The airwaves in Iowa have become a new battleground in the long-running fight over California’s Proposition 12, as a controversial television advertisement paid for by the American Meat Producers Association targets U.S. Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley.
The ad claims both Iowa senators are receiving campaign contributions from China to support the Save Our Bacon Act, which is legislation designed to address the contentious pork production standards mandated by California’s Prop 12.
Industry Leader Responds
Rob Brenneman, president of the National Pork Producers Council, didn’t mince words when addressing the campaign against the Prop 12 fix on “AgriTalk.”
“It’s obvious that the animal rights activists have worried about us doing the right thing every day on our own, and they think they need to help us with that,” Brenneman says. “This is not about China. It’s attacking every pig farmer in the United States for what they do and why they do it. They have no idea what they’ve just got into because we are here for the battle.”
When asked about the American Meat Producers Association funding the ads, Brenneman expressed skepticism about their true motives and credentials.
“From what I’ve seen and heard about it, you know, I don’t believe they even own a pig,” he says. “They’re just at this to get rid of pig farming, cattle farming, all livestock farming in general. When you spend $30 million to attack people in Congress and people in the Senate to get your way, it must be pretty serious.”
The Real Agenda
Brenneman emphasizes the campaign represents something far more significant than animal welfare concerns.
“This is not about animal welfare. It’s not about China. It’s not about any foreign-owned company,” he insists. “It’s about livestock production in general and the consumption of meat in the United States. They want to eliminate that, plain and simple.”
The warning signs were there from the beginning. Before California voters even cast their ballots on Prop 12, industry observers cautioned that while the measure was being promoted as an animal health or welfare issue, it was actually backed by anti-animal agriculture groups. The concern was that passage would serve as “a foot in the door” for activists to continue pushing their agenda, a prediction that has proven accurate.
The Science and the Reality
Brenneman points out the producer and veterinary communities across the United States don’t support the notion that Prop 12 represents a science-based solution to animal welfare.
“There’s no science behind Prop 12 being the solution to animal welfare,” he explains. “Animal welfare is in the hands of us producers who take care of pigs every day, such as I do. You know, it’s not about crates. It’s not about open pen gestation. It’s not about outside pigs. It’s about the care of the animal, which we provide the very best care every day. And there’s no certain pattern that’s going to be better than one or the other.”
He characterizes the campaign as an effort to increase costs and reduce consumer purchasing, ultimately designed to put producers out of business.
Market Choice vs. Mandates
He says the pork industry’s position isn’t against producers who choose to comply with California’s standards, it’s about freedom of choice.
“We make decisions every day,” Brenneman says. “If there’s a market available that needs filled, a producer will adapt and do whatever it takes to fill that market, whatever that is. We just can’t have 50 different ways to raise pigs. It’s not affordable.”
He notes Prop 12 compliance costs more money than traditional methods, and some producers have made that investment while others haven’t.
“For those that do, there’ll still be a market if it’s popular, right?” Brenneman observes. “But if it was popular, consumption of pork would go up, not down. So, there’s something wrong with the story that they’re talking about.”
Threat to the Next Generation
The lack of regulatory certainty poses a serious threat to the future of family farming, according to Brenneman.
“This will consolidate the industry if it continues because our next generation needs certainty in the direction they need to raise pigs or farm or whatever they’re doing,” he warns. “If we don’t get a fix to Prop 12 today, there’s no certainty on how everybody raises pigs.”
For the next generation to remain involved in agriculture, he emphasizes, there must be clear direction and a fix to Prop 12.
The Campaign’s Impact and Reach
The advertising campaign appears to be achieving its intended effect. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas recently withdrew his support for the farm bill language that would provide the Prop 12 fix. The decision came after the same group threatened to launch a half-million-dollar ad campaign against Marshall, who is up for re-election.
“We hated that Senator Marshall pulled his support,” Brenneman says, revealing he was present during the discussions. “I happened to be in the room when we were having the conversation and it truly was the effort of the animal rights activists to throw money at campaigning against him, which is really sad on a person that was supporting everything we did.”
He notes Marshall genuinely believed in what producers were doing and that they were doing it right, making his withdrawal particularly disappointing.
Despite the pressure campaign, Brenneman expresses gratitude for continued support from key legislators, including Iowa Representatives Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Randy Feenstra, and Zach Nunn, as well as Senators Grassley and Ernst and other senators nationwide.
However, the campaign isn’t limited to Iowa.
“If you haven’t started to see these types of ads in Minnesota yet, stay tuned because they’re after Klobuchar as well,” warns AgriTalk Host Chip Flory. “This effort is, I hate to say it, just getting started.”
A Call to Action
Brenneman issues an urgent appeal to producers across the country: “It’s very important we as producers wake up, all of us wake up and tell our story and understand what’s going on here,” he urges. “As the Senator Marshalls cave in Kansas, of all places, with pig production and cattle production, they will continue to spend enough money to try and get everybody to cave. It needs to be the opposite. Show up and tell your story, people. Please, please, please, I’m begging you.”
