On the ranch in November 2015, about a week before Thanksgiving, I was called to the front office where a national news crew of four with cameras rolling eagerly waited. Our humble headquarters is an old-farmhouse-turned-office, so there I stood on the front porch of my childhood home learning of an extreme group of animal activists that had investigated and created a story “good enough” for national news. While that news station dropped the story after seeing our farms in action first-hand, the unexpected visit was just the beginning of what was to come.

This might be any farm animal ag operation’s worst nightmare and trust me, I wasn’t too pleased either. However, I had the benefit of having spent my entire childhood on our farms and in our processing plants and I knew in my bones that at Diestel, we did things the right way, without compromise. So, fast forward five years, six-figures worth of expenses and countless days spent in court rooms and we were awarded a favorable judgment in a fraudulent labeling case that stated just that. The court found that there was “not one scintilla of evidence” that our birds had been deprived proper care. Quite to the contrary, the evidence established that the unique construction of our barns provide fresh air and sunlight for our birds and that “our birds receive a level of care and attention most turkey producers never attain.”

And yet this great news of total victory was met with two new lawsuits that were filed by the same lawyer involved in the first lawsuit, albeit with different plaintiffs. These new actions are based on precisely the same underlying allegations and untruthful evidence previously asserted. While disheartening to say the least, below are some thoughts about my experiences and how, together, we can rise above these extreme animal activists.

Throughout my many years of fielding media and consumer phone calls, emails, concerned buyers and grocery leadership from across the country I came to the (now obvious) realization that these activist voices are not normal consumers who eat or buy meat. These are the voices of people who are wholly committed to "eradicating farm animal ag within one generation" and believe that animals should be granted “personhood” in the legal system. We are not dealing with activists who truly want to innovate and create solutions to support the improvement of animal husbandry practices. Yet still, these groups are spreading doubt, are openly and willingly breaking the law, filing lawsuit after lawsuit and, simply put, disrupting the very nature of our existence. With these facts in mind, here is my perspective on our next best steps:

Stop the spread of misinformation by supporting and joining groups like Animal Ag Alliance who work diligently to bridge the gap between farm and fork.
Take a stand. Whether you are a grocer, producer or farmer, actively communicate and educate your shoppers about these extreme groups, their stated missions and their unlawful behavior. We can objectively and factually provide information about these groups, their behavior and goals for real meat consuming shoppers to review.
File complaints or, if you are like us, press charges in the appropriate courts when laws have been broken and businesses and jobs are unreasonably put in jeopardy.
Delight your customers digitally. As farmers we like things we can see and touch. However, nothing beats great authentic marketing and too many farmers don’t invest enough time, money or effort into telling their own stories. I know that we’d prefer to farm and care for our businesses and that outward promotion feels uncomfortable, but our voices need to be heard. The truth about our businesses and farming practices needs to be told by us. The lies spread by extreme activist groups need to be corrected by us. These extreme groups are here to stay, and I know we are a resilient bunch so it is high time for real farmers to focus on our digital presence.

Together we can provide real and accurate information. Together we can stand united against extreme animal activist bullies whose missions do not align with any farm animal ag operation. We need to put pressure on our state and local officials to bring to justice those who openly steal and trespass. And for goodness' sake, let’s tell our story, proudly!

Extreme Activism in Ag: The New Reality

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