By now, most farmers and dairy leaders have seen or heard about the undercover animal activist videos from Fair Oak's Farms. They showed inexcusable treatment of animals by "employees" and sparked a cruel social media campaign against dairy farmers and the products they produce. It was perfectly timed by animal activists to take over
June Dairy Month
and was successful in damaging the trust that so many consumers place on our farmers and their farming practices.
Over the last few years, the animal activist movement has grown more aggressive. Activists play off of the emotions of consumers by staging abuse videos and spreading misinformation. They are bullies who want to grant animals the same legal rights as humans. They often hide their true agenda in order to gain the support of unknowing pet lovers.
Consumers are flooded with information that is quick and easily assessed. Often what they perceive about food production becomes reality. How do we convince them that what they often see online is not the truth?
According to The Center for Food Integrity (CFI),
building trust isn’t just giving consumers more science, more research or more information. CFI research shows that it’s about demonstrating that you (the farmer) share their values when it comes to topics they care about most, like safe food, quality nutrition, outstanding animal care and environmental stewardship.
As the dairy industry moves forward we must regain trust and become more transparent from the farm to the grocery store. The anti-animal agriculture movement is here to stay and its costing our industry money.
I know that farmers have a long list of chores to complete each day before the sun goes down. It's challenging to find the time to manage a social media account and can be scary to open your farm up for scrutiny online. However, if consumers are willing to pay more for products from companies committed to a positive social and environmental impact then maybe it's time give them what they ask for.
