For many years, Danish pig farming has appeared untouchable. The nation of 6 million individuals produces roughly 28 million pigs per 12 months, and its pork business is deeply embedded within the financial system, politics and nationwide identification.

However this spring, animal welfare was a defining challenge in what grew to become often known as the “pig election.” After Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen secured a 3rd time period, the authorities coalition introduced a historic program aimed toward shifting the business away from ultra-intensive, export-driven manufacturing facility farming.

The marketing campaign’s success presents a case examine for advocates elsewhere. In the US, the place greater than 70 million pigs are raised yearly and animal welfare is never a serious electoral challenge, advocates have lengthy struggled to construct political momentum on farm animal welfare points. But one of many greatest classes from Denmark’s marketing campaign has little to do with cash, politics or coverage: Preserve the message targeted on the animal.

“We thought we must make actually difficult arguments,” says Britta Riis, chief government officer of Animal Safety Denmark, the nation’s largest animal welfare group. “All of the sudden, it was simply concerning the pig.”

It was additionally concerning the water. Polling in Denmark discovered 95% of respondents needed “pressing motion to guard the nation’s ingesting water.” Equally, the battle for clear water is a rising political challenge in components of the U.S. the place manufacturing facility farms are fueling water air pollution. In Iowa, a ballot carried out by the advocacy group Meals and Water Motion discovered 82% of Iowa voters stated they might be extra more likely to vote for a candidate who makes clear water safety a “high precedence.”