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ESG – A Made Up Globalist Grading System
The term ESG has become increasingly prominent in the “green movement.” ESG is a rating system used to score companies based on ... View MoreIn case you've missed this...
ESG – A Made Up Globalist Grading System
The term ESG has become increasingly prominent in the “green movement.” ESG is a rating system used to score companies based on their performance in the realms of environment, social, and governance. This system is presented under the façade of being a means to hold companies accountable for their practices and to help people invest “responsibly.” In reality, ESG is just another manifestation of the globalist movement, which poses a dire threat to our nation’s food production, food security, and overall freedoms.
ESG Creates Rewards—and Punishments
The very nature of investing has historically allowed people to invest their money in the way they best see fit, according to their financial goals and/or personally held beliefs. For example, certain religious groups might choose not to invest in companies dealing with alcohol or tobacco. In the 1960s and 70s, the term “socially responsible investing” emerged. This was partially in response to apartheid in South Africa, and for ethical reasons, many investors moved their money away from companies doing business there. However, ESG puts a nefarious, agenda-driven spin on so-called “socially responsible” investing by creating a reward/punishment situation. This essentially weaponizes financial systems against those that don’t march in step with the globalist agenda.
In 2019, World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab wrote:
“‘Stakeholder capitalism,’ a model I first proposed a half-century ago, positions private corporations as trustees of society, and is clearly the best response to today’s social and environmental challenges... We should seize this moment to ensure that stakeholder capitalism remains the new dominant model."
The further developed concept of ESG surfaced with the United Nations’ 2006 Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Later on, a series of metrics were created and structured to align with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The fact that ESG and its underlying tenets came directly from the globalist movement is very alarming, especially when the intended trajectory of ESG is revealed.
ESG Mirrors China’s Social Credit System
ESG has certainly gotten a strong foothold in the world of business but is also gaining traction as a means of rating individuals based on their lifestyle choices—just like the social credit system implemented in China. In China’s system a citizen’s ability to participate in society, and even meet their own basic needs, depends on their personal choices and behavior. Merrill Lynch has already started assigning personal ESGs to customers based on their investment portfolios.
This is nothing less than terrifying. In the varying turmoil of recent years, certain protestors and influencers have had their bank accounts locked or had donated funds confiscated because their actions did not align with the ideology and agenda of the powers that be.
There has even been a plan introduced by S&P Global to rate states, which would essentially force businesses to leave states that have “bad” ESG scores, like those that produce fossil fuels, for example. Companies that don’t abandon those states would thus be effectively barred from doing business.
ESG Scoring is Far from Objective
ESG scores are assigned to companies by several third-party research and analysis agencies and firms—most of which have direct ties to globalist interests. The chart from their website illustrates the factors taken into consideration for ESG scores.
One example of how ESG can be used against people and businesses that don’t align with the agenda is Elon Musk’s electric car company Tesla. The company was recently removed from the S&P 500 index of companies with strong ESG-related performance. This happened during Musk’s contentious bid to buy the social media giant, Twitter, after Musk’s very public criticism of the company for censorship and the suppression of free speech. Despite Tesla’s overall mission and stellar records in environment ratings, the bump from the list was blamed on alleged racism in one of Tesla’s factories, an issue that interestingly hadn’t surfaced before Musk’s move to buy Twitter.
American Agriculture Threatened by ESG
It is easy to see how ESG can be weaponized against businesses and even entire industries. Sadly, American agriculture has fallen into ESG’s proverbial crosshairs.
Farming is already heavily regulated at the local, state, and federal levels. There are also numerous existing programs that facilitate conservation and sustainability. Nevertheless, the US’s Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) is proposing an ESG-centered rule that would place an immense and unworkable burden on small family farms and ranches. This rule would effectively block them from doing business with public companies and would intentionally undermine the basic structure of American agriculture.
Small Farms Will Be Harmed the Most
Titled "Enhanced and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors,” the proposed rule would require public companies to share the amounts of greenhouse gasses their operations emit. This would then trickle down to the small farms and ranches that sell crops or livestock to those public companies.
While large companies have fully staffed compliance departments for matters like ESG, small farms and ranches do not due to cost. Under the proposed rule, the ability of a producer to grow and sell high-quality, nutritious, and necessary products could be negated by the farm perhaps using some older equipment that might not meet newly invented emissions standards.
Congress Signs Letter to SEC in Opposition
Rep. John Rose (R-TN), penned a letter to the SEC that has been signed by well over 100 house members. The letter states: “The time and energy put into complying with this new regulation will divert American farmers away from their primary goal of producing our nation’s food, fuel, and fiber.”
Further, the letter states: “Bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. – specifically unelected SEC staff – who have no jurisdiction over environmental policy and who have never stepped foot on a farm should not have such influence over how farmers take care of their land…Imposing these additional reporting requirements could disqualify small, family-owned farms from doing business with companies which could lead to more consolidation in the agriculture industry.”
Indeed, further consolidation and limitation of American agriculture is one of the main goals of the globalist movement. The centralization and control of food production will mean increased control of the people. This leads to food choices being made for you, not by you.
High ESG Scores Don’t Always Equal Actual Environmental Benefits
Interestingly, studies have shown that high ESG scores don’t necessarily correlate with better environmental or labor rule compliance. It has even been pointed out by prominent progressive Michael Moore that even while green technology companies might garner high ESG scores, they don’t necessarily provide net environmental benefits. This is partly because green technologies are notoriously inefficient, require rare minerals that must be mined, and rely on tax subsidies.
ESG Aims to Transform Society as a Whole
Justin Haskins is the director of the Socialism Research Center and editorial director at the Heartland Institute. He was quoted as saying: “The point of it (ESG) is to transform all of society, not just to transform what happens inside the walls of some big corporation. They believe that we need to move to a new kind of capitalism, one that doesn't just look at profits and losses and traditional business metrics, but that looks at what's in the best interests of the collective."
The problem is that the definitions of those “best interests” are determined by organizations such as the UN and WEF.
What Can You Do About ESG?
We need to ensure our voice is heard by our representatives on this issue. ESG is going to impact every industry in our country and will hit our small farmers the hardest. Reach out to your state and federal leaders and let them know your opinion. The first step in fighting back is to stay informed and inform others. The more knowledge we have, the more power we have to stand together united for our rights and freedoms.
For links to sources and more information visit this article on our website.
In case you've missed this...
Demand USA Produce - The Challenge of Cheap Labor vs. American Farms
From an article in AgDaily by Michelle Miller, Farm Babe... View MoreIn case you've missed this...
Demand USA Produce - The Challenge of Cheap Labor vs. American Farms
From an article in AgDaily by Michelle Miller, Farm Babe
The years during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how frail the United States food supply is and how dependent we are on multinational corporations and other countries to feed us. At the beginning of the pandemic, consumers witnessed bare and empty shelves at groceries stores for the first time in their life. It was shocking to many, and as much as anything else, it contributed to the unease that was taking hold around the United States (and the world). Could anything be done to alleviate those kinds of concerns? Is there a new way to look at our food system to prevent the kind of tension that had gripped so many people back in 2020?
According to a 2022 survey, 78 percent of people support domestic agriculture, and they feel it is important to purchase U.S.-sourced food. Similarly, 88 percent of consumers responded that they trusted U.S. farmers in a national survey conducted by American Farm Bureau Federation in June 2020.
Those same survey respondents who endorsed supporting domestic agriculture would be appalled and disappointed upon learning that U.S. fruit and vegetable growers face an unfair competitive disadvantage versus countries such as Mexico, Peru, Argentina, or Chile (who are gaining market share). The huge disparity in farm worker labor wages is one of the biggest factors U.S. produce growers lack a competitive market. It is not uncommon for labor wages to account for 70 to 80 percent of production cost for growers, as many of their crops are labor intensive.
For example, a U.S. farm worker’s average wage in 2021 was $15.56, and it was $14.62 in 2020. Of note, those wages do not include compensation for transportation ($400 to $650 per employee), food (cost varies), and lodging ($9,000 to $13,000 per worker). Interestingly enough, U.S. farm worker wage rates have increased between12 to 42 percent (the specifics vary by state) since 2017.
In contrast, farm workers in Central and South America earn up to $18 per day (not per hour).
For instance, the minimum wage in Mexico is $8.67 per day (when converted to USD), which is after a 23 percent increase in pay in 2022 and a 15 percent raise in 2021 — when the minimum wage was $7.10 per day, while farm workers earned a premium of $8 per day. Similarly, farm workers in Peru spent weeks protesting and demanding higher wages in 2020. At the time of the protests, farm workers wanted an increase in wages from $11 to $18; however, the Peruvian government passed legislation that increased wages to $13 daily (farm workers are still dissatisfied). The new minimum wage in Argentina for workers, including meat and farm workers, is $400 per month ($2.35 per hour) while Chile pays their farm workers $2.30 per hour.
So what is happening? Domestic produce growers sometimes ask for a higher prices over South/Central America countries because their labor cost is up to 15 times more expensive and they are trying to make a livable wage. Unfortunately, many American grocery stores buy imported produce over U.S. grown, especially during the winter/spring season to maximize their profit. During those months, Florida farmers produce 80 to 92 percent of specialty crops as Mexico shares their harvest crop season. The entire U.S. produce market (not just Florida) is shriveling while Mexico’s specialty crop U.S. market share has increased by 580 percent from 2000 to 2020. On the other hand, Florida has lost up to 86 percent market for certain specialty crops between 2000 and 2020. In Florida alone, that translates to a reduction in sales from almost $2 billion to $4 billion annually, and an estimated loss of jobs of between 17,870 and 35,741.
So why does this matter? The labor wage disparity is causing multi-generational family produce operations in all 50 states to stop farming every single day. In fact, sometimes the cost of hired labor is more expensive than the produce is actually worth to sell to grocers, so unfortunately farmers have to let their hard work rot in the field to avoid being even more financially in the red.
Consequently, our fruits/vegetables will be completely outsourced, and there will be less local food. Additionally, more farmland will be converted to pavement, food will travel farther distances to reach our plates, and we’ll see worsening environmental impacts, a depleted workforce, and a scarce rural/agriculture community. The list goes on.
It’s important to raise awareness on the topic, fight for fair trade, keep farmers farming, and support our own country’s economy. Consumers: please demand local and U.S. grown food in your grocery store — any country unable to feed themselves could face increased national food insecurity. Let’s keep our own nation’s farmers in business.
The Story of Family Farming Underscores a Legacy of Sustainability
Sustainability and good environmental stewardship are hot-button issues in today’s popular culture. It seems those who use “sustain... View MoreThe Story of Family Farming Underscores a Legacy of Sustainability
Sustainability and good environmental stewardship are hot-button issues in today’s popular culture. It seems those who use “sustainability” most tend to present it like they invented the idea. Meanwhile, they ignore the masters of sustainability in our society: those involved in agriculture. The industry-wide practices in agriculture have significant positive environmental impacts and are not being acknowledged. In many cases these industries are being criticized for not being “sustainable” when nothing could be further from the truth.
Farming and ranching are inherently tied to the earth. Rural communities understand this as well – with over 70% citing environmental issues as very important according to a Duke Nicholas Institute survey. For generations they have been recycling, upcycling, and reinventing all to grow more food in a sustainable way.
Humans have an innate desire to access more knowledge on a wide variety of subjects; biotechnology must be included in that. Farmers who utilize modern agriculture techniques are contributing to our healthy, nutritious, and sustainable food supply.
Combining science, new technologies, and best practices allows farmers and ranchers to continue to provide food for our nation and our world. By its very nature, farming must go hand in hand with environmental stewardship. It takes hundreds of years for nature to create a single inch of topsoil. Therefore, farmers need to ensure that they take the utmost care of the land because it cannot be easily replaced. Topsoil is delicate, and to continually support a healthy crop it must be properly maintained. With 98% of farms being family-owned, most farmers desire to see their land, natural resources, water, and knowledge passed on to future generations.
Agricultural efficiency is something most people don’t consider when biting into a steak or eating a fresh salad. Our farmers and ranchers can raise crops and manage livestock in ways that reduce the use of precious resources in a big way. Today it takes 75% fewer resources to produce the same amount of chicken than it did over 50 years ago. It now takes 65% less water and 90% less land for each gallon of milk produced compared to over 75 years ago. These new efficiencies make it possible to feed more people than before using fewer resources which is a big win for everyone.
When it comes to reusing and recycling, livestock farmers and ranchers are experts. Finding creative ways to do this not only helps the planet, but it also saves money and energy on the farm.
Animal Rights and Other Non-Governmental Organizations Are Working to Impact Our Food Choices and Food Supply
It is no longer hidden that there are wealthy special interest non-governmental groups (NGOs) working to change our way of life. These groups want to change how animals are perceived and end animal agriculture and state their stances publicly. There are also groups claiming to focus on the environment and their latest push is to “re-wild” significant portions of our country which includes making the land inaccessible to humans. These animal and environmental extremist NGOs are interconnected and openly share staff projects, lawsuits, jointly write legislation and regulations.
The truth is that sustainability isn’t a new concept in agriculture. Sustainability is woven into our food system and is continually improving. It is part of the day-to-day operation and management of farms and ranches.
You Can Help by Staying Informed.
While there is an abundance of myths and misinformation regarding food production and the environment, there are also many good, factual sources available as long as you know where to look. In addition to following our organization on social outlets and signing up for our newsletter, others such as the Animal Agriculture Alliance, The Cavalry Group, National Animal Interest Alliance, Western Justice, Diary Carrie, and universities with agriculture programs have accurate and factual information available.
Make sure to sign up for our newsletter so you do not miss out on information about the activities of these groups that threaten our way of life: https://protecttheharvest.com/get-involved/newsletter/
In case you've missed this...
Why The Fight for Animals Must Prevail Against the Plight of Animal Rights
By Michael Robison
... View MoreIn case you've missed this...
Why The Fight for Animals Must Prevail Against the Plight of Animal Rights
By Michael Robison
There is a war within the ranks of those who stand for the good of animals, specifically the most endangered and prized animals that have become the icons of zoos, movies, and non-profits worldwide.
Before we expose the plight of this alleged war, let's talk about what got us to this point.
For the last few decades, there has been a growing concern among many people about using animals in entertainment, enjoyment, and academics.
If you're older than 35, like me, you might remember the days of seeing animals such as chimpanzees, tigers, capuchin monkeys, and parrots in movies, on television, and in live entertainment. Maybe you remember growing up and watching Jack Hannah appear on late-night television or a morning show with a tiger cub, a small bear, snakes, and the like. Those very appearances by animals inspired me to focus my energy and work on caring for animals.
From an early age, I have been hands-on with animals of all kinds. In kindergarten, I was the kid who brought home the class pet on the weekends or for the summer to provide proper care. By high school, I was rescuing exotic birds and local wildlife like deer and squirrels and working as a veterinary assistant. I even started the journey toward being a veterinary student, but life took a different route.
I spent twenty years as an entrepreneur, business owner, and leader of a large non-profit. While it was not a career focused on animals, my spare time, extra resources, and attention were most often diverted to caring for injured, abandoned, and abused animals. Throughout the last twenty-two years, I have been able to serve and help more than 500 animals of different species, all with unique stories and needs.
During that time, we saw the public face of animal care, media, and accessibility change. During that time, the rise of the animal rights movement became a primary focus of media and organizations around the nation. Animal rights is a stark deviation from the concept of animal welfare, and the result of this focus threatens to end the ability of humans to enjoy the beauty of the animal kingdom.
The American Veterinary Medical Association defines animal welfare as a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being, including proper housing, management, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane handling, and, when necessary, humane euthanasia.
As knowledge expands, we gain more data from caring for animals; expanded resources become available, the animal welfare standards continue to evolve and improve. This could apply to the enclosures in which they're kept, the diets they're fed, the psychological enrichment they receive, or the medical care they are given. Those who genuinely care about animals focus intensely on the best animal welfare standards.
However, the rise of animal rights poses a significant threat to the overall concept of animal welfare.
While animal rights and animal welfare are oriented towards the well-being of individual animals, they differ significantly. Animal rights advocates believe that every animal deserves the right to live a life free from human control.
Animal Rights is a philosophical view that animals have similar or the same rights as humans. True animal rights proponents believe that humans do not have the right to use animals in any form at all. Animal rights proponents wish to ban all use of animals by humans.
Under this set of ideals, you have organizations such as PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The non-profit group has focused millions of dollars, more than $72 million in 2021, towards removing the rights and access humans have to any animals. They have utilized political ideals and verbiage to create campaigns that mirror human rights and civil rights movements. For example, their latest campaign uses the phrase "end speciesism," which implies the discrimination of rights of animals by any human.
Such groups have long fought to "free" animals from any form of captivity, human interaction, and exposure to any media or publicity. This is where you have seen the groups fight to remove the killer whales from SeaWorld, using tactics like the film Blackfish. They have portrayed the use of animals for shows and displays as an egregious abuse, resulting in the end of such shows and viewings.
This movement shut down the century-old Barnum and Bailey Circus under the auspices that the group had long abused, exploited, and violated the rights of the animals.
But, they have not just set their sights on places like the circus and public aquariums. They have begun to shift their attention to privately owned animals nationwide.
In 2021 PETA decided that a family who owned a winery in California had no right to own a Giraffe named Stanley, which they claimed was being abused by exploitation to draw visitors to the business. Likewise, beginning in 2016, they set their sights on a group of retired performing chimps housed in Festus, Missouri. That fight for the retired chimpanzees has continued to rage on and has seen the groups utilize federal taxpayer funds to remove privately owned animals from private citizens, despite no violations of laws or ethics.
These animals, like Tonka the Chimp, become a trophy for their endeavors. Tonka's welfare was in the best shape possible, but according to animal rights standards, he was being abused simply because he lived under human care in a private home.
The media, celebrities, and influencers worldwide have aligned with groups like PETA to push the narrative of animal rights. Most often, it is not from an uneducated point of view, but rather a financially influenced decision. Groups like PETA are known to pay celebrities thousands, even millions of dollars, to speak for the concept of animal rights. All the while, they violate all of the organization's core values by eating meat, owning pets, wearing fur, and much more.
What is disturbing about groups such as PETA, after raising over $72 million in 2021, PETA provided no funding support for the animals they "rescued." More disturbing, according to whistleblowers, PETA has an average "kill rate" of 71% annually, euthanizing most of the animals they rescue.
There is an expanded need for a focus on animal welfare. It helps to safeguard against breeding farms, improper animal brokerage, substandard care, and animal abuse. But when it branches into the realm of animal rights, it infringes upon the rights and dominion we have as human beings.
It is this distinction that has driven me to do the work I do each day for hundreds of animals under my direct care.
In 2019, my life shifted, and it was time to leave behind my corporate career path for my passion and purpose. During the last three years, I focused my experience in leadership, management, fundraising, speaking, and animal care to build an organization that focuses on expanded animal welfare while supporting the rights of human beings worldwide.
I founded an organization called Small Primate Animal Rescue of TN, or SPARTN. The focus is to provide long-term care, protection, and love for primates who have been neglected, abandoned, and abused. We have expanded into multiple locations as a sanctuary network and seek to provide stable homes and a modernized form of husbandry for the animals. Most of the animals we care for are primates that groups or individuals privately owned and have spent most, if not all, of their lives in direct companionship with human beings.
Part of our hope at SPARTN is to help develop an updated form of husbandry for primates and other animals that humans have directly raised. It is not healthy or developmentally fair to remove sentient animals, such as primates, from that direct interaction with humans. As we have seen in the past, when this happens, the grief and distress often result in their eventual death.
In the weeks and months ahead, my hope is to be able to inspire, educate, motivate and activate you to be part of a world that displaces the concept of animal rights and directs your time, resources, and attention to the need for expanded animal welfare.
If we do not work together, there is a future devoid of our right to share life with the animals we love.
Links to references can be found in this article on our website.
When certain groups of people advocate for "my body my choice" it is looked at as a human right. However, when the agriculture industry says the same thing about your choice to eat the foods you want,... View MoreWhen certain groups of people advocate for "my body my choice" it is looked at as a human right. However, when the agriculture industry says the same thing about your choice to eat the foods you want, it is then considered controversial. When will we stand up and say that our food choices should be considered a human right?
We've seen marches, protests, and even illegal activities used as activism in our country for all types of movements and causes. Some of those are good, some not so good, but the point is that they made their voices heard. That is, unfortunately, one of the activities extremist movements have mastered. They have no issue with rallying the troops and getting them into the streets to hold signs and speak their voice to the public.
Why are we the people, the farmers, the ranchers, the hunters, the anglers, the pet breeders, the backbone of America, unable to rally together and show the public we need support?
Our lifestyles based on animal welfare and taking care of the land are often twisted up and vilified by those who see us as an enemy. Over and over, we are told that animal protein is a major contributor to climate change, but UC Davis Professor Dr. Frank Mitloehner has combated those falsities over and over again. The problem is that those on the opposing side aren't interested in facts, but rather their agenda of ending animal agriculture.
As we know all too well, ballot initiatives and legislation are routinely proposed by special interest groups or politically ambitious elected officials who are unfriendly toward meat, poultry, egg, and dairy production. This causes even more price inflation for high-density proteins and makes it more difficult for consumers to feed their families nutritious, safe, affordable food.
Why is it that every day we see a story on the news about those wanting to end our way of life, but no one is speaking up for our choices?
When it comes to food, what we put in our bodies should be our choice. Generations of people have worked to make sure our food systems in America were safe and affordable. How we have gotten to this point of denying science and relying on emotions is enough to boggle any logical thinking person's mind.
The time for us to stand up and have our voices heard is now. We as a community of landowners, animal owners, and outdoor enthusiasts need to show our country that we care for those animals and the land we use. As an organization, Protect The Harvest has been speaking up, but we need your support and help to continue!
To learn more about how to get involved in your communities please check out our educational resource titled, "Protecting OUr Lifestyle and Livelihood."
We have put together brochures and flyers regarding our mission and initiatives we have been involved in for your education and distribution. To see all of the educational materials available for your... View MoreWe have put together brochures and flyers regarding our mission and initiatives we have been involved in for your education and distribution. To see all of the educational materials available for your use, follow this link: https://protecttheharvest.com/get-involved/educational-resources/flyers/
Cattle and Pork Industries Fighting SEC Climate Rule
Both the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) filed comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commis
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