What is a National NGO doing influencing legislation in Oregon?
We have been tracking the rulemaking for the recent Oregon legislation SB85 for our Oregon clients. Along the way, an additional group targeting animal agriculture in the state has emerged and has since begun pushing legislation harmful to rural property owners and farmers. We want to ensure our clients and followers know who they are and be aware of their activities. The group is called State Innovation Exchange, or SiX for short, and they are involved in a number of social initiatives; most concerning to the AG community is their Agriculture & Food Systems branch.
The SiX Agriculture and Food Systems –
From the outside, the SiX seems to have values that align with agriculture, however, looking a little closer reveals a different truth. From the start of their information page, they make no effort to hide the view with which they see agriculture. Pulled directly from their biography, they share that “agricultural institutions evolved from systems of exploitation and continue to be fraught with injustice.” This statement is clearly not coming from the position of advocating for agriculture. A review of their website shows strong ties to several anti-agriculture groups. With the SIX’s strong ties to anti-agriculture groups, it is easy to surmise the true intentions of their agriculture division and its advisory board.
Injustices in Agriculture
While we acknowledge that agriculture has indeed suffered from injustice, it's not from the perspective of SiX. The real injustices in agriculture stem from endless legislation, regulations, and egregious lawsuits – often supported and created by groups like SiX and their partners. It is an injustice when people who have never raised production animals or planted a crop are making decisions about what's best for farmers and ranchers. An injustice happens when people who have never been in the presence of a cow or other livestock animals, and with no understanding of humane animal husbandry practices that ensure animal health and wellbeing, demand changes that put animals and their welfare at risk. It is an injustice when fringe groups can push forward the practice of instituting regulations intended to make providing nutritious food for consumers more expensive in order to reduce market demand.
Contradictions
SiX contradicts itself when the organization states, “…all people have the right to grow and consume their own food…” and “…consumers have the right to know how the food they purchase was produced...” What stops people in the United States from planting and harvesting their own produce or raising their own livestock for personal use are regulations, ordinances, and zoning laws. Laws that groups such as the SiX and its associates – for example, the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project [SRAP] – sponsor and promote make producing food significantly more difficult. The fact that SiX is involved in legislation like Oregon Senate Bill 85, which has proposed amendments that would stop large modern farms from receiving permits for up to 2 years, and in other cases prohibit them from being built altogether, clearly shows a direct contradiction to their statement of purpose.
SiX claims to encourage transparency regarding food production, but the organization violates its tenant by publishing misinformation and aligning with radical anti-animal agriculture groups via its Advisory Board. Much of the information given to the public by groups like the SiX and their partners for example SRAP, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Farm Forward, Friends of the Earth, Food and Water Watch, Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), Non-GMO Project, Sierra Club, Center for Food Safety, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future and more, is the false narrative that farmers and ranchers are out to harm animals, the land, the water, and the American people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Farmers and ranchers care deeply about their land, environment, animals, families, and communities.
The SiX - “Who are Those Guys?”
The group claims that their advisory board is comprised “of expert leaders in the food and farm community” who are there “to support SiX legislators navigate the complexities of food and farm policy.” These “expert leaders” are not farmers and ranchers. SiX Agriculture and Food Systems advisory board members have ties to groups that have historically opposed and actively worked against animal agriculture in the United States:
Sherri Dugger - SRAP
Sherri Duggar, who currently serves on the SiX’s advisory board, holds the role of the executive director for SRAP, according to her biography on the SiX’s website. SRAP is a key player in the attacks against animal agriculture across the county. According to Protect The Harvest, the organization is known for its lawsuits against beef, pork, and dairy producers. In addition to her position as executive director with the anti-agriculture group, she is the Coordinator of the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group. Before her current position with SRAP, Dugger worked as a consultant with Earthjustice. According to Protect The Harvest, Earthjustice is a group known for creating expensive anti-agriculture lawsuits at taxpayers’ expense.
Chris Hunt - SRAP
According to his biography on the Six website, Chris Hunt holds the role of deputy director for SRAP. In stride with SRAP’s co-founder William Weida, who has no experience with animal agriculture and was an economics professor in his former profession, Hunt boasts a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Economics.
Amy Wong -
Amy Wong is a Portland, Oregon attorney. She serves as the Board Chair of Oregon Organic Coalition. Before her current role, Wong served as Chief of Staff for Oregon State Senator Jeff Golden. Golden has been known to take a radical stance against large modern farms in Oregon, including supporting SB85.
Andrew DeCoriolis- Farm Forward
Andrew DeCoriolis is the Executive Director of Farm Forward. Farm Forward is an anti-animal agriculture organization that claims to be against “factory farming.” In addition to Farm Forward, DeCoriolis created a program called Leadership Circle. According to its website, Leadership Circle promotes a plant-based diet to consumers.
Jonathan Lovvorn - HSUS
Jonathan Lovvorn is a practicing attorney who serves as Chief Counsel for Animal Protection Law at the Humane Society of the United States [HSUS]. According to Protect the Harvest, HSUS is an anti-animal agriculture and ownership organization that uses its donor funding to push legislature that actively works against agriculture. Despite its name and fundraising tactics, HSUS is not a federal agency. It does not own, manage or operate any animal shelters. In addition to his involvement with HSUS, Lovvorn is the Faculty Co-Director of the Yale Climate, Animal, Food, and Environmental Law & Policy Lab. In his position, Lavvorn teaches anti-agriculture lessons on “animal, human, and environmental exploitation within the food system.”
Jim Walsh-Food & Water Watch
Jim Walsh serves as the Senior Energy Policy Analyst for Food & Water Watch. Food & Water Watch is a climate activism group that consistently targets animal agriculture. Walsh works with policy makers in this position to create “red tape” for farmers and ranchers. Walsh has worked to stigmatize farms and ranches and incorrectly asserts agriculture is a top contributor to the “climate crisis.” This is a statement that has been disproven time and again by leading scientists whose work focuses on animal agriculture and greenhouse gasses.
Patty Lovera – Food & Water Watch
Patty Lovera, like Jim Walsh, worked for Food & Water Watch for 14 years as their program director. Lovera also advised policymakers with an anti-animal agriculture bias. Specifically, she focuses her efforts on organic standards, targeting GE foods, food safety, and farm policy. Now, Lovera serves as a policy advisor for the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment.
True Agriculture Advocacy
With unlimited groups who claim to be agricultural advocates, like the SiX, who do everything in their power to harm food production, it is hard to know what information to trust. Fortunately, there are also groups that work to advocate for agriculture and to set the record straight. It is essential to point out that true agricultural advocates do much work to provide the public with accurate information. In addition to investing resources in educating the public, some organizations, businesses and trade associations advocate in a variety of other ways, from providing legal support, expert witness support, public relations, campaigns, lobbying, and more. Below, we have listed some organizations to look towards for accurate, factual information and true agricultural preservation and advocacy.
We are a consulting group dedicated to advocating for our clients by offering a broad spectrum of services to farmers, ranchers, investors, and other stakeholders in agriculture across the United States. Our services range from engineering and permitting to helping our clients with regulatory compliance, industry advocacy, public relations and expert witness services.
American Farm Bureau Federation
The American Farm Bureau Federation [AFBF] is a nonprofit organization that lobbies for ranchers, farmers, and rural communities. Along with their advocacy work, AFBF creates tools and programs to help agriculturalists succeed in leadership and business.
Animal Agriculture Alliance is a non-profit member-based organization that advocates for every aspect of the agricultural industry. This includes farmers, ranchers, veterinarians, animal feed companies, animal health companies, processors, allied associations, and others involved in the industry. According to their website, Animal Agriculture Alliance focuses on providing information about animal rights activist tactics, farm and plant security, crisis management, consumer management, consumer engagement, and advocating for agriculture on social media. Organization members have access to detailed information about the groups that target agriculture and tools producers can use to advocate on their own behalf.
American Agri-Women is the nation’s largest coalition of farm, ranch, and agribusiness women with more than 20 affiliates and members in 42 states, united to communicate with one another and with other consumers to promote agriculture. AAW is dedicated to increasing Agricultural literacy for current and future generations. Agricultural literacy is defined as: an understanding of agriculture’s history and current economic, social and environmental significance to all Americans.
Dairy Farmers of America [DFA] is a farmer-owned cooperative dedicated to “preserving farmers legacies and ensuring their futures.” DFA works to give farmers an active role in the dairy industry's future by offering services, business growth programs, and product strategies to its members. In conjunction with giving farmers an active role, the company strives to help rural communities thrive and preserve natural resources through sustainability efforts. DFA also works to advocate for its members on various legislative issues. DFA’s website section, “Dairy Facts” has a wealth of information about dairy. Its social media platform serves as a great library of resources for factual information about the dairy industry as well.
I am Ag is a public social media group created in 2020 to serve as “a community for producers, consumers, and everybody in between.” The group is open to everyone who wants to support agriculture in any capacity. I Am Ag aims to spread factual information about agriculture, and to provide a platform of support among agriculturalists and those interested in supporting it.
Protect the Harvest is a nonprofit organization created to inform and educate the public about threats to agriculture, property rights, and our nation’s food security. Since its inception in 2011, the organization has provided detailed and factual information about groups, regulations, ordinances and legislation that harms agriculture. Its website has a wealth of information and is considered a trusted resource.
Western Justice is a nonprofit organization that takes political action to “preserve and protect the Western lifestyle, livelihoods, and events.”. In addition to Western Justice’s work protecting rodeo and other equine events, the organization works to preserve the property rights of farmers and ranchers through consulting, legal and public relations assistance.
Rural America in Action is a platform created by Western Justice focused on preserving and ensuring the future of rural America. It supports rural Americans by providing a dedicated platform where they can share information about critical issues and initiatives, raise funds, create petitions, and conduct surveys. By giving rural Americans a dedicated platform, Rural America in Action is ensuring that the voice of rural America and agriculture is heard.
The Cavalry Group is a private group dedicated to protecting the rights of animal owners, animal-related businesses, sportsmen, and animal agriculture. The main focus of The Cavalry Groups is to work with animal owners and related businesses to combat legislation, regulations and ordinances pushed by animal extremist groups to harm animal enterprise and animal agriculture. They are nationally known for their work fighting back against the numerous activities of the Humane Society of the United States and their anti-pet ownership and anti-animal agriculture legislation. The Cavalry Group also provides legal assistance and information important to agriculture as well as factual information about issues and initiatives important to animal enterprise and animal agriculture. The member-based group was co-founded by company President Mindy Patterson, nationally known for her work fighting the Humane Society of the United States on their anti-pet ownership and animal-agriculture legislature, regulations and ordinances. Leading figures lead the charge in the fight against anti-animal legislature, including attorneys, agriculture advocates, and political consultants.
Wild West Advocacy was founded by Sarah Falen in 2022 to help bridge the gaps between public perception, government regulations, and agriculturalists. Falen holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wyoming Law school. She uses her degree to focus her efforts on advocacy for farmers, ranchers, and other natural resource entities. To do this, Falen works to educate Congress and State Legislature on issues that impact natural resource industries. Wild West Advocacy uses social media as a tool to teach urban America about the truths of agriculture. In addition to advocacy work, Falen coaches agriculturalists on how to make an impact using social media.
Being Informed is the First Step in Advocating for Agriculture
We hope this information provides assistance to producers in Oregon by shedding light on an organization working against agriculture in the state. We encourage producers to share this type of information with lawmakers so they have a good understanding of the ideology and agenda behind NGO’s with misleading names. Knowing your adversaries and your advocates is the first and most important step in protecting your way of life.
Links and References
Our article about Oregon SB 85 HERE and HERE
The SiX Main Page HERE
The SiX Agriculture & Food Systems HERE
The SiX Agriculture & Food Systems Advisory Board HERE
Protect The Harvest article about SRAP HERE
Protect The Harvest article about HSUS HERE
Activist Facts article about Food & Water Watch HERE
Information about Farm Forward HERE
Information about Earth Justice HERE