There is just something about the Pacific coastal states and their need to dictate how farmers produce food. California?s Prop 12 dictates to the other 49 states how they must produce meat products if they expect to sell, or even transport it, in their state. Now, Oregon voters might be faced with an initiative disguised as an animal protection act that could have repercussions all over the place.
IP-13 would not only ?protect animals from cruelty?, but it would ban hunting and fishing. It also would put unreasonable restraints on anybody even working with an animal, including groomers and veterinarians. Not to mention that it would outlaw livestock harvesting in the state. Mary Anne Cooper is the Oregon Farm Bureau VP of Public Policy. She says that as of now, the passage of this initiative is a ?long-shot?. It doesn?t even have support in the Portland area. However, this is a wake-up call to the industry.
Cooper says that there is a falsehood circulating which paints farmers and ranchers as wholesale abusers of animals. Something she adds is baseless because there are consequences already in place for the bad actors in the industry.
Cooper is urging producers to share their stories and combat the false messages coming from a select few, with no understanding of how animal ag works. Supporters have until next July to collect 112,000 signatures to put it on the ballot. Surely, they will use half-truths and flat-out lies about agriculture to further their efforts.
