Basics of Advocating for Agriculture
• Think about what you want people to learn from your booth or exhibit. Practice your message in
advance and anticipate what questions you might be asked.
• Make sure to have a conversation with people. If someone asks you about a myth of your industry,
find out where they got their information. People need more empathy if they have witnessed
something or seen a video than if they’ve just heard it from a friend.
• Connect with people on a genuine, emotional level. Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence—treat
everyone with respect no matter what their question is. Find common ground (are you both
students? Both animal lovers? Both passionate about sports?).
Things to Remember
• The same right that allows you to hold your event allows people to protest that event. Respect
everyone’s right to their opinion.
• It is extremely unlikely that you will change the mind of a committed activist. Don’t make changing
their mind your goal.
• The main audience of this interaction is everyone watching. Maintain your cool, take the high road,
and don’t allow yourself to argue or be dragged down.
Handling Protestors
• Check with your club advisor or event organizers in advance to understand where protestors are
allowed to be and who you need to alert if they are disruptive or violating policies.
• Do not interact with any protestors—don’t try to change their minds, argue with them, or
antagonize them. Simply continue doing what you would do if they were not there.
• If someone needs to be removed from the area, find the designated authority figure and inform
them. A police officer or security is responsible for removing disruptive people or requiring that they
comply with policies—do not attempt to enforce rules on your own.
What Should I Say?
• “It sounds like you are concerned with animal care. I’m an animal lover myself—I’m passionate
about the care farmers give their animals (insert species, if appropriate). It sounds like we don’t
agree on the best way to care for animals, but I appreciate your concerns.”
• “I’m sorry, we are here to showcase the great work farmers are doing to care for their animals and
having a conversation with people about farming. It seems we will have to agree to disagree, so I’m
going to move on and assist these other people. I hope you have a nice day.”
• Have a public–friendly handout with information about your booth and message. Use this handout
to end the conversation. Hand the activist the paper politely and say, “Here is some additional
information. I’m going to help these other visitors. Have a great day.”
What If They Are Shooting Video?
• A good rule of thumb is to assume anytime you are in public, you could be on video. Behave as if
that’s the case.
• If you think you are being filmed, ask the person politely and calmly, “Are you videotaping our
event?” Remember, the majority of people are filming or taking pictures for positive reasons—don’t
become defensive.
• If someone is filming you for a negative reason, state your position politely and clearly. Do not
continue arguing or become combative. Getting you to react negatively and emotionally on video is
their goal. They want you to yell at them, get upset, say something defensive or rude. Don’t give
them the satisfaction.
• Check your area to make sure they aren’t harming any animals or students present—if they are,
immediately get police assistance. Inform your club advisor and the event organizer. Let authority
figures handle the situation and resume your ordinary duties.
Things to Keep in Mind
• It is very emotional to be targeted in this way—try to keep your cool and not take it personally. The
more you can disengage from the situation, the better you will be. Help your fellow club members
disengage by setting a good example.
• If someone is being so disruptive that you are unable to continue your presentation, absolutely you
need to reach out to authorities to see what can be done to encourage the person to move along.
• Remember, most people have honest questions, even if they’ve heard misinformation. Don’t be so
on edge that you are unable to effectively talk to people with genuine questions and concerns.
People deserve information about animal agriculture, and you wouldn’t be volunteering at this
event if you didn’t want to provide it.
Social Media
• If you see an activist post or video about agriculture or your event, do not comment on it, share it,
or engage with it in anyway. Social media sites like Facebook use an algorithm to decide what to
show to people that is heavily based on how much “attention” (comments, likes, shares, views) a
post is getting, and it doesn’t distinguish between people who agree or disagree with the post.
Interacting with activist posts drives traffic to the post and achieves the opposite of your goal.
• If you see someone on social media who has a genuine question about animal agriculture, do please
serve as a resource to that person. Do so politely, without name calling or belittling.
• Do not use polarizing language that will alienate a portion of your audience. Avoid references to
political affiliations, personal appearance, “city people”, intelligence, and similar personal attacks.
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