By Jim Klinker
Executive Secretary
Arizona Farm Bureau

Yes, I said “wins” and you are scratching your heads thinking we lost when voters passed Proposition 204 by a better than 60 percent to 40 percent margin. You are saying to yourself that our hog industry lost the use of gestation pens and if veal production ever comes to Arizona, dairymen cannot use small pens to hold the animals. You are feeling angry because out-of-state animal rights groups came to Arizona with their anti-meat agenda and told voters that large farmers treat their animals cruelly even though science says differently. And you are realizing that their victory has emboldened them to move their campaign to other states and the national capital.

So did I find myself a good pulled-pork sandwich and a corner table to write a convincing piece that says there is a positive side to what happened on Election Day? “Yes” on the “other white meat” and “yes” on the silver lining.

I was proud and humbled to be the chairman of the “No on Prop 204 it’s HOGWASH” campaign. I served with representatives of the beef, poultry, dairy, hog, cotton and agri-business community. National agricultural groups looked at us and where surprised at the close relationship our industry has in Arizona and the short amount of time it took for us to organize to respond to the initiative drive funded by out-of-state Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the U.S.

The National Pork Producers recognized early on that Arizona agriculture was united to do what it could to inform voters of the real issues associated with the animal rights zealots that had come to the state. In the end, national and state commodity associations, 30 state Farm Bureaus, 25 Illinois county Farm Bureaus, the American Farm Bureau, feed and pharmaceutical companies, veterinarians, lending institutions and hundreds of Arizona farmers and ranchers contributed to the $1.1 million campaign launched against the “Stop Cruelty to Animals” campaign.

And … herein is our “WIN.”

The agriculture community across this country recognized that the animal rights movement was a growing threat and a stand had to be taken. In 2002, they went to Florida - little was done and two family hog operations went out of business. In 2006, they were in Arizona targeting one large farm.

Plus, farmers can sense the threat. Animal rights leaders are unabashed in their crusade. The November 6, 2006 web based edition of Time magazine quotes one of their leaders as saying “If it works in Arizona, then we’ll go on to California and other states.” The article concludes that the eventual goal of the movement is federal legislation that bans cruelty to farm animals with legislation already introduced to set standards on space, food and veterinary care.

Early polling showed we started this campaign with nearly 80 percent of the voters supporting Proposition 204. We learned a lot in this campaign, as did our national pork allies. The campaign is being dissected into its good, bad and ugly elements for the next battleground.

We cannot lose the momentum that was built here in Arizona to organize against these national animal rights groups who are pushing their anti-meat and pro-vegetarian agenda on American consumers one small step at a time. The agriculture community across this nation won on Proposition 204 when it came together and began, with a single voice, to stand up in front of the public to expose the real agenda of animal rights advocates and defend modern agricultural practices. If we do not stay engaged, we may realize the prediction made during the Arizona campaign - production of agricultural products will move to other countries and that will not be good for the American consumer, the American farmer and probably not good for the pig.