Founder of Anti-Animal Group Weighs in on Prop 2

The founder of the anti-AR Animal Agriculture Alliance says the meat industry should be concerned about the passage of California's Prop 2, which will phase out the use of veal and gestation crates and battery cages.

Meatingplace.com recently interviewed Steve Kopperud, now senior vice president of Policy Directions Inc. in Washington, D.C. The group "provides service and counsel on food animal and crop production; crop/livestock protection/insurance; food inspection, processing and retailing; animal drug/approval/regulation, as well as financial and operational issues critical to corporate agribusiness, including trade, environmental policy, emerging technologies and radical activism."

Kopperud maintains that Prop 2 will actually harm animals and endanger people.

The meat industry should most assuredly be concerned because it may redefine "welfare" in that it's an indictment of proven, science-based, producer-endorsed and well being-enhancing housing practices.

It gives the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and its allies a major lever with the new Congress to try and move federal legislation based upon precedents set in Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado and California even though the overall welfare of the animals is diminished and the safety of meat, poultry and dairy may be compromised.

It's so reassuring to know that a man who makes his living from the abuse and murder of animals actually cares about their welfare. I also fail to see how giving animals room to stretch their limbs will affect the safety of the already unhealthy animal protein that is sold to consumers. In fact, the largest beef recall in history occurred in California in February -- long before Prop 2 even passed.

Kopperud also expects the HSUS to push for the following next year:

• leveraging the California Prop 2 victory with Congress
• major rewrites of federal humane slaughter laws, with a push to include poultry
• a ban on transport of horses for export if they might be heading to slaughter in Mexico or Canada
• a ban on federal purchases of meat, poultry and dairy from farms not practicing HSUS's definition of "welfare"
• a move to federally regulate the transport of all animals to all destinations, and
• active alliances with environmental and food safety groups to attack animal biotechnology, the use of animal drugs by anyone other than a vet, and other conventional production practices.

To counter animal advocates, Kopperud wants all animal-"agriculure" exploiters to work together. Notice the terminology he uses.

Swine must and will support cattle, with cattle returning the favor; ditto for dairy. The four-leggers must and will support poultry and vice versa.

He also would like organic producers to go easy on "conventional" ones.

I'd like the public to know organic and "natural" are legitimate product choices in the marketplace, but they're not better than conventionally produced, just different. I'd like to see our organic and natural brethren promote their products without bashing conventional production.

Just reading that Kopperud doesn't think that organic is better than "conventionally produced" products shows how either ignorant or in denial he is or how much he wants to spread lies to people, including his fellow animal exploiters.

(Photo of a calf in a veal crate is courtesy of Contra Costa Humane Society.)