A new RealClearInvestigations (RCI) report links a $40 million campaign against a congressional fix to California’s Proposition 12 to Silicon Valley wealth, animal rights activists and a network of philanthropic organisations operating behind groups that present themselves as voices for American farmers, according to a news release from the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).
In “The Bacon Wars: Pig Farmers Battle Tech Barons Over Animal Welfare,” James Varney examines the money, leadership and advertising behind the farm bill attack campaign. At the centre is the American Meat Producers Association (AMPA), which has announced a $30 million effort opposing the Save Our Bacon provision that would correct Prop. 12 in the farm bill.
The NPPC said the investigation raises these central questions: Who is paying for the campaign? Whose interests does it represent? And what are the consequences for American farmers and consumers?
RCI traces major financial support to some of Silicon Valley’s largest fortunes and the Effective Altruism movement, whose followers use philanthropy to advance causes they believe will produce long-term good. Coefficient Giving, formerly Open Philanthropy and founded by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and Cari Tuna, gave $10 million to the Navigation Fund, which is among AMPA’s funders. An internal Navigation Fund memo obtained by RCI called the effort “the biggest fight we’ve ever waged in Congress.”
RCI reports that AMPA operates through three entities: a 501(c)(3), a 501(c)(4) that is not required to publicly disclose its donors, and a political action committee (PAC). On October 2, the PAC received $3 million from AMPA’s 501(c)(4), accounting for more than 97% of all money raised by the PAC. Public filings to date identify only one donor whose reported occupation is “farmer,” and who contributed just $1,000.
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