All legal implications aside, the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court decision on California?s Prop 12 ballot initiative had some consequences beyond the fact that pork and poultry producers now have to spend astronomical amounts of money to comply with the wishes of one state. It also meant that we must be even more on guard with the information being spread about our industry. This is especially true when groups with agendas and extremist goals are pushing these ideas to voters who don?t have a total understanding of how the ag industry works.
Well, to be honest, neither do the groups with the agendas, but the problem there is they don?t care about what they don?t know. They only care about what they can use to convince others to side with them, many times without their understanding.
I think any person with a conscience would want to see laws enacted to protect the lives of animals and to free them from mistreatment. Even livestock producers don?t want the animals they raise for meat to be mistreated. For one, it ruins the quality of their product, and it also means a negative return on investment. However, it was animal welfare that extreme anti-ag and anti-animal ag groups used to convince California voters to pass Proposition 12. Science was never a part of it at all.
Science has shown time and time again that the way we have been raising animals and the way we are caring for them is built upon a commitment to the health and safety of the animal. You remember science, right? We heard so much about it during the pandemic, usually from a lot of these same people. I am not here to debate the COVID-19 issue; I am trying to prove a point. Groups like these anti-ag organizations only want you to ?follow the science? that supports their agenda. If the science doesn?t, then it is ?paid for by an organization or lobbying group? or ?tainted in exchange for research funding donations.?
We see this especially if we are talking about the safety of sows and their piglets. The Proposition 12 parameters aren?t geared towards the safety of the animal at all. It is geared to an agenda.
You best believe that as sure as God made little green apples if animal injuries and deaths occur because of the Prop 12 parameters, those same groups that are so concerned about the well-being of the animal, are going to go after the farmers again and try to make it even more difficult to produce animal products. Their end goal isn?t the quality of life for the animal. Their agenda is to do away with animal agriculture. They want to see animals turned loose and allowed to roam free. This means more feral hogs and more animal deaths caused by releasing those animals who have become dependent on farmers for their lives.
Please forgive me as I have digressed from the point I was trying to make. However, don?t forgive me for wanting to stick up for the producers who feed and clothe the world. Even if it is ironic that there are those who benefit from a farmer?s hard work, that want to destroy all you work for.
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has been talking about its ?We Speak Up? initiative. NPPC?s Annemarie Pender talks about the initiative.
We talked about the importance of this initiative and its target audience.
Pender talks about where farmers can find more information about the topics NPPC is talking about, and the resources for farmers to use in their own discussions.
You can learn more on the NPPC website.
