BUNKHOUSE

WALKING THROUGH THE LINCOLN TUNNEL TOGETHER

by CCA Director of Communications Katie Roberti

"...then, I traveled through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, past the sea of swirly-twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel."

While I’ve always loved the holiday movie “Elf” and all things Christmas, I find it hard to believe that Buddy the Elf's above quote describing his trip from the North Pole to New York City sounds semi-relatable to the journey 2020 has taken us on this year. More than 10 months in, I think we can all agree the rollercoaster of 2020 has been a weird one. We’ve made it past the presidential election (although there’s a good chance ballots are still being counted as you are reading this), through extremely volatile cattle markets and more than seven months of living with COVID-19, hopefully to the end of the most catastrophic wildfire season we've ever seen, and the list goes on. (On a personal note, I’m thankful the murder hornets haven't had a more significant impact and praying they won't.)

Somehow, even with most events being canceled in 2020, we've made it through more life events in 2020 than imaginable—and the year’s not over yet. With two months left in 2020, we still have yet to make it through the Lincoln Tunnel like Buddy the Elf did at the end of his journey to New York City. While I know the problems of 2020 won't just magically disappear at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, I do believe how we come out of the Lincoln Tunnel and into the new year is incredibly important.

Will the cattle industry and animal agriculture come out as a community united? Or will we fall into the pit of divisiveness that seems to be lurking around corner after corner right now in America?

There is one specific reason why I believe agriculture can’t afford to become more divided going into the new year. Amid the craziness of 2020, it’s easy to feel like some of our issues in animal agriculture have been put on hold. Unfortunately, when it comes to the extreme animal rights activists this is not the case. Animal KATIE ROBERTI rights activists have used the pandemic, stay at home orders and more free time on their calendars to ramp up their efforts.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance (the Alliance) is “an industry-united, nonprofit organization that helps bridge the communication gap between farm and fork,” with the simple motto of “connect, engage and protect.” CCA is proud to be a member of the Alliance and to support their efforts. One of those efforts throughout the pandemic has been to correct the misinformation linking animal agriculture to the outbreak of COVID-19.

“While we are heartened by the ways the animal agriculture community and other frontline workers are rising to the challenge of responding to this ongoing crisis, we are dismayed by attempts from activist groups to

...CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

take advantage of the situation,” the Alliance released in a statement about COVID-19. “Despite claims from activist groups, the current COVID-19 pandemic has nothing to do with animal agriculture. Taking advantage of people when they are most vulnerable is a disgrace, but that’s just what animal rights activists are doing during this COVID-19 pandemic. Groups including Direct Action Everywhere, The Save Movement, Mercy for Animals, Farm Sanctuary and PETA are using social media and op-eds to claim that animal agriculture is to blame for COVID-19 and will be the cause of future pandemics. However, experts in epidemiology, zoonotic diseases and food safety disagree.”

“It is shameful that activist organizations would try to take advantage of current circumstances to promote their own agenda,” the Alliance continues to say in the response. “Animal rights activist organizations will never miss an opportunity to kick animal agriculture when it is down. In addition to groups trying to connect the current pandemic to animal agriculture, we’re also seeing activists taking advantage of labor shortages to attempt to get hired “undercover” on farms and in plants and attacking farmers on social media.”

In California, this holds true. We’ve continued to see animal rights activists show up throughout 2020, both online and at in-person events. Just recently (in early October), 19 activists were arrested at the California State Capitol “after some chained themselves to the state government building,” the Sacramento Bee reported. The activists were “demanding an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom to ban the construction of any new factory farms or slaughterhouses in the state.”

The unity of activists right now is just one reason why agriculture needs to remain united coming out of this year. If 2021 is going to be a year for action and positive change on issues—such as improving land management and bringing back tools such as prescribed burns to mitigate fire—we have to walk into the year together.

I’m optimistic we can do this, but I am disappointed that we won't all be gathering in Reno for the 104th Annual CCA & CCW Convention in just a few weeks. This vital time to connect and come together as an industry, as we do each year, will be missed. But I encourage you to participate in the virtual board meeting we will be having in the coming weeks and urge you to continue to stay engaged with CCA as much as possible into the new year. Whether that’s through amplifying positive messages about animal agriculture on social media (be sure to follow our @CalCattlemen accounts and the Alliance’s @ AnimalAgAlliance accounts), staying up on the latest issues by reading Legislative Bulletin each Monday, or even calling the office to check-in every few weeks, CCA staff and officers want to hear from you and stay connected year-round.

The holiday season, a time supposed to be full of thanksgiving and joy is just about upon us, and I hope for you and your family, the next two months is just that. As we prepare to wrap up a year that won't soon be forgotten, know that I personally look forward to walking through 2021 with you all, hopefully united as ever and ready to take action together.