Cruel irony: Farmers must spin the truth

Australian Financial Review (AFR), Thursday 10th April 2008
Mark Textor

Ten years ago, if one were to even sympathise with the broader message of an organisation like the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, you had to have been regarded as a bit bonkers. But today, while most ordinary people still consider extremists like PETA to be bonkers, they listen to their message - particularly when it concerns the care of animals that may end up in their own food chain.

All human decisions are driven in part by rational thinking but also by emotional triggers. At an emotional level today's consumers feel better if they know they're eating something that had a nice life before it ended up on their plates. Tied to this is a quite rational consideration that something well treated won't make them ill when they eat it.

After foot and mouth, BSE and the threat of an avian flu pandemic, the public has lost trust in the quality of food production and the integrity of the processes involved. They no longer believe in a consequence-free environment, and their suspicion of genetically modified crops is entirely understandable given their experiences.

Trust has to be earned and maintained and it will take demonstrable evidence of genuine change in a personally relevant context for farmers in particular to re-connect with consumers. Industry leaders need to realise that, now they are of mainstream interest and concern, these issues will be dissected in the media by the media. They must act now to lock in their support base, neutralise their opponents and persuade the undecideds to their point of view.

So far there is scant evidence this is happening. The Australian wool industry's response to PETA's long campaign against a practice known as mulesing is typical. Marshalling its talent for brilliant, celebrity-fuelled publicity campaigns, PETA instigated an immediate boycott of Australian wool that was quickly joined by international clothing brands such as Gap, New Look, J Crew and Timberland.

Leaders of Australian Wool Innovation, the industry's main body, first tried unsuccessfully to sue PETA for defamation and then promised to abolish mulesing by 2010, even though there is still no viable alternative. AWI has since lost the support of key wool brokerage companies and now has to contend with a breakaway group of its members wanting to reach a compromise with PETA.

And just in case the industry thought it could easily dismiss such campaigns as being only supported by animal rights "extremists" and "celebrities who know nothing about the real world", in March the head of Australia's Law Reform Commission, David Weisbrot, said concerns about animal welfare and the demand for organic "is likely to trigger the next great social justice movement in Australia".

This stands as a lesson to those involved in food production and animal products in how not to respond to the increased public interest in animal welfare issues. This is not a call for greater regulation but rather a call for greater activity from those involved in these issues to tackle their problems before governments do it for them. Time is running out.