A Fox in the Henhouse
By Trent Loos

It has been a couple of years since I exhibited at or attended the Kansas State Fair but my experiences were all very good. However, many friends that have exhibited recently seem to be very disgruntled. The common sentiment seems to be that management doesn’t care whether they have livestock at the fair or not. After the chain of events that transpired this week, we may have discovered the reason.

In late 2003, the Kansas State Fair switched marketing companies responsible for promoting the fair. They hired Wichita-based Greteman Group, run by Sonia Greteman. This was an interesting choice given that the biography on her own website states that Greteman is an animal rights activist and a vegetarian. She wrote a letter to the editor last week about the cruel and unusual treatment of animals in the circus. She signed the letter as a member of the Action for Animals. I did a quick Internet search and the results revealed that she is not just a local person looking out for unwanted pets, but what I would call a full-fledged animal rights zealot.

The Action for Animals home page states they, “operate under the simple principle that animals do not exist for humans to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment. We promote a Vegan lifestyle. Action for Animals strives to end animal suffering through educational outreach, demonstrations, and media involvement. . . . Billions of lives and unthinkable hours of suffering are at stake.”

How could a person with such a radical viewpoint be responsible for marketing the Kansas State Fair? I called Greteman earlier in the week to request her presence on “Rural Route,” my live radio show which airs daily on KFRM 550 AM, based in Kansas. I left a message that I wanted to visit with her about the state fair. She finally agreed to join me for the first half the program. Once on the air, it became apparent to me that she was either misleading me as to her intentions as an animal rights activist or her marketing abilities.

I asked her if she was familiar with KFRM radio and she said, “no.” How can someone that lives in Wichita and does marketing NOT be familiar with “Full time farm radio,” KFRM? If you only represent non-ag clients maybe, but she has supposedly been marketing one of the largest ag events in the state for two years.

She also denied being a part of the Action for Animals despite the fact that I have, in my possession, a letter she wrote and signed as a member of the group. When I questioned her about that, she claimed she knew nothing about the national organization and had recently started a local chapter with that name. A person, claiming to be a global marketing guru, ironically names her little organization after something she has never heard of! If that is so, in my mind I doubt she is qualified to market anything for anybody. She also denied any involvement with PETA, yet she has authored information on their website.

At the July 28, 2004, Riverview Retreat Potluck Dinner, Greteman informed people how a plant-based diet affects not only the consumer but the planet and about the amount of water and other natural resources it takes to produce meat.

It may be possible for an animal rights activist like Sonia Greteman to market the Kansas State Fair without including her personal bias. She said on my radio show, she wanted to make the State Fair hip and create an urban feel. Based on these findings, it is no wonder that my ag friends come home from the Kansas State Fair feeling like it is moving away from agriculture. As a certified state fair groupie, I would love to spend the entire summer at state fairs because I believe there is no better place to educate our urban counter parts about the production of food. However, I am pretty sure the fox in this equation is not here to protect the hens from predators.

 

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