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ATLANTA, GA( — Dr. Wes Jamison has spent the past 20 years studying animal rights and animal welfare, along with organizations like the Humane Society of the United States. He has researched how they grow their membership and raise millions of dollars to promote their agenda, damage the credibility of livestock producers and work to end animal agriculture as we know it.

 During a presentation at the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta on Thursday, Jamison gave poultry and livestock producers a message to take back to their states — grant consumers the permission to be hypocrites.

 Twenty years ago, animal activists had passion and zeal, marching in major metropolitan cities and demanding animals be removed from pens and poultry be freed from cages. The animal industry did not respond two decades ago, but Jamison told producers the time has come to take a stand.

 As associate professor of communications for Palm Beach Atlantic University, Jamison has studied the HSUS's ability to grow its membership to an estimated 12 million people, and its budget to more than $220 million.

 The HSUS is the most powerful animal rights group in America, with a membership that exceeds the number of livestock and crop farmers in North America. It has also gained prominent spokespeople to carry its message to the public, from televangelist Joel Osteen to talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

 Despite the organization's growth, Jamison said leaders in the HSUS have come to the realization that their message has not resulted in a cause the American public can buy into.

 "Sure, (people) support animal welfare, but they want cheap chicken and pork too," he said. "Pet owners may feel strongly about their dogs and cats — often treating them like a member of the family — but at the same time, many have no qualms about the piece of meat on the enter of their dinner plate. Dr. Wes Jamison Animal rights expert

 The HSUS has taken to calling these people hypocrites, said Jamison, and they are now drawing religion into the debate.

 By calling people hypocrites, HSUS is not asking people to stop eating meat, but rather to pay for their "sin" by giving the organization money and time.

 "The other side is spending lots of money to try to moralize this debate and the public is listening," Jamison said, adding that the HSUS has invested $92 million into its animals and religion campaign.

Why religion?

 Jamison said the HSUS has discovered religion and they've "come to Jesus, figuratively, and said, ‘Hey, why not use Him?'"

 "They understand religion is very powerful," he added. "Eighty-one percent of Americans say they are Christians and they can't even define what that means."

 With its animals and religion campaign, Jamison said HSUS is working to form the connection between food and faith. If they can't convince the American public to stop eating meat, then they want to make them feel guilty for doing it. Drawing religion into it is an added benefit

 "Of all the people that give in the United States, religious people give at a higher percentage over time for a cause they believe in," Jamison said. "Religious people feel individually responsible for causes they believe in and give more money. If I want to build a movement, I want to approach religion, because they will provide more longterm funding.

 "The Humane Society's campaign is one of secular indulgence — you feel guilty for what you do … you purchase your guilt by spending money. That's the essence of their campaign and what we've found is, it's working."

 Jamison said what animal agriculture needs to do is counter-act the message HSUS is sending — and it's going to take more than using sound science and economics to reach American consumers.

 In fact, he encouraged producers to do just as the HSUS is doing and bring religion into the discussion.

 "I speak to what the Bible says — you cannot only eat animals, but have great joy in doing it," said Jamison. "The other side is trying to make people feel guilty for eating animals. What must our side do? Give permission. It's OK to eat dead animals … it's an act of worship, feel good about it. Something has to die so we can live. Our culture has forgotten that."

 Jamison encouraged farmers to open up to their consumers, invite them to their farms and show them how production agriculture operates. He also said they need to be honest and descriptive about animal processing — while it may create shock and awe at first, the consumers will understand it and be less offended when animal rights and animal welfare organizations present their own agenda.

Proven methods

 Numerous campaigns are being introduced and developed to counter-act the message HSUS has been giving to the public for years, said Jamison.

 Among them is a campaign introduced on college campuses in 2009, in which free Tshirts were handed out to fraternity members. The shirts read, "I Love Meat," and became hugely popular.

 "It was great," Jamison said. "They understood intuitively what it would do to all the vegans on campus and all the environmentalists. We were able to empower, (to say,) ‘I have a cause now, and it's fun.'"

 Another campaign that has shown success is the It's Simple campaign. It features cartoon art of a dog and a cow, with an its-not-equal sign between the two.

 "Not only did we give (people) permission to continue eating and enjoying your product, what we're saying about our competition is that if you don't get it, there's something mentally deficient about you," Jamison said.

 In closing, he sent producers home with the message, "All you have to do is communicate in a language that your consumers understand and give them permission to live as hypocrites and they will do so."

By: Julie Buntjer, Worthington Daily Globe