“If you want to be labeled a terrorist these days, all you have to do is show enough concern for animals that you are willing to be a watchdog.” ~ Robert Grillo, Free From Harm

Anxieties Rising in Meat Industry as Animal Activism’s Perceived Threat Looms Large

By Robert Grillo | March 25, 2013 |Free From Harm

The 2013 annual stakeholder’s meeting for the Animal Agriculture Alliance in May is entitled “Activists at the Door: Protecting Animals, Farms, Food & Consumer Confidence.” The expansive animal rights section of the AAA website features a subsection entitled “Agriculture is Outnumbered, Outfunded by Animal Activists.” It’s becoming increasingly clear that the perceived threat of activism to the agricultural industry and its key lobby group, AAA, is factoring heavily into their concerns.

The opening statement to the animal rights section of the AAA website sets the distorted tone with the following absurd misrepresentation of animal activism: “Radical activist organizations are leading the fight to grant animals the same legal rights as humans.” To suggest that the animal movement seeks to grant animals human rights to vote, to gay marriage, to abortion and to equal housing opportunities is no accident. It is a deliberate, underhanded smear tactic that shady politicians use to turn public sentiment against their opponents. The AAA sees their nemesis as a force to be defeated.

Keep reading. It gets even more interesting. Below this statement is a flowchart (AAA calls their “Activist Map”), displaying all of the major animal activism groups and how they  …