Pork Congress 2012 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
Pork Congress 2012 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
Pork Congress 2012 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
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• Makes people feel guilty for using animals as<br />
food, but doesn’t ask them to stop eating meat.<br />
Instead, activist groups ask people to “help stop/<br />
reduce the suffering” by contributing money or giving<br />
political support. “Consumers are told that they<br />
don’t have to change their consumption habits,”<br />
said Jamison, who has studied the animal rights<br />
movement for nearly 20 years. “They just have to<br />
help activist groups help the pigs by donating money<br />
to support the groups’ legislative efforts.”<br />
Activist groups also are using undercover videos of<br />
alleged animal abuse on farms to spur action from their<br />
latest target — grocery retailers. “Animal advocates have<br />
targeted retailers to bring about ‘value chain disruption,’”<br />
Jamison said. “Retailers guard their brands jealously,<br />
and when a potential animal welfare scandal appears<br />
to negatively affect their brand, they will take immediate<br />
action rather than suffer brand diminishment or cede a<br />
competitive advantage to other retailers regarding animal<br />
welfare.”<br />
Taking control of the message<br />
Given all these attacks on animal agriculture, what<br />
can the pork industry do to take control? Jamison said<br />
producers must lead the charge. Farmers must be willing<br />
to demonstrate what they do on the farm, as well as how<br />
and why they do it.<br />
“If we don’t do this, we’re providing the opponents of<br />
animal agriculture with a ready-made opportunity to<br />
show a video of our production or processing practices<br />
and make it look like we’re hiding something. Animal<br />
agriculture must be able to stand up for itself and morally<br />
claim the high ground, saying, ‘What we do is the right<br />
thing to do.’”<br />
us to bring animals from farm to family. We<br />
farmers take that sacred trust very seriously.” In<br />
addition, farmers must re-consecrate the act of<br />
using animals to disarm opponents’ arguments<br />
that animals are a mere commodity. This involves<br />
re-framing the view of animal agriculture around<br />
respect and thankfulness, Jamison said. A<br />
viable message could communicate that, “We<br />
acknowledge the sacrifice that animals make for<br />
us. We treat them with respect and thankfulness<br />
and are grateful that animal agriculture provides<br />
food security.”<br />
Farmers also must be aware of the pitfalls of<br />
brand hypocrisy, which can occur when an<br />
individual, a company or an industry does not live<br />
up to the values it appears to embrace. Consider<br />
Tiger Woods’ fall from grace that marred his brand<br />
of perfection and excellence.<br />
“In pork production, it’s important to walk the talk<br />
of the industry’s We Care program,” Jamison said.<br />
“Just one negative video that demonstrates brand<br />
hypocrisy can lead to a brand crisis that damages<br />
pork producers’ credibility.”<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> producers also will have to become more<br />
sophisticated with the messages they use to<br />
communicate their story, stressed Jamison, who<br />
noted that the stakes are high. “With a growing<br />
global population and increased demand for food,<br />
there’s no question that pork production will take<br />
place somewhere in the world. The big question<br />
is where this production will occur. Beating the<br />
activists at their own game will provide a key<br />
opportunity for farmers to keep producing pork<br />
here at home.”<br />
When sharing agriculture’s story with the public, Jamison<br />
recommends using messages like, “Consumers trust<br />
March <strong>2012</strong><br />
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