Activist-led ballot initiatives and other legislative measures have been at the forefront of the news. Timely, the Animal Agriculture Alliance spoke about animal activism and the negative impact it could have on your dairy operation during a World Dairy Expo seminar. Abby Kornegay with the Animal Agriculture Alliance said that animal welfare and animal rights can be misconstrued by activists.
“Animal Welfare is what we all strive to achieve. It is how we take care of our animals. It is science-based, it’s providing them with everything they need,” she says. “That’s something we all strive for. Animal rights is just the idea that animals should have rights analogous to that of a human, and when we talk about an activist, that’s what they want - animal rights.”
Kornegay shares that the activist agenda is ultimately to eliminate the use of animals from the food chain. She also shares that while there are different activists groups, they are all connected.
“They work together to create a voice for their mission of animal rights,” she says.
As we have come to learn over the years, animal activists are extreme with their messaging and make bold statements.
Tactics Targeting Animal Ag
- Undercover videos. “This is kind of a tried-and-true tactic for activists. We’ve been seeing this for a long time,” Kornegay says. A prime example is the fairlife undercover video that had an employee document animal abuse negligent behavior. Also, during these kinds of undercover videos, employees can create scenarios or take things out of context.
Kornegay says the downside for activist groups to conduct undercover videos is that it takes a long time. The employee generally needs to work long enough to have established trust before conducting the videos.
- Install cameras & recording. This is when someone comes to the farm, installs a camera and monitors the footage. While this has occurred more with swine and poultry, Kornegay says it could happen with dairy, too. She recommends looking at your Wi-Fi signal on your farm. “If you see a weird Wi-Fi, that could be a camera,” she says.
- Drones. An activist can be using frontline surveillance to look for any weak spots in a dairy.
“Maybe they want to have an undercover worker and they are trying to see what your schedule is and when people come and go what did they wear,” Kornegay says.
- Mass Protests. These happen at farms, but also in production facilities when large groups camp out. “This is very intense, but something we watch out for,” she says.
- Home Protests. Taking protests off the farm but targeting the management of your brand. One example that recently happened is an activist group dumping manure on Starbuck’s management lawn, protesting that the company charges for milk alternatives.
Animal Agriculture Alliance monitors all activist activity in agriculture, not just in dairy.
Producer Tips
- Work with legislation. “Working with policy actually starts on the local level,” Kornegay says. “It has been recommended from many other groups that the best way to advocate for yourself and your farm is to start being more involved with your local legislative activity.”
- Keep Your Farm Safe. Kornegay encourages producers to create a plan to help protect your farm. “A great way to start figuring out a plan for your farm is to consult professionals,” Kornegay advised. “Whether that be industry professionals, academia, or another farmer with a plan already in place, it is good to receive advice on how to protect your farm.”
For more information on how to continue to advocate for the dairy industry, visit animalagalliance.org.
To listen to the full recording of the Expo seminar of “Could Activists Carry Away Your Dairy?” go to: https://worlddairyexpo.com/pages/Expo-Seminars.php
