Lawmakers Should Work With The Humane Society of the U.S. to Advance Role of Family Farmers

by Wes Shoemyer

Sen. Mike Parson is knowingly and recklessly mischaracterizing the work of The Humane Society of the United States (“Humane Society of the United States New Agricultural Council Disguises Its True Anti-Ag Agenda,” May 13).

First, The HSUS has never claimed to fund local humane societies. While it provides grants and valuable services to other organizations and provides hands-on care to thousands of animals each year, the purpose of the organization is not to pass along dollars to local groups, but to prevent cruelty and abuse to all animals before it starts. Because big agribusiness front groups feel intimidated by the work The HSUS has done in Missouri, such as building an agriculture advisory council comprised of family farmers, they spew misinformation, apparently with the help of Sen. Parson.

As a responsible farmer, I believe it is in the interests of consumers, the free market and the broader farming community to provide a public voice to those of us who value higher welfare standards and traditional husbandry practices. The National Agriculture Advisory Council of The HSUS complements the work of Missouri’s advisory council, in addition to that of 10 other councils across the country. The purpose is to provide a voice for family farmers who adhere to higher animal welfare standards and oppose inhumane factory farming practices, and to assist others in transitioning to more humane and sustainable methods. Consumer demand is shifting – as we’ve seen with retailers like Walmart and McDonald’s announcing transitions to cage-free egg supplies – and councils are listening.

Unfortunately Sen. Parson is not listening to consumers and Missourians, but to Big Ag. In 2014, he supported measures to increase the allowable amount of foreign ownership of Missouri’s farmland. Supporting the Right to Farm measure solidified this by giving foreign corporations constitutional rights. And, in 2011, after nearly one million Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to reform our state’s despicable puppy mill industry, Parson worked to unravel it, subverting the democratic processes and the will of the people.

Furthermore, according to financial reports, Parson received $1,000 from Smithfield Foods, the Chinese-owned corporation that now owns approximately 50,000 acres of land in our state. He is also a board member of Protect the Harvest, a group that has fought nearly every common-sense animal welfare initiative in recent years

Instead of bashing groups like The HSUS, Sen. Parson should join his fellow Missourians in protecting our family farmers, our land and our animals, too.

Wes Shoemyer is a former state senator and member of The HSUS Missouri Agriculture Advisory Council.