Posted By: Mira Trapper
Ranchers urged to become more proactive - 02/15/08 12:49 PM
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?Se...77286.92/7/2008 6:00:00 PM
Steven Kopperud, an expert in animal rights assualts on agriculture, describes the many groups that want to run cattle ranchers off the range in a session at the 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Reno Thursday.
Ranchers urged to be beef activists to counter anti-beef forces
Animal rights session at 2008 NCBA convention focuses on anti-beef war
Bob Krauter
Capital Press
RENO, Nev. - The nation's cattle ranchers face formidable, well-funded anti-beef activists who want to run them off the range, but food coalition groups and ranchers, themselves, can effectively fight back. On Thursday, in a session at the 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Reno, speakers described the challenges and opportunities in the animal rights battle.
Steven Kopperud, an expert on animal activist assaults on agriculture, said the biggest threat to cattle producers is the Humane Society of the United States, which has backed successful animal rights ballot measures in Florida and Arizona. The organization is currently trying to qualify an initiative on the November ballot in California to regulate animal agriculture and HSUS has threatened to do the same in Colorado.
Kopperud called the Humane Society of the United States a "cash cow" for animal rights initiatives and he deemed the organization "the worst, the biggest and the baddest" of all the groups who aim to eliminate meat from the nation's food supply.
Kopperud cautioned ranchers in the audience to be wary of many animal activist groups. He said the Humane Society of the United States may appear to be a "moderate" animal rights group, but it shares similar messages and goals with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"It is a very symbiotic relationship between the two groups," Kopperud said. PETA, he said, resorts to extreme measures to gain public attention and to keep its messages and philosophy in front of the public. That allows the Humane Society to come in behind PETA and appear to be more reasonable in promoting changes to how farm animals are raised, he said.
Dan Martosko of the Center for Consumer Freedom, a non-profit coalition of food and restaurant groups, told ranchers that it's not just animal rights activist groups that want to put ranchers out to pasture. Groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest and environmental and nutrition experts have jumped on the anti-beef bandwagon and advocated vegetarianism.
"There are close to 50 groups out there who are not animal rights organizations, but who have articulated anti-beef campaign messages in the last year," Martosko said. "If they are not completely anti-meat, they are trying to reduce per capita consumption."
To counter the anti-beef forces, he said state and national industry trade associations could be effective, but that "somebody has to be willing to slap back the activists."
Third party groups like the Center for Consumer Freedom can take the fight directly to animal rights activists to diminish their credibility and influence.
"Negative works," he said. "The members of your local associations are the ground troops, the NCBA is the air war from 30,000 feet up and we're the Blackhawk helicopters who do the special ops and beat on the bad guys and then disappear."
Darren Williams, an NCBA executive director for spokesperson development, encouraged members in the audience to become beef activists and to adopt them same approach that anti-beef groups take in using passion to drive home their messages.
"We've got a great story to tell and we need to tell it. You need to tell it. We've got to be willing to stand up for our industry," Williams said. "You need to be an advocate for preserving your way of life or it won't be around a few years from now. We have to be willing to speak out and to be heard."
He encouraged cattle producers to be the "ground troops" in the war to win over consumers about beef by speaking out to community groups, the media and online.
Capital Press California Editor Bob Krauter is based in Sacramento. His e-mail address is bkrauter@capitalpress.com
Steven Kopperud, an expert in animal rights assualts on agriculture, describes the many groups that want to run cattle ranchers off the range in a session at the 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Reno Thursday.
Ranchers urged to be beef activists to counter anti-beef forces
Animal rights session at 2008 NCBA convention focuses on anti-beef war
Bob Krauter
Capital Press
RENO, Nev. - The nation's cattle ranchers face formidable, well-funded anti-beef activists who want to run them off the range, but food coalition groups and ranchers, themselves, can effectively fight back. On Thursday, in a session at the 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Reno, speakers described the challenges and opportunities in the animal rights battle.
Steven Kopperud, an expert on animal activist assaults on agriculture, said the biggest threat to cattle producers is the Humane Society of the United States, which has backed successful animal rights ballot measures in Florida and Arizona. The organization is currently trying to qualify an initiative on the November ballot in California to regulate animal agriculture and HSUS has threatened to do the same in Colorado.
Kopperud called the Humane Society of the United States a "cash cow" for animal rights initiatives and he deemed the organization "the worst, the biggest and the baddest" of all the groups who aim to eliminate meat from the nation's food supply.
Kopperud cautioned ranchers in the audience to be wary of many animal activist groups. He said the Humane Society of the United States may appear to be a "moderate" animal rights group, but it shares similar messages and goals with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"It is a very symbiotic relationship between the two groups," Kopperud said. PETA, he said, resorts to extreme measures to gain public attention and to keep its messages and philosophy in front of the public. That allows the Humane Society to come in behind PETA and appear to be more reasonable in promoting changes to how farm animals are raised, he said.
Dan Martosko of the Center for Consumer Freedom, a non-profit coalition of food and restaurant groups, told ranchers that it's not just animal rights activist groups that want to put ranchers out to pasture. Groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest and environmental and nutrition experts have jumped on the anti-beef bandwagon and advocated vegetarianism.
"There are close to 50 groups out there who are not animal rights organizations, but who have articulated anti-beef campaign messages in the last year," Martosko said. "If they are not completely anti-meat, they are trying to reduce per capita consumption."
To counter the anti-beef forces, he said state and national industry trade associations could be effective, but that "somebody has to be willing to slap back the activists."
Third party groups like the Center for Consumer Freedom can take the fight directly to animal rights activists to diminish their credibility and influence.
"Negative works," he said. "The members of your local associations are the ground troops, the NCBA is the air war from 30,000 feet up and we're the Blackhawk helicopters who do the special ops and beat on the bad guys and then disappear."
Darren Williams, an NCBA executive director for spokesperson development, encouraged members in the audience to become beef activists and to adopt them same approach that anti-beef groups take in using passion to drive home their messages.
"We've got a great story to tell and we need to tell it. You need to tell it. We've got to be willing to stand up for our industry," Williams said. "You need to be an advocate for preserving your way of life or it won't be around a few years from now. We have to be willing to speak out and to be heard."
He encouraged cattle producers to be the "ground troops" in the war to win over consumers about beef by speaking out to community groups, the media and online.
Capital Press California Editor Bob Krauter is based in Sacramento. His e-mail address is bkrauter@capitalpress.com