Last year saw a disturbing uptick in public displays of extreme animal rights activism. From trespassing on farms and stealing animals to protesting during televised sports games, incidents of extremist demonstrations continue to be on the rise. In the continuous promise of protecting American farmers and ranchers from these impending threats, the Animal Agriculture Alliance released reports from various 2022 animal rights conferences to identify emerging tactics and targeted campaigns. Based on our inside scoop, here are a few projected trends to be aware of in 2023.
Political pressure
While harassing elected officials to include animal rights in their legislative campaigns isn’t a new approach, this tactic is becoming increasingly more discussed and encouraged among the animal rights movement. At several of the 2022 conferences, animal rights supporters were urged to take legislative action by bringing their demands to political offices. Connie Spence, founder of the Agriculture Fairness Alliance, stated at the Rancher Advocacy Program Summit, “Why are we not telling our own to literally run for a position? We are so intelligent at the breadth of detail that we have to give when it comes to our full story about veganism.” Jane Velez-Mitchell, founder of UnchainedTV, countered Spence’s suggestion by asserting that a more aggressive approach would be the only way to get through to legislators. She added, “How do we appeal to them? One is money and one is fear.” Assemblyman Dan Benson of New Jersey’s 14th District echoed Spence’s statement to attendees at ALDF’s Animal Law Conference by insisting, “You have got to run for office. You’ve got to work on campaigns… it is another way groups can really get the ear of staff.” He also encouraged attendees to be present during both the legislative and budgeting sessions of the legislature. While only the former session can introduce bills and pass laws, Benson reminded the audience to “never forget, funding drives a lot of the policy,” insinuating that activists should push for the funding of projects that would further the interests of the animal rights movement.
Reinventing plant-based marketing
After years of strategically offensive moves against animal agriculture, an unexpected trend has taken hold of the veganism crusade: pointing the finger back at itself. At the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s 2022 Animal Law Conference, keynote speaker Miyoko Schinner, founder and CEO of Miyoko’s [Vegan] Creamery, asserted that plant-based brands had taken the wrong approach to marketing products to consumers. Schinner acknowledged the animal agriculture community’s adept ability to speak to the hearts and emotions of people through picturesque imagery and strategic language. She challenged the plant-based food industry to mimic these same pathos-oriented strategies rather than use the standard “intellectual” messaging that compares their alternatives to existing animal products. Schinner spoke on taking this ideology to heart. “I have been a vegan for almost 40 years and my whole life has been around activism through food, and that’s really how I’ve tried to touch people,” she revealed. “Trying to reach their hearts through their stomachs.” “Raw Deal,” a recently published book that criticizes the meat supply chain in America, takes a similar approach in shaming the “alternative protein” industry for their slow progress in captivating consumers. In the book, author and Forbes staff writer Chloe Sorvino expressed that “despite the hype and fast growth, meat alternatives accounted for 0.2 percent of 2020 grocery meat sales in the United States, according to NielsenIQ. Or, rather, a bite that is still so small that meat industry executives, while on the offensive, are hardly that concerned.” She claimed that if plant-based alternatives were competitive in capturing the meat market, the environmental impacts would supposedly be significant, but they aren’t growing fast enough in popularity. In response, activists are challenging plant-based food brands to change their ways and define a unique product without comparing the quality, nutritional value, flavor, or texture to animal products.
Prioritizing youth involvement
Generation Z (Gen Z) is known for being one of the most outspoken, influential age groups to date, and animal rights activists have taken notice. Monica Chen, executive director of the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, explained to attendees at the 2022 Farmed Animal Conference E-Summit (FACES) that activism starts in the classroom. Chen pointed out that targeting youth is the best way to “foster the social disapproval around the consumption of animal products while normalizing plant-based foods.” Chen detailed her fearmongering tactic used in the classroom, revealing: “When we do our lessons, we target the audience’s emotions by creating a story about the suffering and destruction that factory farming causes and students are now primed for us to help them connect the story of factory farming to the story of who they are.” But activists aren’t only targeting Gen Z when class is in session. Miyoko Schinner, with the support of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, has also started a nonprofit called Leaders for Ethics, Animals, and the Planet (LEAP) as an alternative extra-curricular youth organization to “steer kids away from FFA, 4-H and other ag programs.” LEAP even follows a similar motto to 4-H (from 4-H to 4C – compassion, cultivation, climate, careers). She claimed that the nonprofit has already begun taking students into their associated farm animal sanctuaries and allegedly converting them to vegans by the end of their first semester. A product of these tactics targeting early development is fifteen-year-old activist Genesis Butler. Butler, who also spoke at the 2022 FACES Conference, has been vegan since she was six. At the age of 10, Butler gave a TEDx talk about the alleged negative impact of animal agriculture on climate change. Butler also started Youth Climate Save, a youth organization focused specifically on the alleged destructive impact of animal agriculture on the environment with the secondary goal of convincing people to adopt plant-based diets. She shared her opinion with conference attendees on why connecting with youth and adults outside of the movement is critical to its future: “It’s super important, especially educating people why it’s so important to change to a plant-based diet because that’s one of the easiest ways that you can help fight climate change.”
Don’t let them distract you
While protestors with glue, chains, and cement may garner more public attention, they can be a distraction to the animal agriculture community from safeguarding themselves against more destructive long-term campaigns. Regardless of the angle, all animal rights strategies are aimed at the common goal of dismantling animal agriculture by harassing, fearmongering, and misleading the public. For more information about the Alliance’s work monitoring activism, visit www.animalagalliance.org/initiatives/monitoring-activism.
All posts are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of the Animal Ag Alliance.
