Non-profit’s growth focused on food security, farmer and rancher freedoms, property rights, animal welfare
Protect The Harvest, the 501(c)3, not-for-profit, educational and advocacy organization founded in 2011 by Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, has a new look for 2024 with an updated logo, new tagline – A Free and Fed America™ and revamped website.
“In 2022 and 2023 we restructured Protect The Harvest to address the current political, social and economic climate in America so we could focus on those issues important to Americans concerned with food security, property rights, animal welfare, outdoor freedoms and traditional liberties,” said Founder Forrest Lucas. “Our website hadn’t been updated in quite a few years and we decided it was time to improve its content and functionality, and make it more user friendly. The simplicity of our new tagline – A Free and Fed America™ – sums up exactly what we are about and what we advocate. These changes are evolutionary and support our future growth.”
“It is important for us to project the right image going forward, and we looked long and hard for the best partner to facilitate the updating of our website,” stated Dr. Mike Siemens, Protect The Harvest Executive Director. “We explored numerous website design firms and found an outstanding partner in Australia-based Results & Co. Sadly, some U.S. based website design firms refused to engage with Protect The Harvest due to their own ideologies, which perfectly underscores the need for groups such as ours. Results & Co. understands what we are trying to achieve and has an invaluable ‘outside looking in’ perspective that we needed.”
Protect The Harvest is currently monitoring dozens of ballot initiatives, government regulatory proposals, non-governmental organization (NGO)activities, proposed laws, ordinances, and other actions that restrict food production by the nation’s farmers and ranchers, opposition to animal ownership, challenges to property rights, restrictions on outdoor activities and other freedoms, and never-ending assaults on personal liberties and consumer choices traditional to America’s values and lifestyle. The organization’s primary activities include informing/educating, responding, and protecting.
“As an example, we submitted a brief to the Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) in the California Proposition 12 case heard last year,” explained Siemens. “As an animal welfare expert, I can unequivocally state California’s Proposition 12, which was funded by an animal rights extremist group, is not based on science, facts, truth or time-tested farm practices. The net result is the price of bacon and eggs is soaring in California because of this ill-conceived, unsubstantiated law, at a time of already high food inflation. While a 5-4 SCOTUS decision allowed the California law to stand, we are exploring other pathways to nullify this ridiculous government overreach that’s adversely impacting farmers across the U.S. and food security for many Californians.”
“Our goal is to be the go-to advocacy voice for farmers, ranchers, property owners, consumers, and other stakeholders who are under attack by animal rights and environmental extremists, unelected regulators, politicians, social and mainstream media, and others who infringe upon the rights and freedoms of Americans,” declared Siemens. “We have a team with the expertise, experience, knowledge and capabilities to aggressively advocate for what is right.”
“Given the atmosphere in America today, we have a unique opportunity to help consumers better understand how their food is produced and how farmers and ranchers work diligently to provide safe, nutritious, affordable, abundance unequaled anywhere on our planet,” stated Siemens. “Our focus, mission and resolve have never been clearer. We are rebranding at exactly the right time.”
