Meat Industry Surveillance Exposed: Big Ag Is Tracking Animal Rights Activists | Rising Anxieties

I know, I know there are many, many things that are making us all nervous. Uh, but you know, my job here is to pinpoint the things that are making the meat industry nervous, hopefully us. And indeed you'll hear that we still, we can still upset them.

It is true, but also, you know, some of the things that are making us nervous about them, which is pretty much everything they do, like murdering all the animals.

And, uh. Welcome. Don't forget to listen to our other podcasts, which is, uh, The Hen Report and the interview. And this week I'm gonna be doing an Animal Law Podcast interview, which is gonna be very exciting.

I'll tell you about that at the end. But right now I wanna get into these articles because I'm actually doing two articles on the same report. The first is um, from Desmog, which is a, a, you know, a news site that you might be familiar with. It mostly, it mostly reports progressively on environmental issues, but this week it's talking about us.

This is an article by Claire Carlisle, uh, Revealed: Chilling Surveillance of Activists by Meat and Dairy Industry. The Animal Agricultural Alliance, which briefs the FBI, has tracked over 2,400 individuals linked to animal welfare and environmental groups. And I know you already know some of this and we've talked about some of this, but this really ties it all together and really shows that, you know, it's not just us who's paying attention to this, it's also, at least people in the environmental movement are also very nervous about this.

Which, you know, is, is really a good sign. Alright. She starts by, by mentioning that, um, the, the meat industry has of course engaged in "intrusive surveillance of animal rights groups" and, uh, that this includes monitoring relationships between activists and tracking employees of leading charities.

And you know, we're not just talking about Direct Action Everywhere, though we certainly are talking about them. Uh, so, but I'll, I'll, i'll, I'll share that in a moment. Um, alright, so she's talking about the Animal Agriculture Alliance, which of course we follow closely, and they have been, uh, sharing, they collect the information and then they share it with livestock companies. And this includes uh romantic partners of people they're nervous about, biological ties of those in animal rights organizations. I mean, they have done a deep dive. They really have.

There's a reasonably good chance that you, you're in here. Uh, I don't think I am actually, which is, and I don't think Our Hen House is. I, I don't really know. Which is both, you know, reassuring and disappointing.

Um, but, but they, uh, in one instance, the Animal Agricultural Alliance shared the location and photo of an activist's girlfriend with industry members who were passing intelligence to the local sheriff. It's nice. That's nice. Um, I think that happened in Iowa.

Um, and, you know, Animal Agricultural Alliance is funded by the industry, but it says here, it's part funded by public money. I'm not exactly sure how that works. I know, I know they, they get, um, checkoff money, which, you know, it's, it's money from industry players, but they're kind of forced to pay it by the government, if my understanding is correct.

Um, alright, so they've created this database of 2,400 individuals, including those who affiliate on social media with animal rights groups. Thus, uh, you know, I don't know who, who you are obviously, but, but there's a whole range of people out there who might be listening to this podcast who might be on their lists. Uh, I don't think that you couldn't possibly be. Um, so there's some examples.

In 2019, it persuaded the mayor of Minneapolis to withdraw support for a meatless Monday school campaign. How outrageous Meatless Mondays. Um, also in 2019, it orchestrated a mud slinging campaign against a flagship scientific report that called for cuts to meat and dairy consumption. Well, we're, we're pretty used to those types of shenanigans.

Um, they have a direct line to staff at the FBI. I wonder if you know all of the, the crazy stuff that's going on at the FBI, I wonder who's getting fired. Is it anybody who has friends in the meat industry? Probably not. They're probably the people who are still there. Also, uh, the Department of Homeland Affairs. Um, and, uh, they, they keep a dossier of extreme activities, um, which includes, um, arson. Well, that would be pretty extreme. Have you ever heard of an animal rights group starting arson? I mean, maybe I don't... I I pay pretty close attention. Um, harassment to banner drops and observation of conditions on farms.

How extreme can you get observing? I'm outraged. It has also worked with a private security firm to provide weekly email briefings on activist organizations to corporate interests and government officials. This is where the government is getting its information from about us. Um, all right. I'm gonna give you a quote from the, um, Animal Agricultural Alliance from their director of Communications, Emily Ellis.

"The Alliance categorically rejects the characterization of our work in your inquiry. The Alliance shares relevant information and resources that are helpful to the food community." They'd like to call themselves the food community, you know, like align themselves with all other kinds of food as if we're against food. Um, "but does not seek to influence or direct the actions of any organization or law enforcement." Are you kidding me? "Our mission is to safeguard the future of animal sourced foods and their value to society by bridging the communication gap between the farm and food communities. We connect key food industry stakeholders to equip them with responses to emerging issues, engage food chain influencers, and promote consumer choice by helping them better understand modern animal agriculture." Well, that all just sounds great. They, she did not respond to any questions about their surveillance work or the nature of information on activists that it had shared with law enforcement.

She didn't say they didn't do it, she just didn't answer those questions. Um, so, uh, I was previously talking about that work in, in, um, Iowa, which had to do with, um, tracking the location of Matt Johnson, who has of course been on the podcast as a member of, um, Direct Action Everywhere. He went back to Iowa, his, his home state, um, for his birthday.

And so they emailed, um, the communications director of the Iowa Pork Producers Association and, and discussed, um, options for calling Ken, who was Iowa's Republican senator Ken Rosenbaum. Who's also a pig farmer by coincidence, and, uh, and has been a leading advocate for stricter laws against activists filming on farms.

Um, Matt Johnson had said he wanted to contact Rosenbaum, you know, just openly, so they wanna get there first. Um, and so Hannah Thompson Weiman, you know, who's of course the president now, or the CEO, I'm not sure what her title is, of the Animal Agriculture Alliance. She gave the name and an image of Matt's girlfriend, who was also in Iowa and said, folks should be on the lookout for her as well. And the sheriff in the area has been notified.

Do you believe this? Like, yeah, I guess you do. Um, and, and you know, they've been keeping dossiers. It's not just Direct Action Everywhere. It's also Compassion In World Farming, um, Mercy for Animals, um, tracking ties between employees of these groups. Because like, how insane is it that animal rights groups would have people who know each other working for them? Um, organizations that they, they classify as high risk for animal agriculture include DXE, Humane World for Animals, PETA, um, and other groups that they're really focused on are Animal Outlook and Our Honor.

Congratulations Crystal. Um, Crystal Heath, of course, who runs Our Honor. And, um, Wired, uh, they're citing back to an article from Wired in June that quote, "undercover operators for the for the Animal Agriculture Alliance embedded within the animal rights group, uh, Direct Action Everywhere and fed the trade organization daily reports about protests and meetings, as well as photographs, audio recordings, and other documentation."

Uh, uh, this is just so sad. You know, they, they share the, so they collect, this is how they collect all this information and, uh, then they, they share weekly updates on animal rights extremist activity via their email newsletter, which reports on recent and planned protests, um, shares the name of individual activists. They send this not just within the industry, but also to government officials. This is how government is hearing about us. Um, alright, so the, the funding it, it says 60% of the a of their funding comes from fees that are paid annually by members, um, between $1,500 and $50,000.

So, you know, the industry is really forking it over for this, for this organization. And they don't publish a membership list, but had, according to this, um, to this article, the minutes from a 2018 meeting reveal, it has a number of members who are checkoffs or publicly funded institutions. These checkoffs are, are these trade groups, but they're not, they're not independent from government.

They're overseen by the USDA and they promote commodities, you know, like, Um, I think pork, the other white meat and, uh, the dairy, um, milk mustache. I can't remember a recent one really. And um, alright, so check off, they're funded through mandatory levies paid by all farmers in the sector.

And a lot of farmers are really against paying money, paying this money, but they have to, uh, so you know, it's sort of private money, but not really. Um, and, uh, they, they, they have a lot more on funding in this article. I highly recommend reading the article. Don't just go by this, this is really important stuff.

And, um, they've also hired professional security firms, PR firms. There's this one called Information Network Associates Associates and they were previously implicated in a 2022 lawsuit brought by animal rights organization, PETA, go PETA, after it found that the police department at Oregon Health and Science University, maybe that would be the local police department, I don't know, um, was receiving near daily intelligence style updates on PETA from the firm.

A judge ruled that the department had illegally surveilled the organization by receiving information from this, um, from this outfit. Uh, so, you know, the police, they don't even have to do anything, they're just fed this information and they're like, oh wow, this looks bad. Um, and privacy advocates and civil society groups say that the, um, Animal Agricultural Alliance's surveillance raises acute concerns, given the group's access to law enforcement officials.

I mean, no shit. Uh, they regularly brief law enforcement groups, including the FBI, and we don't really know what they tell them, but, but there has been some access to the minutes that suggest that the Alliance spoke about activists mon monitoring farms. Like exactly what does that mean? And documenting animal welfare issues, oh my God.

Quote, begging drivers to release animals being transported by truck, as well as constructing roadside memorials for animals killed in transport accidents. All of these were described as extreme activities. Nice right?

Uh, interestingly, I also have another article on, on this very same report, and this is from Ag Daily, which of course is an industry oriented site. Industry Report Reveals New Layers to Animal Rights Movement. They did have a different take on the whole thing, obviously. Um, and starts off saying pro protests, uh, demonstrations and incidents of animal rights organizations breaking into farms. Breaking into, uh, and while quote, undercover videos are still a significant tactic, the strategies employed by activist groups are far more sophisticated than they were even a decade ago.

I, you know, I would like to think that's true. I hope that's true. I mean, people are certainly working, working their asses off trying to get this information out. Um, so there's two things that they're citing to. One is, um, the Radical Vegan Activism Report. That's what it's called, um, and also a major animal activist group's web.

And I'm gonna talk about that in a second, but let me talk about a little bit of, about what they have to say about the report. The same one you just heard about. Um, a, according to this, the largest players continued to be Humane World for Animals. Um, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the ASPCA, surprisingly.

I think of the ASPCA as certainly having some work in, in the, the meat, uh, world. But, you know, not mostly, but maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. Then they, they, they list, uh, this is so confusing, 59 instances of vandalism, 43 cases of animal theft or, and or release well theft and or release.

That, that I've heard of. There could have been vandalism, uh, you know what do I know? 31 trespasses, also yes. Uh, I've certainly heard of trespass because that's how people rescue animals and five arson cases, I don't know. Um. According to Hannah Thompson Weiman, who was quoted here, "Animal activist group tactics are becoming more extreme in nature, putting farmers, ranchers, and food workers, not to mention food security at risk. While some groups may outwardly appear more moderate in goals and beliefs, they are all connected by one key mission to eliminate animal agriculture and take a nutrient-dense food group off the menu."

Um, yeah. Well, I mean, I'm not sure they all are. That's my mission. That's my mission. But, uh, I, I hope they're all united with that.

Um. And they talk about, which the other article talked about too, that we're not talking about just money. Um, you know, like the animal rights movement has, has so much money and the meat industry has none. But also the collaboration, um, like how Animal Activist Legal Defense Project is working to... Animal Activist Legal is working to appeal a felony conviction of Wayne Hsiung.

Well, why shouldn't they? That's what they're set up to do. Why, why is that surprising to you? New additions to the web include Animal Activist Legal Defense Project. That's of course the, at the University of Denver, um, Law School, the Brooks Institute. They'll be, I'm not sure they'll be thrilled. Legal impact for Chickens, congratulations, and Simple Heart initiative, which of course is, is Wayne's. They didn't find Our Hen House. Should I feel bad? Should I feel good? Um, animal rights groups have long attempted to undermine livestock producers and others in agriculture. But it's important to note that animal rights, a philosophy that views animals as deserving of rights similar to those enjoyed by humans... similar to, some are the same, not so much the right to vote, or many other rights enjoyed by humans.

Alright, I digress. Alright, animal, um. It is a different beast than animal welfare. Strange choice of words, which describes an animal's state of being, including health, comfort, nourishment, expression of natural behaviors, and freedom from negative states. The animal agriculture community wholly supports animal welfare in this industry.

Oh my God, how do they live with themselves? Really? How? All right. Then there's this other, um, Radical Vegan Activism. Uh, it's like a chart. And they go through some of the numbers that I already talked about, which, you know, I don't know. And top 10 targeted countries. The UK is number one, congratulations.

We're, United States is number two. Of course, we're a much bigger country, so this isn't really fair. Um. You know, then there's Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Uh, but then they have, this is my favorite thing, radical vegan activists in their own words. These radical vegan activist groups are well funded and well organized about one extreme agenda- to shut down farms raising animals for food and eliminate meat, poultry, dairy, seafood, and eggs from American's diets.

That is exactly right, in my opinion. Um, alright, so they have these quotes and this is, they, they, this is obviously is to reveal... like nobody's hiding that this is basically their agenda. Well, it's not everybody's agenda, but, but uh, for the ones that are. Alright, from PETA, uh, the ending species, this is from Matthew Brown, who's the Senior Manager of Grassroots Protest Campaigns.

I'm not sure that's their most senior person in 2021, but you know, good for Matthew. "Ending speciesism is our ultimate goal. One strategy to end speciesism would be to end the use of animals as food." That is a great quote. I'm glad they chose it. They also quote Dan Matthews, who used to be Senior Vice President.

I haven't heard about Dan Matthews in a long time, but this is a quote from 2008. "I consider all meat eating cannibalism." I like it. It's a little dramatic and a dramatic quote is good. Alright. Direct Action Everywhere, Wayne Hsiung, is quoted as, "We are trying to destroy animal agriculture." Yeah. Um, their mission statement, "We will achieve revolutionary social and political change for animals in one generation."

Nice. Uh, from your lips. Um, from The Humane League, they're quoting, um, David Coman-Hidy who's no longer with there. And this is this. Alright, this quote, I have to unpack this a little bit. "Find a vulnerable target. The crueler it is, the quicker the fight is over," from David Coman-Hidy. Now they are saying that he is paraphrasing William Tecumseh Sherman.

That would be like, like the, the, uh, Civil War, uh, general who basically, uh, brutalized the South, um, in, uh, in, in fighting. Not a, not a highly well thought of, um, person of the Union Army. Um, alright. So what David said is, "Find a vulnerable target. The crueler it is." They said he, he was paraphrasing Tecumseh, I mean for Sherman, um, who said, "Find a vulnerable target. The crueler it is, the quicker the fight is over."

Clearly what Sherman was saying is be brutal in fighting your tar in, in conquering your target. What David is saying, obviously, is find a really cruel target and then, you know, like find something they're doing to animals that's really cruel. And then you wanna, you know, you'll be able to win quickly.

They're saying totally different things. All right. I'm sorry, I digressed. I know, but, but I had to explain that, um, from Humane World for Animals, uh, old quote from Inga Frick, um, who was the former Director of Sheltering Initiatives and Outreach. Not sure why they're quoting Inga. I know why they're quoting Inga.

"Sometimes you have to be aggressive and it doesn't matter what form." Well, that sound, I mean, that sounds like it was totally taken out of context. It's really, I mean, sometimes you do have to be, it's not wrong. It, it. Though, I guess it would matter what form of aggressive you were being. So, uh, yeah, I don't even believe that that's what anybody meant.

Mike Wolf, uh, for, for Animal Outlook, um, "Humane meat, there's no such thing." Go Mike. Um also former, uh, Director of Investigations, Compassion In World Farming, they quote Philip Limeberry, "Factory farming is not just cruel, but also a threat to all life on the planet." Yes. Uh, alright. From Arm Animal Recovery Mission, they're, they're quoting Richard Kudo, the founder.

So they're quoting somebody who actually does run the organization. "The only way to end atrocities against animals is to work toward ending the consumption and use of animal products altogether." Exactly. I, I agree with every single one of these quotes. Every single one. Um.

All right. Should I keep going? I don't know whether it's interesting. I'm just, I'll just do two more Mercy for Animals. They're quoting Leah Garces, the President. "Our mission is to end, end industrial animal agriculture and to construct a just in sustainable food system." She's only even talking about industrial animal agriculture, and they still are quoting her.

And from GFI, they're quoting, um, Bruce Friedrich, who in his, of course they, they wanted to go way back to his former much more outspoken radical days. Um, so they went back to 2002 to find this quote from Bruce. "Eating meat is not your personal decision any more than whether somebody beats their child as their personal decision."

Well, I couldn't agree more. I mean, how do you disagree with that? Anyway, uh, so, uh, that's what, um, that, that was also part of the, the report from Ag Daily on the great work of the Animal Agricultural Alliance. All right. I spent enough time on that. Lemme just, just cover one more thing. Because this isn't, this is not a rising anxiety really.

I just wanted to tell you about it. Um, and I wanna do something about it because I live near Canada, as I mentioned before. There's just a big lake between, um, me and Toronto and, uh, so, you know, just drive around the lake and you're in Canada and I've been nervous about going to Canada because, you know, I'm afraid they hate us, which I can't blame them, but you know, from what I understand, they're now worried about us and they feel sorry for us.

So, so, so I'm not so scared about going to Canada. It might be hard to get back, back in. Who knows? That's been a problem for some. Um, the new McDonald's Mc veggie burger is here, but is it suitable for vegans? This is from Plant-based News. The new Mc veggie burger is launching in Canada. This is apparently at every single McDonald's in Canada.

Um, here's what you need to know about ordering it vegan. So if you're in Canada and you want, um, you know, some junk food, I, let's say it, it's basically junk food, but you know, it's not the unhealthiest food on the planet. Um, and apparently they have had tremendously positive response from regional test markets and they, they had tried out another one, um, which didn't work out.

And, and you can order this vegan by just leaving off the, um, egg-based mayo or habanero sauce and instead getting ketchup, which, you know, who doesn't like some ketchup. Uh, and apparently it's, it's specifically for the Canadian market. I don't know why Canadians would want something different than than Americans, but, um.

It features a breaded vegetable patty made with a blend of carrots, green beans, zucchini, pea, soybeans, broccoli, corn, and topped with shredded lettuce and sauce in a seeded bun. Well, well, that's like health food. That's not junk food. So, uh, yeah. Let, let's all plan a, a road trip to Canada. Um, and I guess that's it for, for this week's Rising Anxieties.

Though as I said the last, the, the, the, the stuff from the Animal Agriculture Alliance I felt was enough to fill up, uh, your anxiety total for the week. And then, you know, I thought I'd add a little good news, at least for Canadians and those of us who live near Canada. Um, so thank you so much for, for, for tuning in today on Rising Anxieties.

Don't forget to tune into our other podcasts, as I mentioned before, is The Hen Report and the Our Hen House interview. Uh, the, the interview will come out on Friday and will be an Animal Law Podcast interview. I have not yet done the interview, but I cannot wait. Super excited about this case. It's with lawyers for, um, animal rights activist Dr. Faraz Harsini, who of course has been on the Our Hen House Podcast, as well as Darius Dubosh, and they did this cube of truth protest in a Houston park. This was of course, years ago because this has been in the courts and, and Darius was arrested. And so we'll be talking all about that and the, the huge First Amendment concerns.

They have gotten amicus briefs from unbelievable number of organizations here. And there are both speech and religion concerns at issue here. And this should be a really good interview so don't forget to tune in and don't forget to subscribe and please don't forget to like. Do all those things either on your favorite pod catcher or on YouTube and, you know, stay safe and speak up.