First, because for too long the “good guys” have been doing “activist” things without the kind of impact that law-makers bring, while the “bad guys” have basically cut to the chase and gone directly to the halls of power, with lobbying, bribes (legal, in the form of support of campaigns, but basically they are bribes), etc. It’s important that the good guys start fighting where it really matters.
Second, because your plan is solid, tangible and achievable.
IMHO, there is a huge range of action where political action would have strong popular support. While the vast majority of people are not “animal activists”, they also would oppose many of the practices of factory farming (witness the success of campaigns against caged hens) - if they knew about them. So there is scope to make changes that will not seem radical (e.g. ruling that animals must be allowed outside and have space to move and be killed humanely and really basic stuff) which would have a huge impact on animal welfare.
You don’t need the politician to say “we need to all become vegans and no more meat-eating”—because, especially in France, that will not work. But a politician could say “We love our farmers. But there is a minority of farmers who are giving others a bad name by mistreating animals, and we will not tolerate that.” Then if the farming-lobby (which anyway doesn’t represent the majority of small farmers) want to come out and argue that it’s not a minority, let them. I think it’s a minority of farmers, but the majority of farm animals who are subject to factory-farming practices.
So I can see CAP having a massive impact. Good luck!
PS did you intentionally choose CAP as a name (which, at least in anglophone countries, brings to mind the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy—which may be one of the key things you’d want to change in the long term)?
This is fantastic!
First, because for too long the “good guys” have been doing “activist” things without the kind of impact that law-makers bring, while the “bad guys” have basically cut to the chase and gone directly to the halls of power, with lobbying, bribes (legal, in the form of support of campaigns, but basically they are bribes), etc. It’s important that the good guys start fighting where it really matters.
Second, because your plan is solid, tangible and achievable.
IMHO, there is a huge range of action where political action would have strong popular support. While the vast majority of people are not “animal activists”, they also would oppose many of the practices of factory farming (witness the success of campaigns against caged hens) - if they knew about them. So there is scope to make changes that will not seem radical (e.g. ruling that animals must be allowed outside and have space to move and be killed humanely and really basic stuff) which would have a huge impact on animal welfare.
You don’t need the politician to say “we need to all become vegans and no more meat-eating”—because, especially in France, that will not work. But a politician could say “We love our farmers. But there is a minority of farmers who are giving others a bad name by mistreating animals, and we will not tolerate that.” Then if the farming-lobby (which anyway doesn’t represent the majority of small farmers) want to come out and argue that it’s not a minority, let them. I think it’s a minority of farmers, but the majority of farm animals who are subject to factory-farming practices.
So I can see CAP having a massive impact. Good luck!
PS did you intentionally choose CAP as a name (which, at least in anglophone countries, brings to mind the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy—which may be one of the key things you’d want to change in the long term)?