Billion-Dollar Bacon Panic: Big Meat’s Paranoid New Enemies List | Rising Anxieties

I think, actually, I will go visit beautiful Lake Ontario later today, which is about 20 minutes away from where I live, uh, 'cause it is a beautiful day here in Rochester, New York.

But first, we're gonna talk about animal abuse and the industries that support it, and what's worrying them, and what's worrying me. Uh, don't forget we're podcast. We're on YouTube. Please subscribe, hit like wherever you listen. And first, this is... this is real- this is really good. This is actually isn't true, but it sounds good. Uh, it's from National Hog Farmer, um, and it says, "Animal activist groups surpass $1.07 billion in funding." And, uh, this, the, the subtitle is, "New organizations targeting language in the 2026 farm bill draft supporting modern pork production, protesting restaurants and retailers across the country."

And I, I think this really highlights how their extreme opposition to, uh, Prop 12 in California has really, really brought the movement together. There are some allies in here who, uh, you know, uh, I don't like them, and that's mainly where this new opposition is coming from. But they are characterizing them as straight out, it's all on the chart, major animal activist groups web.

Uh, and, and so some of the new ones are things like American Meat Producers Association. Now, that doesn't sound like an animal rights organization, does it? Well, according to them, it is because, you know, the, the industry is, is splitting more and more between small producers and corporate producers, and it, it's all good.

You may not like them, but it's all good to have them fighting with each other. Uh, there's no doubt about it. There's other ones like that. That's like where I, I think most of the new money is coming from. It's from these places that aren't animal rights groups at all. Um, Farm Action is another one, uh, Center for Responsible Food Business, and they point out that, you know, there have been links in the past with, uh, some animal protection organizations like Humane World for Animals.

But other groups on here who they, like, are really punching above their weight, Our Honor, uh Direct Action Everywhere is really highlighted, Free From Harm. These are small groups who should be supported more and more and more because the industry is really scared of them. Anyway, this is a really fun thing to look at.

Starts off by saying, "The Animal Agriculture Alliance has updated two flagship reports highlighting the funding, connections, and key players within the animal rights activist movement in the US." And, uh, they, they mention that one of the new additions is this American Meat Producers Association. They also mention the International Council for Animal Welfare, which is a little bit more aligned with the idea of animal rights groups.

Not quite, they're more animal welfare, but, um, but, but kinda, you know. That's that interesting organization that kind of uses very grassroots, fair- fairly aggressive tactics, I mean, not illegal, but aggressive, uh, protests and stuff, to achieve welfare reform. So, uh, you know, however you feel about that. Um, particularly cage-free.

New this year, the alliance also developed a legislative-focused breakdown of the web in response to increasingly coordinated efforts to influence the 2026 Farm Bill, particularly language related to California's Prop 12 and similar state-level legislation. No, it's Prop 12. It's all about Prop 12 because the, the, the pork industry just got... they, they just got pissed off.

They think they own everything, and they think, they thought they could defeat it, and they have tried and tried and tried, and they have not yet, and let's hope things continue to go well. Um, several... It mentions there are several completely new groups, or those that typically don't engage in policy, have entered this space since the drafting of the last Farm Bill.

It's actually the, the drafting of the last Farm Bill as influenced by the hog farmers, the corporate hog farmers, who couldn't just give up. And they have energized people and organizations to find new alliances and, and, uh, they're s- they're scared. All right, from Abby Kornegay, who's the, um, who's with the alliance: "Understanding the organizations, individuals, and funding behind groups that oppose the consumption of animal protein."

Yeah, like, uh, the, the American Meat Producers Association oppose the consumption of animal protein. Yeah. No, they don't. This is a complex, this is a complex, uh, uh, coalition. All right, sorry. Um, that oppose the consumption of animal protein is critical to protecting animal agriculture. Yeah, their form of corporate animal agriculture.

Uh, it is an integral part of the alliance's work to keep the animal agriculture community informed and prepared. Like, we're all over the place at this point. Like, all over the place. Like, it's hard to know who your friends are. They sure don't know. Uh, but it's all good 'cause they're all upset. So that $1.07 billion isn't all, doesn't all belong to the, um, the actual animal rights organizations, but a lot more money's gonna be coming, that's for sure.

Let's hope we get some of it. Um, I mean, not, uh, well, I, I mean, I hope Our Hen House gets some of it, but it seems extremely unlikely, uh, to be honest. All right. Also from a, from, from a pork, uh, uh, pork publication. A pork publication from Pork Business In a world... This is so... This is hilarious, I think. In a world of 51/49, one sector is close.

A 25-year record of Gallup polling shows something rare: durable, lopsided public trust for agriculture, and policymakers must understand this. All right, this is, um, this is from some, uh, this guy Andy Curliss from the Carver Center for Agriculture and Nutrition, so I'm sure their polling is very, uh, unbiased.

But you know, they're talking about Gallup polling, so I, I, I take that back. Um, across 25 years of Gallup polling on public confidence in major US economic sectors, one sector stands apart. Farming and agriculture is a clear and distinct leader in public trust. Uh, they go on and on about this, how, um, 11.5% of Americans hold a very positive view across all sectors, but farming and agriculture averages 21.5% over that same period.

Um, and sometimes ri- goes up to 25%, the highest of any sector. "This is not marginal support. It is high-intensity approval. Now set that against how the sector is commonly described. Much of today's food and agriculture debate assumes a deficit of public trust. The language is familiar: a broken system eroding confidence, widespread concern."

All right, so there's just this little detail that he has left out of this whole presentation. And I will agree that, that agriculture in general does, is, gets a lot more support for... People just think it's still like, uh, you know, old, old-fashioned farmers, uh, like doing their best, and that's not how I see agriculture in general, but so what?

He does not divide plant-based agriculture versus animal-based agriculture, and believe me, the, um, public confidence in those two sectors is widely different. I'm just gonna take this from AI. I, uh, I admit that 'cause there's a lot of, um, different, uh, different... Actually, I could also take it from Faunalytics, which is a much better source than AI.

Um, this is from Faunalytics: A clear majority of the US public finds standard a- animal agriculture practices for pigs, cows, and chickens to be unacceptable, ranging from 71% to 85%, depending on the practice. Indeed, only a minority of people found standard practices to be acceptable. This is not like enthusiasm. They, they think it's unacceptable. Ranging, uh, a minority of people found standard practices to be acceptable. The number there was 7% to 16%. I wonder who those psychopaths are.

Um, confinement practices were the most unacceptable, uh, et cetera, et cetera. Um, the, the, the line-- the, the summary of all articles from AI was pl- public opinion approval polls in agriculture reveal a sharp division in how the public perceives plant-based agriculture versus animal-based agriculture. While plant agriculture generally enjoys high approval driven by sustainability and health benefits, animal agriculture faces steep disapproval regarding industrial farming standards.

So yeah, uh, like, um, Pork Business, uh, maybe you better, better write an article that's a a little clearer about that division. Uh, they're just riding on the coattails of people's enthusiasm for what they think are, uh, you know, old school farmers. The only way they can win is to lie and cheat. Don't ban greyhound racing in Farm Bill.

This is from John Decker on, um, the West Virginia Gazette-Mail. West Virginia happens to have the two, uh, uh, greyhound racing tracks left in America. Um, no one, according to John, is talking about the giant threat to individual liberty taking place right before our eyes. Congress is attempting to ban greyhound racing.

Now, I think there are other threats to individual liberty that maybe we should be worrying about a little bit more than this one. Um, the, the both, both the tracks are in West Virginia. The bill was introduced by a congressman from California, so he thinks it's California that is picking on West Virginia.

He doesn't seem to understand that it's the whole Congress that has to vote on this, uh, not just California. Why are we letting animal rights lunatics in California dictate what the law should be in West Virginia? It's about federalism, sure, but it's more than that. West Virginia, this is, this is really sad.

I mean, I've been to West Virginia, and God knows there's a lot of poverty there, but it is one beautiful state. And, uh, all West Virginia really has left are abandoned coal towns, the New River Gorge, and yes, the thundering sound of dozens of greyhounds chasing eternal glory down a track led by a mechanical hare.

That is what he thinks West Vir- I mean, West Virginia truly is a beautiful state. It's a devastated state in many ways, and they've got serious poverty problems, but it is a beautiful, beautiful state. They could do a little better than greyhound racing to make people aware of that. People think of it as just a hellhole.

Like, like get... hire some PR people. All right. That's, that's... I- I'm just gonna mention a few more things. I'm not sure this is a rising anxiety, but it should be. Uh, Aaron P- This is from Plant Based News: Aaron Pierre plays a vegan superhero in HBO's Lanterns. You've probably heard this, but just in case you haven't.

All right, this is a big new production from, um, from, uh, HBO, and I might have to like sign up for HBO, uh, because I, I do love a Mar- a good Marvel series. I really do. Um, I know everybody's like, "Oh, really?" Like, I just can't have any any imaginative standard, uh, tastes that coordinate with the rest of the universe.

All right, so there's this guy, Aaron Pierre. He's a very nice-looking man. Um, and he, he, he plays, uh, the Green Lantern, and in it he is, uh, obviously vegan and, you know, he eats tofu and, and, uh, I'm so excited. You know, veganism is just dead, and we should just, like move on. Like, uh, maybe not. Maybe HBO knows something that, that, uh, that, that some people don't.

Um, all right. This is-- I just wanna take this line from this article by Matt Graves on Meating Place, and, um, it's actually a little bit more than a line, but I'm gonna read as much of it 'cause it is amazing. "How much longer can this hide-bound, centuries-old protein production business," i.e., the meat industry, "survive in a world of artificial intelligence changing nearly everything we do now or will want to do in the future?

And why should we worry anyway? People have gotta eat, right? Today, we see both beef, beef and chicken consumption rocketing upward in the face of higher-than-high prices. Let's just keep it going, shall we, and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. But for the sake of our children's inheritance," 'cause they just think that this whole industry and all the land that's connected to it is gonna be passed down to their children, "we must worry.

What can or should we do?" They think they own the fucking world. Embrace the future. Actually, I shouldn't be criticizing it because I like everything he's saying here. Um, all right.

" Musk took building rockets from two years to two months." Yeah, I, I don't wanna hold up Elon Musk as, you know, like a successful person here 'cause I think he's a psychopath. "But can we do something similar in beef and chicken? Yes, but we don't like to talk about it or finance it." I like here that he says that we can, like the meat industry can.

It's not the meat industry who's inventing this. "Cell cultivated proteins. This process reduces production time from two years to six weeks for beef. Uh, the big four of proteins, JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and Marfrig, are in for some scandalous scrutiny in the not too distant future." I wonder what that means. "If they wanna gird their loins, pun intended, for protection, they better find something revolutionary to invent."

To invent. They think they're inventing this? "And champion a better product with a shorter time to market. Why? Because someone somewhere will do just that." Yeah, we're already doing... Well, not we, but, you know, not me, but the, our movement, we're already doing that, "and the industry will be revolutionized from the cowboy on the range to the meat case in the store to consumers.

The spaceship is on the launchpad, and if you wanna ride it, get on board now." This is from the meat industry. So, you know, when people within the animal ar- uh, uh, animal protection movement say cell-based meat is never gonna work or say veganism is dead or whatever nonsense people are saying, uh, you know, let's, let's listen to the meat industry and see what they think.

Alright, that's it for today's Rising Anxieties. Thanks so much for being here. Thanks for tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe, like and comment. Stay safe.