Uncommon ALLIANCES: One hog farmer is on a mission to unite local agriculture and the Humane Society

摘要

When Joe Maxwell, hog farmer and former lieutenant governor of Missouri, accepted the job as rural outreach director for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), he stepped into one of the deepest cultural chasms in agriculture today. For the past decade, ballot initiatives aimed at changing practices in the livestock industry have made HSUS the most controversial animal welfare group in agricultural circles. But that didn't cause Maxwell to tiptoe into his new duties. By deciding to begin the society's outreach in Nebraska, where Governor Dave Heineman publicly asserted "HSUS is out to destroy animal agriculture," Maxwell chose baptism by fire.