Page 8 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Aussie meat eaters reject credibility of animal welfare activists
A RECENT University of Adelaide PhD re- search study into Aus- tralian meat consumers’ reactions to online farm animal activism sug- gests Aussie meat eaters are not engaging with content posted to social media by animal welfare activist organiations.
Using qualitative data gathered from a series of focus groups and inter-
views, the study explored how Australian meat consumers interact with animal welfare activism content posted to social media platforms.
While farm animal welfare is of increasing concern to Australian consumers, the research revealed that online con- tent generated by activists and shared on social me- dia was unlikely to change
meat eaters’ perceptions or purchasing behaviour.
According to the data, Australian meat eaters do not consider animal wel- fare activists a credible source of information be- causethey:
• Only highlight exam- ples of poor or uncom- mon practices in animal farming;
• Use concerns about farm animal welfare to
promote the adoption of a vegetarian or vegan diet;
• Do not appreciate the realities of ‘actual’ animal farming; and
• Do not engage in au- thentic activism.
What is apparent from the research is Australian meat eaters do not appre- ciate being preached to.
While Australians are undoubtedly exploring ways to reduce their meat intake, this study clearly illustrates the unwilling- ness of meat eaters to alter their behaviours in response to activists push- ing an anti-meat/‘vegan agenda’ on them via social media.
It also indicates the ac- tivist tactic of shocking and shaming meat eaters into renouncing meat con- sumption has in fact hard- ened meat eaters’ resolve to continue their current consumption habits.
Consequently, activ- ists have only succeeded
in creating online echo chambers that have alien- ated and scared Aussie meat consumers, who in turn have refused to be cowed by activity they consider extreme.
As the research sug- gests, simply having a voice does not mean there will be a receptive audi- ence.
This is borne out by the inherent skepticism expressed by the study’s participants towards ac- tivist organisations that engage in ‘unlawfulness to promote their cause’ and utilise social media to further their aims.
As mentioned by one participant of the research study: “Let’s not confuse activism with slacktivism – posting on Facebook doesn’t actually do any- thing.”
Slacktivism is just that – slack activism.
While social media may indeed amplify animal
activists’ content, it has – over time – become a windowless room, pedal- ling a vegan agenda and failing to meaningfully connect with Australians who identify as meat eat- ers.
So what does this all mean for you, our Austral- ian pig producers?
With more and more people turning their so- cial media platforms into ‘filter bubbles’, cutting through the noise and clutter is more important than ever before.
Increasingly, it’s becom- ing clear the considerable online ‘chatter’ generated by animal welfare activ- ists and initially viewed as a threat by the meat industry should in fact be viewed as an opportunity.
Interestingly, partici- pants in this research ex- pressed their belief that “if farmers were more transparent about and ex- plained their methods of production and animal welfare-related practices, activists (and particularly vegans and vegetarians) would not be as critical of these practices (though they might well continue to practice vegan or veg-
Gary Sansom agribusiness
UNIVERSITY of Queensland student Wil- liam Hudson has been awarded the inaugural 2017 Gary Sansom Prize in Agribusiness, support- ing learning and leader- ship in agricultural busi- ness and production.
Mr Hudson received the prize for achieving the greatest proficiency in the course ‘Agropreneurship and Agricultural Eco- nomics’ in 2017.
The prize was estab- lished to honour the mem- ory of former Queens- land Farmers’ Federation president Mr Gary San- som, who passed away in March last year.
QFF CEO Travis Tobin said Mr Sansom was in- strumental in the foun- dation and leadership of QFF and was one of Queensland agriculture’s most passionate and dedi- cated advocates.
“Gary was pivotal in driving awareness of the importance of biosecurity, furthering agriculture’s in- terests in land use plan- ning and developing the Farm Management Sys- tems approach, which has evolved into what is com- monly known today as Best Management Practice pro- grams,” Mr Tobin said.
“Establishing this prize was the least we could do to recognise Gary’s tire- less efforts in represent- ing, advocating for and progressing Queensland agriculture – something he did for over 30 years.”
etarian diets).”
And herein lies the op-
portunity for Australian Pork Limited and all Aus- tralian pig producers.
Transparency is our friend.
By continuing to em- brace it as an industry, we can help defuse online ac- tivist negativity by show- casing the positive impact ‘real’ farming has across local Australian commu- nities and the high-quality products that emerge from Australian farms each and every day.
Our refreshed Austral- ian Pig Farmers website (aussiepigfarmers.com.au) launched last year bears this out.
Not only has the plat- form helped tell a posi- tive story of the industry, but the industry has been praised for ‘telling it like it is’.
APL is here to continue to tell that story and with our industry currently ex- periencing chronic over- supply issues, now is the time to encourage all Aus- tralian meat eaters that to- day is the day they should put more pork on their fork.
Kevin Daly
Prize boosting learning
The inaugural winner, William said the prize would go towards his third year Bachelor of Ag- ribusiness studies and was a good confidence booster as he looked beyond uni- versity to a future in crop production.
“It is very humbling and truly an honour to receive the Gary Sansom Prize,” Mr Hudson said.
“Agriculture is certainly a passion for me, and I have really enjoyed my learning experience at the University of Queensland.
“I find the areas of seed stock production and pro- tected cropping through greenhouse production particularly intriguing and am hoping to have the opportunity to enter one of these fields in the future.”
The Gary Sansom Prize in Agribusiness recognis- es high-quality University of Queensland students with an interest in agro- preneurship and agricul- tural economics.
Funded by QFF, the prize will be awarded an- nually and is supported by industry.
The inaugural 2017 Gary Sansom Prize in Agribusiness was pre- sented to Mr Hudson at the 2018 UQ School of Agriculture and Food Sci- ences Scholarships, Prizes & Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 by Mr Tobin and Gary’s wife, Julie Sansom.
www.qff.org.au
Page 8 – Australian Pork Newspaper, August 2018
www.porknews.com.au