ad hoc organization called Save the Family Fann. This 

 organization was responsible for all campaigning against 

 the referendum. 



The humane organizations such as the Massachusetts 

 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the 

 Animal Rescue League did not support the referendum 

 as it was currently written. 



The Strategies 



According to August Schumacher, Jr., state Commis- 

 sioner of Food and Agriculture, the Save the Family Farm 

 strategy was clear cut and five pronged: 



» Define their message early, that is, - "Save the Family 

 Farm." 



• Win the early support of the Governor, the legisla- 

 ture, and the Commissioner. 



• Keep the issue a local one, keep national lobbyists 

 out. 



• Get the message out to every editorial board in the 

 state early. The Commissioner, Farm Bureau and 

 many farmers personally spoke with virtually every 

 editor. 



• Save the paid media campaign until the last few 

 weeks. 



Schumacher explained that they simply tried to keep 

 CEASE off-balance and reacting to the Save the Family 

 Farm messages which were changed frequently. 



Funds for the campaign were very limited, most com- 

 ing from small contributions. Early in the campaign, funds 

 were used for signs, bumper stickers, buttons, and printed 

 literature; in the last week before the election for 

 television advertisements. 



The CEASE strategy, as recoimted by Steven Ronan, 

 consisted of the following: 



• Keep the attention focused on animal welfare issues. 

 De-emphasize issues such as drugs administered to 

 farm animals and their possible impact on pubhc 

 health. CEASE felt peripheral issues such as this 

 would not help the primary issue of animal welfare. 



• Send core members out on the editorial office circuit. 



• Trv to get free air time on television. Funds for 

 television advertising were Umited. 



• Buy a full page ad in the Boston Globe to appear for 

 one day during the last week of the campaign. 



The Media 



Telegram, supported i\i& Save the Family Farm movement 

 through news articles, feature articles and editorials. The 

 Boston Herald called it the "Booby-prize BUI" and the 

 "silhest bill of the year". The Worcester Telegram, in its 

 Viewpoint section said that the initiative petition process 

 was abused by CEASE and that CEASE's "hidden agenda 

 seems to be to promote a vegetarian life style, even if that 

 means driving the cost of farming in Massachusetts so 

 high as to effectively destroy the industry." 



Pork 88, a national trade magazine for the pork in- 

 dustry, featured the issue as a national one with a side bar 

 on the Massachusetts situation. "Why worry about farm 

 animals in Massachusetts?" wrote Marlys Miller, "Be- 

 cause it's the kind of state - politically hberal, primarily 

 industrial, urban and financially comfortable - that is rich 

 soil to plant model legislation dictating how to raise live- 

 stock. If it takes root there, it can be cultivated on a 

 grander scale - on your farm - via Capitol Hill." 



The Election Results 



Question 3 was defeated by Massachusetts voters 71% 

 to 29% on November 8th, a surprisingly resounding 

 defeat considering that fact that the question was rather 

 benign, most people naturally being in favor the animal 

 welfare. Mabel Owen, Director of Animal Health for 

 Massachusetts said in the Pork 88 article, "The sum- 

 mary.. .sounds like motherhood, apple pie and warm fuz- 

 zies. The voter has no way of knowing how the state will 

 be affected or that food prices will change." 



In Retrospect 



Steven Ronan feels that CEASE was outnumbered, 

 outmaneuvered and out-financed. While their few mem- 

 bers were out collecting signatures for the petition, the 

 opposition made a sweep of the editorial boards. They 

 were fighting organized and well established groups. 



Commissioner Schumacher's analysis of the cam- 

 paign: "CEASE underestimated the opposition, overes- 

 timated the power of their message and did not campaign 

 very hard." He observed that CEASE was always on the 

 defensive, only able to react to the opposition's messages. 



Animal rightists say that they will not give up on this 

 issue. With the issue defeated in Massachusetts for now, 

 they say the focus must now turn to other states. 



While media coverage for Question 3 was not as heavy 

 as for the other referenda, the contact with editorial 

 boards by the Massachusetts Farm Bureau, Commis- 

 sioner Schumacher and the farmers evidently paid off 

 because all the major newspapers, i.e. the Boston Globe, 

 the Boston Herald, the Middlesex News and the Worcester 



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