If one were given the opportunity to have the ear of many leaders and decision makers in the food industry, and if one were standing in front of them trying, in bullet point fashion to explain the activist movements; who they are, what they are about, and how corporations can deal with them and prevail, all in a generic sense, the presentation would be as follows.

One caveat; each of the assumptions or statements made could, in and of themselves, take hours to explain the nuances and the need to execute each one perfectly, and to understand each general statement about NGOs in great detail.

Consider the following analogy. The following attempt to explain the NGO/activist movement is much like a chess game. One can explain the moves, and the student can understand the game in a few minutes. But even if you know the moves, truly understanding the game is the work of a lifetime.

Who are the NGOs or activists? NGO stands for non-governmental organization. They are yesterday’s special interest groups who today, have convinced the public and the press that they are the moral compass and ethical watchdogs against the forces of government and capitalism that seek to despoil the planet and crush the faceless majority.

They start from a single cause no matter how simple, to save the whale, protect the worker, or save an old tree. From this beginning, they evolve into causes. They develop an infrastructure. They become a business, and finally they seek to perpetuate that business. They become a business with a keen eye to making money; except they don’t pay taxes on the revenue, nor do they use the money to solve the problems from which they make their money. That would be a bad business decision . . . . eliminating a top selling “product”. A fundamental rule is that, in order to begin, every social activist movement begins with a perceived or a real abuse.

The process is diagrammed as ideology, which evolves into social advocacy (action), which amasses power, which ultimately corrupts the ideal.

The rise in political power of the NGOs is a post World War II phenomenon, made possible by a variety of factors beginning with liberal tax laws, and the creation of an absence of an ethical compass or leader. As governments became burdened with administrative duties, and as corporations abandoned the role of value shapers in society, and as the church forfeited its role as an ethical leader, a vacuum occurred in our post war society.

The vacuum began to be filled by NGOs.

Early causes included attempts to stop cruelty to beasts of burden, women’s rights, black equality, and environmental abuses. While governments ignored, and industries abused in the name of profits, the political and social landscape became fertile ground for a new set of players, positioned outside of the system exploiting the problem, and in a position to condemn the practice seen as abusive.

The early prophets were also speaking. Rachel Carson, John Muir, Edward Abbey, Cleveland Amory, Paul Erhlich, and many more, foretold of an earth under siege by capitalist exploiters run by governments who did not care, or worse, who were bought and paid for by the abusers.

Many groups took their strategies from the church. Investigate the abuse, expose the atrocity, publicize the evil, proselytize to the like-minded, convert the masses, and call the troops to act, pass the plate to pay for the cost of the war and the conversion. Always identify the enemy, and grant redemption by rewarding good behavior.

Many factors played into the rapid rise and amassment of power and influence. A growing suburban culture, the rise in the political power of women, urbanization, a removal from nature, an increase in disposable income and finally, the most powerful tool for the effective development of social activism; the rise of the Internet. Suddenly there was money, a sympathetic army, and a method to reach millions with pictures and propaganda, seeking support to right the wrong.

The Internet gave new power to a middle class, who could now see first hand the death of a whale, the killing of a baby calf, the destruction of a rainforest, the brutal conditions of child labor, a starving baby, a child in prostitution, and empathy combined with guilt made the audience angry and motivated them to seek to cause change. The NGOs played to that audience by explaining that with donations and the changing of their consumptive buying practices they could make a difference. As Michael Jackson said, “If you want to make a change, just look at the man in the mirror.”

The recruits were the young, the naïve, women, anyone who felt helpless and had no sense of why they were put on this planet. Suddenly they had a reason, a cause, be it to save a seal or stop a dam from hurting a fish migration.

And to jump forward to where we are today, a mere forty years from the birth of social activism in the U.S., the causes have evolved into a charitable business; the cause has given way to the business process; indeed, the cause has evolved into the process and the process has become the cause.

Today, the plethora of NGOs shares several key elements in common. They are anti-business, distrustful of government, fearful of the loss of individuality, educated, sophisticated communicators, and zealous in the conviction of the correctness of their views.

They target business and government, especially multi-national business, because the world has grown small and the depletion of resources and the loss of human dignity can be seen nightly on CNN, and it causes those of us in middle class life, unease and guilt. Guilt, empathy, fear, and security remain the four greatest motivators of human action. And make no mistake, the continued unethical behavior of many businesses and the “what’s in it for me” mentality of many business professionals, have given more fuel to the fires of suspicion and distrust the public believes. The way individuals in business show no loyalty to the company, but seem concerned only with “what’s in it for them”, continues to reinforce the view that corporations, and those engaged in those professions, have no honor and are ruled by self interest and are unconcerned with right and wrong, paying only lip service, if that, to ethical behavior.

The activists have their “bibles” of behavior drawn from the works of Hobbes, “Leviathan” Sun Zu’s “Art of War”, Machavelli’s The Prince, and more recently, Peter Singer’s “Animal Liberation”. The venerate, Rachel Carson and Silent Spring, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and the theme is that nature is better, and that people are basically self centered, greedy, petty primates.

Their weapons are public exposes, boycotts, litigation, tariffs, prohibitions, regulatory restraints, public demonstrations, advocacy campaigns to the consumer, the influence on legislators, grassroots mobilization, state ballot initiatives, third party certification, labeling and more.

They know that “perception is reality”, that emotion is a more powerful motivator than fact and reason, and that feelings are more compelling than thought. Finally, they abide by the rule that the end justifies the means.

The field troops that belong to these groups are dedicated, convincing, tireless, and true believers.

The leaders are cynical, savvy, brilliant strategists and well aware how to amass and use power . . . . and money. Their arenas are the public, the press, and the politicians. They know that the press will follow public sentiment and that the politicians will succumb to the combination.

How does one prevail as a business leader? It is easy to state, but hard to teach a business how to win; but win you can.

Ø Be ethical in your business practices. The activists go after the weak and vulnerable. Be ethical and be truthful.

Ø Assess constantly your exposure and seek to correct, or at least be able to justify.

Ø Study your opposition, and read their literature. Understand their language, and study social advocacy techniques. Read Wittgenstein and understand the power of language.

Ø Develop pro-active advocacy programs.

Ø Don’t negotiate. As Sun Zu once said, “Never break bread with an enemy; it only encourages him to attempt to strangle you with the remaining half of a loaf.” Or, as Dean Rusk said, “Appeasement invites aggression.”

Ø Don’t legitimize their position by negotiating with the activists seeking common ground. There is no common ground.

Ø Stay away from traditional public relations strategies. P.R. sells product; it is inappropriate to advance social positions, and it is a disaster in dealing with an NGO who is after your interest.

Ø Understand advocacy, what motivates the public, and how ideas are shaped. As one high official in the animal rights once remarked, “Animal rights has nothing to do with four legged animals; it has everything to do with the two legged human.”

Ø Humanize your corporation.

Ø Know how you obtain your product from cradle to grave, from husbandry to slaughter, from planting to harvest. Understand the raw material and the eco-system it exists within.

Ø Tell the truth.

Ø Make sure you know why your company does what it does, and make sure it has a good reason for doing it.

Ø Use your corporate purchasing and economic power to begin to shape societal values. Reward good behavior.

Ø Evolve or return back to being a corporate statesman; an ethical leader. Understand, as part of corporate culture profits today depend on behavior and actions, not just on sales and costs.

Ø Don’t continue to dismiss your obligation to be a shaper on ethical values. Embrace it as an opportunity.

Ø Take away the moral high ground of the opposition and you begin to a return of controlling your own destiny.

Ø And remember, if you are unwilling or unable to recognize and do the right thing, a thousand groups are eager and willing to tell you what the right thing is, and see that you are compelled to do it, regardless of the cost or effect to your shareholders.

© IFCNR 2002