The following anonymous article appeared in the magazine that came with our local (News Ltd) newspaper today. As there is no byline; the source is dubious. In fact, I’d put money on this being an Animals Australia media release (either issued by them formally or written and sent out by a member, to increase chance of publication), printed word for word. And it may well be syndicated through other newspapers across Australia, as many anonymous newspaper articles are, increasingly. It has an image of the blue “Make it Possible” shopping bag on one side, and a standard RSPCA/Animals Australia type pic on the other. The image includes a buckskin horse, jersey cow, donkey, pig, goat, sheep & chooks. I.e. it’s a perfect summary of the animals that the vast majority of Australian animal rights organisations deem worthy of consideration, apart from the two non-farm animals they also campaign on behalf of; pet dogs and cats. Glaring by omission are native birds and animals.
If I could find this article online I’d provide a link, but as I can’t (it’s all the more difficult to find without the writer’s name), here it is, in italics:
“MAKE IT POSSIBLE”
“Cost has long been the major factor in many people’s decision whether or not to support products that have not come from cramped (clever use of an emotive adjective) factory farming conditions; but a recent campaign by activist group Animals Australia saw Coles make an active decision to depend less on factory farmed products, and to try to encourage customers to make ‘kinder’ (we do all like to be kind, don’t we…) choices, like free-range (cue ‘over the rainbow’ music) chicken and eggs, and pork that has not come from cruel (more emotive words) sow stall methods. (‘Activist’ group and ‘active decision’ – nice try but none of this ‘activity’ actually helps animals. What a shame Animals Australia doesn’t actually do any hands-on ‘activity’ to help animals in a practical manner (eg feeding stock in drought ravaged areas), other than trying to find cruelty to stand on the sidelines and film.)
A shopping bag with the slogan ‘Make it Possible’ was to be available in Coles stores for $1, but pressure from the National Farmers Federation has seen the bags pulled (very dramatic choice of word; they were clearly tempted to use ‘yanked’ but manage to hold back…’withdrawn’ would be more apt) from stores amid fears (‘concern’ would have sufficed, but ‘fears’ is far more dramatic…cruel, unkind farmers are scary, after all) farmers would boycott the stores.
Surely farmers should have nothing to fear except a gradual change to more humane farming practices (except Animals Australia forgot to mention their version of ‘more humane’ is ceasing livestock production completely, in favour of growing crop monocultures devoid of native animals). You can still buy the bags, but you’ll have to visit makeitpossible.com.au (clever sidestep into retail promotion there!) where along with ambassadors (very touchy-feely; what kind, socially responsible people!) including Michael Caton, Pat Rafter, Peter Siddle, Rove, Missy Higgins Hugh Sheridan and Michelle Bridges, you can pledge (just like you used to do in scouts; very honourable, pledging) to support the campaign. (Except Animals Australia has neglected here to spell out that their campaign is just part of their long-term aim to abolish livestock industries in total.)
- Coles is a business, responsible to shareholders. They made a commercial decision to support Animals Australia as they thought it would be great P.R. and score brownie points with customers. How else to explain the fact that Coles still has imported (probably factory farmed) pork on their shelves? Oops, didn’t Coles think people would read the fine print on the labels? Or is it only the welfare of Australian pigs that we should have any concern for?
- Forget Coles trying to make ‘kinder’ choices for animals – it’s all about kinder choices for Coles bottom line; Coles is trying to encourage the public to spend their hard earned dollars with them rather than their rival, Woolworths. It’s called market differentiation.
- It was an outcry by farmers and the general public; not the National Farmers Federation, that saw the AA bag idea shelved. There was a very substantial outcry on social media from ordinary people who objected to one half of Australia’s supermarket duopoly fundraising for a destructive animal rights extremist organisation. The NFF only represents the wishes of members; trying to paint it as some huge corporate bully, is so far off the mark it’s ludicrous.
- Much laughter too; given the tiny percentage of the population that are farmers – as if Coles shelved the idea because they were worried farmers would ‘boycott’ Coles! Coles is increasingly stocking ‘homebrand’ products which are mostly 100% imported foods…so heaven forbid there may come a day when Coles doesn’t even need to worry about offending Australian farmers who supply them with goods to make money out (although most suppliers believe this day has already come).
- If Coles was genuinely concerned about the conditions under which food is produced, why do they sell such a huge percentage of imported food, sourced from countries where environmental and animal welfare standards are nowhere near as high as Australia’s? (Hundreds of dead pigs floating down the river recently springs to mind, since this particular country is a favourite source of homebrand product ingredients.)
- If Coles was at all concerned about Australian farmers and food manufacturers they’d not be using their imported homebrand items to squeeze locally made items off the shelves, by savage discounting, giving homebrand the eye-level, buy-level shelf space (in fact nearly 100% of the shelf space), featuring their own-brand products in their free food/recipe magazines and copying the labelling etc of locally produced goods by well known Australian companies. Check out the tinned fruit aisle for one of the best examples of blatant labelling rip-offs…and the ‘imported from…’ in very fine print.
- In any case; media statements from Coles said that Animals Australia had offered to withdraw the bags; it wasn’t Coles’s idea. That is of course, presuming that the public statements they made were all the complete truth?
Animals Australia have been working behind the scenes on a number of issues and via a number of different angles. For example, persuading Coles-owned KMart to withdraw sponsorship from the Mt Isa Rodeo. Animals Australia crowed about it on their website, while KMart claimed funding had been withdrawn purely due to a review of sponsorship.
Animals Australia is made up of a number of organisations. These include Animal Liberation – the organisation responsible for recently breaking into piggeries in Central NSW and planting surreptitious video equipment, the film from which was downloaded onto Facebook. (Completely puzzling why no-one has yet been charged over this gross breach of privacy, but that’s another story).
Other AA members include a number of vegan organisations. Would these zealots be happy with a ban on intensive livestock raising? Don’t make me laugh! Vegans believe no animals should be eaten. Blind Freddy could figure out that’s what they’re aiming to enforce, one step at a time. Anyone who thinks spending $1 on buying an imported bag made under dubious conditions from synthetic material, is actually helping any animals at all, is truly stupid.
As for the celebrities who are trumpeting support for Animals Australia? It just goes to show that just because someone is famous for a skill such as cooking, tennis or singing, doesn’t mean they are intelligent.
All in all, forgive the pun – but in regard to anything Animals Australia is involved in, I just smell porkies. But I expect better from Australian journalists and editors; who theoretically earn a living by telling the truth and presenting us with all the news and information in an objective fashion. Verbatim printing of media releases written by animal rights organisations is not what the public deserve to be paying for. Next thing they’ll be wondering why newspaper readership is falling….
A final word. If, for example, you don’t want egg-laying chooks to spend their lives in cages, then buy (genuine) free range eggs or better still, keep a few chooks in your own backyard (which should be full of native plants, if you are genuine about your concern for native animals). I’ve spent my whole life avoiding eggs produced by chooks kept in small cages, same goes for housed pigs. Just put your money where your mouth is when buying food and encourage friends and family to do likewise. That’s the way to drive real change. Eat moderate amounts of sustainably produced food from all five food groups. That’s the best way to help protect native flora and fauna and the environment generally. Remember that Australian agriculture is not the same as agriculture elsewhere. Especially in northern Australia, particularly on large cattle stations, where livestock graze native pasture and co-exist in perfect harmony with native animals and birds.