Episode #207 - hannah thompson-weeman

Hannah Thompson-Weeman is the president and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance. The Alliance’s mission is to safeguard the future of animal agriculture and its value to society by bridging the communication gap between the farm and food communities – which includes developing a plan of action for when protestors strike. 

Hannah has been with the Animal Ag Alliance since 2014, serving to promote the value of animal agriculture and providing guidance to this community on many issues, including engaging with animal rights extremist groups and their campaigns.

During this eye-opening conversation, Hannah reveals many of the tactics these groups use in the name of animals welfare (but really, it’s about ending animal ag) that center around 4 main approaches:

• Ballot initiative campaigns

• Targeting restaurant and retail brands

• Changing the focus to sustainability

• Boots-on-the-ground activity (like protests)

Hannah discusses each one of these points in detail and explains how they can be effective for these extremist groups in getting their demands met. These tactics, however, do not do what they claim to do, which is to protect animal welfare. In some cases, the animals actually may be put in dangerous situations, farmers and their families are harmed, and consumers end up paying more for their food. 

This is a great episode for anyone that wants to learn more about how these groups work. During this conversation, we also chat about:

• How shifting the goal posts makes the demands impossible to meet 

• It’s not a grassroots movement they want us to think it is. It’s a highly connected group of organizations with strategies and lots of funding

• The rise of for-profit and citizen journalism leading to misinformation

• The importance of voices outside of the meat industry to respond to extreme activist groups