JASPER, Ind. — Pork producers are still targets of animal rights advocates, but presenters at the Southern Indiana Pork Conference March 20 had some ideas that might help them convince the general public (and their neighbors) that how they raise hogs is humane and keeps the price of pork affordable.

Sponsored by Indiana Pork, the daylong event at the famous-for-pork-dishes Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper covered changes in fertilizer and manure regulations, supplemental enzymes in swine diets, animal welfare audits, consumer preferences and changes in state regulations and legislative issues.

Ed Tice, a Logansport-based buyer for Tyson, said animal rights organizations are seriously out to close down pork producers and the only way to save the industry is to go on the offensive.

“You have to know what you are up against,” he said, explaining the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has bought enough shares of McDonald’s stock to merit a speaking role at board meetings. “Now, McDonald’s and HSUS are in league together. McDonald’s takes action to end gestation stall use.”

The National Pork Producers Council is playing catch-up, buying enough shares with several retail food chains (including McDonald’s) to have a voice in board decisions, said Spencer Morris, director of Producer Outreach with Indiana Pork.

“Look at ‘pink slime,’” a pork producer reminded participants about the 2012 media frenzy and its consequences. “That owner did not get ahead of the game. He had no plan (if he was attacked by an animal rights organization).” Now they are out of business.

Tice said producers must do a better job of telling their ag story to consumers. “PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and HSUS are in the classroom. We need to tell our side, too,” he said.

Dave Schnur said Indiana Farm Bureau and other ag organizations have developed information brochures for the public about U.S. farming. He said the booklets are in every Warrick County school.

“For 25 years, we’ve been fighting people who think we are trying to poison (those who eat meat). Why do we always accept that premise and not address what is really going on?” asked Schnur, a pork producer from Boonville.

Tice said one of his Tyson clients is on his local school board. He offered to buy the pork and get suitable menus for the schools in his district for them to try pork. As a result of his efforts, pork products are on those schools’ lunch trays at least once a week.

Tice said he believes it is only a small, but vocal, group who questions food production safety. “The average consumer is not afraid. Farmers have not lost the trust of the American consumer,” he said. “You need to remind people your pigs are living life well in a nice, warm barn. That’s the reason we took them off the field.”

Knowing one’s neighbors is taking a step to prevent issues from escalating. Morris said if an animal rights organization is trying to stir up trouble, they will go to the neighbors and ask about insects and odors. If neighbors know each other and trust each other, chances are the neighbors will not complain.

One producer at the meeting has taken a step toward being a good neighbor. He plants a sweet corn patch at the end a field next to the road, and neighbors can pick as much as they want for themselves.