I was recently pulled over by a very kind sheriff’s deputy after a Friday night high school football game in a neighboring town. He graciously pointed out that I had very quickly accelerated to 50 mph in a 35 mph zone when I exited the interstate. I couldn’t disagree. He checked my license ran my registration, then told me to slow down, be careful, and sent me on my way.

When I relayed this story of being pulled over to a co-worker, his first response was “AGAIN????”

(He’s a smart aleck who witnessed me getting pulled over as we left a work event about a year ago – a stop for which I received another warning.)

You’d think the rush of seeing the lights in the rearview mirror would be a wakeup call for me to learn to let up on the accelerator a little - to pay closer attention to the speed limits.

I did pay attention after the first stop – for a while. And now that the second stop just happened, I’m a bit more vigilant than I have been. If I had received a ticket on either of those stops, the short-term impact would have been more painful, but the lingering consequences would likely fade over time as memories do.

I am generally a rule follower. I understand that speed limits exist for a reason and I always pay attention in school zones and construction zones to carefully abide by the posted limit. But sometimes I start thinking about other things, and don’t realize how fast I’m going. Sometimes I exceed posted limits because I am running late.

I have the tools I need to be safe and successful. The rules – speed limit signs – are clearly posted for me to read. My car has a working speedometer and cruise control. I even know where the local speed traps are. From a practical and logical standpoint, there’s no reason in the world I should ever get pulled over for speeding. But sometimes, distractions and complacency put us in situations where our focus and attention are elsewhere, and flashing lights appear in our rearview mirror because of it.

Consider the undercover videos that continue to surface in animal agriculture. There have been several videos over the years that serve as wake-up calls for those operations directly affected, as well as the larger industry. “Tickets” in various forms and fashions have been handed out – public shaming, lists of corrective actions to complete, and even severance of contractual and longstanding business relationships.

Yet, from time to time, another pops up. And whether the images depict unsavory actions or neglectful conditions, the result is the same – a degradation in the trust consumers and supply chain partners have in our processes.

Regrettably, the same thing sometimes happens to farmers who are committed to accepted industry animal welfare practices. Distractions and deadlines turn our attention away from where it should be focused. And we’ve learned a great deal about the tactics used to get footage for these videos, so we think we can avoid the speed traps.

Pig farmers, too, have all the tools they need to be successful. Long standing industry programs like PQA Plus and TQA provide the speed limit signs and the Common Swine Industry Audit can be used as the speedometer to check and see how they are doing. The industry, in my opinion, doesn’t need to invest in additional tools. The ones we have work quite well – as long as we pay attention and do what we’re supposed to do.

Pushing the limits of animal welfare is not acceptable. We cannot allow ourselves to be comfortable, complacent or distracted. While more recent videos and images do not seem to catch the attention of social media and the public that they used to, we need to treat them as collective warnings for all of us. At any given moment – when we least intend for it to happen – any one of us can crest a hill and pay dearly for a momentary lapse.

We’re all one instance away from a hefty fine – one that the whole industry will pay for.

Distractions and complacency are two things the meat industry cannot afford

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