The Animal Agriculture Alliance (Alliance) has released its reports from attending five animal rights conferences held in 2022, showing tactics animal rights organizations are using to advance their causes against animal production.
The Alliance noted there were some key takeaways from the conferences, including the continued use of undercover videos as evidence and marketing campaigns designed for an emotional—rather than intellectual—appeal, along with pressuring elected officials to include animal rights in the legislature.
“Animal rights extremist organizations are becoming increasingly more persistent in attacking the animal agriculture community through various channels, including pressuring our restaurant, retail and foodservice customers; targeting the public with misleading emotional campaigns; and using the legal system,” said Hannah Thompson-Weeman, Alliance president and CEO.
The five conferences the Alliance attended in 2022 were: the Humane Society of the United States’ (HSUS) Taking Action for Animals (TAFA) Conference held in July, the Rancher Advocacy Program’s (RAP) Summit also in July, Animal Place’s Farmed Animal Conference E-Summit (FACES) in September, Animal Legal Defense Fund’s (ALDF) Animal Law Symposium also in September, and ALDF and the Center for Animal Law Studies’ Animal Law Conference held in November.
Conference details
The Alliance found at several conference sessions that animal rights organizations are continuing to use undercover investigators and videos to further their cause and to use them in legal proceedings as evidence.
The Alliance noted that at HSUS’ TAFA Conference, Sharon Nъсez, president of Animal Equality, stated, “(Undercover) investigations are a foundational aspect of our work as we bring light to the darkness of factory farming.” She added that in the eyes of the animal rights community, there is “nothing more powerful” or as revered as an “undercover investigator.”
At the Animal Law Conference, speakers noted the use of undercover investigations to expose pigs “trapped in crates and the brutality of it” when talking about California’s Proposition 12 and the treatment of chickens raised for Costco, which led to a New York Times exposй.
Another topic addressed at several of the conference sessions was the use of social media, consumer outreach and marketing of the animal rights movement to show consumers and children how to eliminate meat from their diet.
Monica Chen, executive director of the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, told attendees at the FACES conference that a tactic she uses in the classroom is to create “a story about the suffering and destruction that factory farming causes, and students are now primed for us to help them connect the story of factory farming to the story of who they are.” Chen added that by targeting children, it helps to “foster the social disapproval around the consumption of animal products while normalizing plant-based foods.”
At the ALDF’s Animal Law Conference, Miyoko Schinner, founder and CEO of Miyoko’s Creamery, with the assistance of ALDF, said they are launching an alternative to 4-H and FFA. Stephen Wells, executive director of ALDF, said 4-H and FFA are organizations “that are essentially teaching children that animals are commodities to be bought, sold, traded and slaughtered.” The new alternative group is called Leaders for Ethics, Animals & Planet, a youth organization to “steer kids away from FFA, 4-H and other ag programs.”
An organization called Generation Vegan made short videos of people giving testimonials of how going vegan allegedly cured their chronic diseases and how animal agriculture contributes to speciesism.
“We’re here to unite, to disrupt, to transform and I believe that the vegan movement can do that very effectively through rhetoric, storytelling, and films,” said Naomi A. Hallum, managing director of Generation Vegan.
Political influence
Lastly, the Alliance noted another trend at animal rights conferences was for people to be involved in the political process to bring more attention to the animal rights movement.
Connie Spence, founder of Agriculture Fairness Alliance, encouraged attendees at the RAP Summit to get involved in creating legislation or running for office because “traditional activism isn’t enough.”
“I believe that lobbying is a duty, and it needs to become one, and again, it goes back to those revenue streams,” Spence said at the conference. “If consumer dollars were only dollars that were supporting the food system, then yes, our activism on the street would be what would perhaps change it and the more and more vegans that we had and more and more plant-based food on the shelf would equate to less animals, but the problem is that our tax dollars support certain industries.”
At the Animal Law Symposium for a panel discussion titled “The Importance of Considering Animals in Political Campaigns,” attendees were encouraged to volunteer for political campaigns, apply for internships and lobby legislative representatives.
“You have got to run for office, you’ve got to work on campaigns… it is another way groups can really get the ear of staff,” New Jersey Assemblyman Daniel Benson (D-14) said.
At the HSUS TAFA conference, a panel discussed the roles and strategies of the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) and how their budget is allocated up to 100% for lobbying and political activities.
“What we care about frankly is what’s known as the toss-up races and it’s the lean Republican, lean Democrat because those are the areas we have the most potential for impact,” Sara Amundson, president of HSLF said.
Another part of their mission is the “education, registration, and mobilization” of voters.
“We do a lot of media surrounding National Voter Registration Day, which we see as a symbol of power of your vote for animals, those who can’t speak for themselves,”said Amanda Coker, specialist of Political Affairs at HSLF.
Thompson-Weeman said releasing the reports allows Alliance members and the agriculture community “to be well-informed of emerging tactics so that they can take steps to safeguard their livelihoods from potential extremist threats.” —Charles Wallace,WLJeditor
