As U.S. pork producers push for a fix to California’s Proposition 12, activists are flooding the airwaves with misinformation, especially in Iowa.
Rob Brennaman, 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 farm.”
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. We get everybody that I know that’s involved in the pig farming world, and we get 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 he said those lawmakers are under tremendous pressure from the group behind this 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 legislators Ashley Hinson, Randy Feenstra, Mariannette Miller Meeks, and Zach Nunn, had 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.
Brenneman and the NPPC are asking U.S. producers in and out of Iowa to get on their phones and to voice their support for getting a Prop 12 fix over the finish line as soon as possible. He’s seen firsthand that getting involved truly makes a big 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.
