As U.S. pork producers push for a fix to California’s Proposition 12, activists who are seeking to harm the livestock industry are flooding the airwaves with misinformation, especially in Iowa, at a critical time.
A legislative fix for Prop 12 was left out of the Senate’s draft version of the Farm Bill released this past week, and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) says the campaign spreading false claims is targeting both lawmakers and consumers in an effort to derail efforts to address the law.
Rob Brenneman, an Iowa producer and president of the National Pork Producers Council, said the people behind the misinformation are trying to end animal agriculture in the U.S. “They’re just absolutely flooding the airways with the misinformation, and they’re telling the world that the Chinese basically are the ones that are going to benefit from changing this Prop 12 rule, and they’re really not. It’s the American pig farmer who’s out here every day that’s getting targeted by this group. So, when they attack pig farming, they’re not attacking the Chinese. They’re attacking us, and that’s the independent pig farmer.”
Brenneman said the misinformation campaign comes as lawmakers continue debating the future of a Prop 12 fix, arguing that opponents are working to influence public opinion and members of Congress by portraying the issue inaccurately. He maintains the debate isn’t about animal welfare but about the future of independent pork producers.
As a working pork producer, Brenneman said hearing the ad campaign provoked a strong emotional response. “Like I’m ready to go to battle, because that’s not what we do every day when we get out of bed. Everybody that I know that’s involved in the pig farming world gets out of bed with the intent to do better today than we did yesterday. It has nothing to do with the Chinese, because that’s not who we’re involved with. It’s not about Chinese. It’s about the American pig farmer. This whole thing is not about animal welfare. That’s what they keep talking about, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about putting American pig farmers out of business. Prop 12 does nothing for animal welfare, and the veterinarians have come out and said that exact same thing. Producers in our barns every day, we would say the same thing. This isn’t animal welfare. The animal welfare is in the hands of the individuals who take care of the pigs, no matter whether it’s inside, outside, in a crate, or wherever it’s at.”
NPPC is grateful for the strong support from many legislators over the years, and Brenneman said those lawmakers are under tremendous pressure from the group behind the campaign. “There’s a lot of pressure on all the people who have stood up for us over the years. Senator Grassley, Senator Ernst, and all the other senators around the United States, and also at home, including Representatives Ashley Hinson, Randy Feenstra, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Zach Nunn, have all been champions for this, and they’ve been behind us for years on this campaign, and they’re just getting pounded. So, anything you can do as a pig farmer to help support those people in voice and thanks, continue to thank them over and over again because they have not caved, and we need to make sure we keep them on our team every day of the week,” said Brenneman.
With a Prop 12 fix absent from the Senate’s current Farm Bill draft, Brenneman and the NPPC are urging producers across the country to contact their senators and voice support for legislation that would prevent one state’s production standards from dictating practices nationwide. He’s seen firsthand that getting involved truly makes a difference.
“When I got on NPPC Council, I had no idea that going to D.C. would make a difference, but I can tell you, if you show up and you talk to the people in D.C., or even your local senators and representatives, they listen. They don’t always get the right story, even though you think they might, but I know that some of the conversations I’ve had, they look at me in awe, and they’re like, ‘I didn’t know that.’ So, they’ve not been told the real story. The real story is coming from real producers, real American pig farmers. Tell your story. Show up.”
He also said it’s important that lawmakers understand one state should not be able to set agricultural policy for the entire nation.
