If you’re a producer of livestock and poultry, you already know about the efforts by animal activists (or agitators) to try and shut you down and hurt you financially. Those activists tried to that across the U.S. in 2024 using the ballot box.
“The heartwarming part is that all of agriculture came together and helped fight these initiatives,” says Bryan Humphreys, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). He says there were a great number of ballot issues last year wanting to eliminate animal agriculture altogether.
There was a ballot measure in Sonoma County, California, and one in Denver, Colorado. The one in Sonoma County was going to ban Confined Animal Feeding Operations, and 85 percent of the folks there voted against that and with American farmers. In the state of Colorado, in Denver, there was an effort to ban harvest facilities, and 65 percent of Denver voters voted with American agriculture to stop that ban. A couple of bright spots over the election where the voters stuck with American agriculture.”
He says that activists are seeking to shut down ALL aspects of animal agriculture.
“In Sonoma County, California, it was all livestock. It was any medium CAFOs and larger that were going to be banned at this at best. In Denver, it was to stop any slaughter facilities inside of Denver, and there is only one. It is a lamb processing facility, Superior Meats. All of agriculture came together and helped contribute money and resources as appropriate to help fend these off, and so, agriculture came together in a strong way,” says Humphreys.
But, these animal activists are continuing their efforts, which is why the Animal Agriculture Alliance is working to protect livestock and poultry producers. You can find out more at their website—AnimalAgAlliance.org.
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