I spend way more time than I would like following prominent individuals and organizations within the animal rights activist movement on social media, in media coverage and pretty much any other source of information I can get my hands on. While this isn’t a particularly enjoyable thing to do, someone has to keep an eye on our adversaries. If me and the rest of the Animal Ag Alliance team monitoring activism allows you to focus more on your important role in getting meat from the farm to the fork, that makes it time incredibly well spent.

The Alliance has group profiles on more than 175 different activist organizations who are attacking animal agriculture and meat consumption in one way or another, and we keep those profiles up-to-date with the latest comings and goings of activist group leadership. Most of these profiles are available only to our members, but a select few can be accessed on our website. A few interesting leadership changes have come to my attention and I’d like to flag those for you:

Animal Outlook, formerly Compassion Over Killing: This activist group got a new name and brand refresh last year, likely with the goal of distancing itself from its extreme viewpoints in order to appear more moderate and mainstream — but don’t be fooled into believing it’s less extreme. More changes are now on deck, as president president Erica Meier recently announced her departure after more than 15 years with the organization. She’s been replaced by Cheryl Leahy, who initially joined the organization in 2006 as general counsel. Given Leahy’s long tenure, we don’t expect radical changes in the organization’s approach, but do anticipate a possible shift to focusing more on legislative and legal efforts, given her background. No news yet on where Meier is headed but we expect her to remain involved in animal rights activism at a high level.
Compassion in World Farming: U.S. executive director Rachel Dreskin has departed in order to join the Plant Based Foods Association, a lobbying group working in the interest of plant-based food producers. We’re staying tuned to see who will be taking the helm at CIWF but expect their focus on pressuring restaurant and retail brands to adopt certain policies to continue.

In related news, we also recently updated our Animal Rights Activist Web which shows how funding, project collaboration and staff/volunteers flow freely between different activist groups, from those who are upfront about their mission to end animal agriculture to those who are less publicly direct with their intention. The connections between these groups show that despite differing public personas, these organizations are aligned in their thinking and views on meat consumption.

The Alliance team will continue to keep our eyes peeled for the latest news in animal rights activism and keep you informed so you can remain focused on your essential work in providing consumers the healthy, sustainable meat and poultry options that the vast majority enjoy.

Leadership changes at animal rights activist organizations

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