One of the key pillars of the Animal Agriculture Alliance is bridging the communication gap between the farm and food communities. We do this in several ways, whether that be producing reports on industry trends and animal rights activity or holding webinars on hot topics.
This fall, we took our engagement up close and personal by hosting farm tours in North Carolina for representatives from seven different restaurant and consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. While it requires more effort than hosting an online forum, nothing takes the place of brand leaders seeing farms in person and asking farmers about animal welfare, sustainability and responsible antibiotic use.
Important Conversations
As sow housing continues to be a topic of discussion across the U.S., our visit to a hog farm was a much sought-after tour stop. We worked with a hog farmer who was kind enough to open his barn doors to us. At his farm, we visited with his sow farm manager who raises pigs in both a group housing setting and with gestation stalls.
This led to honest conversation about the unique aspects of raising pigs in both systems, as well as current industry trends and where they see the pork community going in the future. This was important as many of these leaders are responsible for helping guide their brand’s decision on pork sourcing, but many had never visited a farm with gestation stalls. They even saw piglets being born.
Leaders in the restaurant, retail and CPG community are important partners in our supply chain. As members of the farming community, we pass along our contribution — animals we raise to be safe, nutritious sources of protein — and they continue to reach millions with their products.
Unfortunately, food industry leaders are often faced with extensive pressure from animal rights activist groups, asking them to commit to policies that are more than likely not rooted in science and often will negatively impact the supply chain. To help push forward their ulterior motives, animal rights activists will often frame themselves as “experts” in welfare or sustainability.
To combat this effort and support our partners in the restaurant, retail and CPG community, we must work to maintain this “open barn” policy to help others navigate issues related to animal welfare, housing, sustainability, antibiotic use and many others. As those with true boots-on-the-ground knowledge, you are essential to providing your input on decisions regarding how animals are raised and how that will affect the supply chain long term. If we are not there to help support the rest of the supply chain, animal rights activists will be ready and waiting to fill that gap.
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