involved in the production, processing and retailing of dairy, meat, poultry, eggs and seafood has at least one thing in common – the potential to be targeted by extreme animal rights organizations. These groups are opposed to humans using animals for any purpose, including for food. Among the many tactics used to advance their goal of eliminating animal agriculture and taking animal products off of our plates, one is of primary concern to any consumer-facing food brand – pressure campaigns and pushing for “incremental changes” under the guise of concern for animal welfare.

As much as I always advocate for agriculture and the consumption of animal products, I recognize buying decisions are deeply personal and never want to push anyone to make a choice they don’t feel comfortable making. Having consumer choice is a great privilege and something I feel proud to be a part of working in agriculture and food production. However, this small (but loud) group of animal rights extremists and vegan activists are working hard to eliminate choice. They are doing so by applying intense pressure to restaurant, retail and foodservice brands.

Primary tactics used in these pressure campaigns include the use of “scorecards” and pushing for incremental changes. “Scorecards” rank or grade various companies and food brands against each other based on public policies and commitments on various issues, including sow housing and cage-free eggs. Examples of “scorecards” within the pork community include the “Quit Stalling” report focused on eliminating the use of gestation stalls. Animal rights extremist groups are using these “scorecards” to push progress even further. The first step in their incremental approach was to change specific production practices. Now, these groups are demanding more “plant-based” menu options as part of their rankings.

Unfortunately, it won’t stop there. The demands and the tactics used will only get more extreme in their mission to eliminate consumer choice by having only vegan options available on the menu.

Here are some quotes from animal rights extremists in their own words:

• “We don’t want to set unrealistic goals. We don’t have to have a campaign to “end speciesism” because that is not achievable right now. We don’t want to start a campaign to get a steakhouse in Lincoln, Neb., to go vegan. First, we want to maybe have them introduce some vegan options and work towards it that way…make measurable progress and then escalate.”

• “We do know [corporations] are motivated by one thing, of course, and that is money. And generally, it means animal welfare isn't their motivation in life. They do care about their brand perception and how that affects sales. And they certainly care about their investors, and business partners and what they think about them. And this is good news for us.”

• “An incremental approach is used to gradually switch companies over to veganism.”

• “You want to put direct pressure on the decision makers in the company; know how the business functions and what will frustrate the decision makers the most.”

• “You don’t want to give your target time to catch its breath.”

• “When companies refuse to do the right thing, we send out action alerts to our members and boom, the company’s phone lines, email, and social media light up like the Fourth of July.”

While we know that it is not most consumers leading these efforts, this small group is still loud and making it difficult for suppliers to navigate these difficult situations. It’s time for the animal agriculture community to come together to support these members of the food supply chain and reiterate the importance of consumer choice – choices that include plenty of pork on the menu!

The Animal Agriculture Alliance has an in-depth report on this topic. Readers interested in the report can contact the Alliance at info@animalagalliance.org.

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