A very dynamic Roundup speaker this year is Dr. Wes Jamison from the University of Florida. He has studied the animal welfare movement for nearly 20 years, and has strong advice for the livestock industry: The wrong approach is to spend more money or think that you must tell your story better.

 

Brownfield Network quoted Dr. Jamison: “What you want to tell people is that you do the right things in the right ways for the right reasons—and that meat is a good thing. It’s basically that simple. It’s the idea that you don't run from your moral responsibility, that you actually take it seriously—and then actually get out in front of it and advertise it.”

 

The reason the animal welfare movement is having success is because society has changed. More and more people believe farm animals should be treated as well as their own pets, says Dr. Jamison.

 

Livestock transportation will be targeted by using the interstate commerce clause to raise the cost of transportation across state lines. Activists will want animals to lie down with access to food and water. Dr. Jamison says that message will play well to an urban audience—and to the new President and Congress.