FARM Review

FARM: www.farmusa.org

• Established in 1976, official formation in 1981
• Organization supports many grassroots campaigns-- 10 listed from 1983, onwards
• Headquarters located in Bethesda, MD
• FARM tactics include confrontation and discussion

FARM (Farm Animal Rights Movement) is a really cool organization.  I’ve toyed with vegetarianism for years now (a few more reviews on organizations like FARM and PETA and, mark my words, I’ll be full-blown vegan).  Something that stood out to me as I poked around their site were the nifty names of their campaigns.  Two of my favorites were  “Bite Global Warming” (fighting climate change by adapting a plant-based diet) and the “Great American Meatout” (an annual campaign to “kick the meat habit”). 

Read on to learn more...

When I searched for FARM at Google, the acronym turned up at #2 on the list (impressive, “farm” is a pretty well used word I’d say).  Otherwise, I was unable to locate the organization using a more indirect set of search language.  The header used by the organization is “Promoting planetary survival through plant-based eating. Programs include The Great America Meatout and World Farm Animals Day.” 

FARM works through the Compassionate Activist Network or CAN, and originally was established through Vegetarian Information Services, but otherwise I couldn’t find any “partners” the organization might keep.  I did find a list of links to nonprofits and organizations with a similar mission to FARM (i.e. PETA and The Humane Society of the US) at the “Links” tab.

There are links to FARM’s many social networks on the left side tab of their website in the form of small banners.  The FARM Facebook page has 4,015 fans, and features discussions, boxes, photos, and a Causes section.  The wall is very active, with lots of responses from supporters to the many links the organization posts.  The Twitter account is even larger, with nearly 6,500 followers, frequent tweets, retweets and direct tweets to supporters, as well as links to petitions and articles.   The MySpace page that FARM keeps is also impressively active, with 994 friends, lots of information, and a wall that is actually active and updated by friends (rare for a MySpace page these days!)   Their YouTube channel is also quite vibrant, with 118 subscribers, lots of recent activity, 24 uploads and 23 favorites.

A promising tab on the side bar is titled “Join FARM”-- but “joining” seems to entail signing up for e-newsletters, donating or “getting active” (all great options) but not necessarily joining a cohesive, online community dedicated for FARM supporters.  Social networks, instead, serve as the basis for joining communities devoted to the FARM mission.

Without any blogs or forums, there are very few options for supporters to share knowledge with each other or FARM staff members (aside from using tools at social networks).  Additionally, I searched through the many annual and year round campaigns listed, but didn’t find any blogs at these pages either. 

From the “Get Active” tab, you can find information regarding volunteer opportunities with FARM, which range from long distance (tabling, offering special skills) to local (office assistance in the DC area).  There is an email offered for those who wish to request additional information or who want their names added to the volunteer list, but there are no online sign-ups or specific volunteer opportunities lists.

Prospective donors can find information from a few different pages at the FARM website-- either click the “Donate, Support FARM or Get Active” tabs.  An online donations form is located at the “Donate” tab specifically, while there is a more detailed list of options at the “Support FARM” pages.  FARM accepts online, monthly, asset, service, planned, or vehicle donations, and offers supporters the option to sponsor a grassroots project, or sell items on Ebay or shop at igive.  Notably, FARM devotes part of this page to listing the ways in which they are a great investment-- a good step towards accountability and transparency between the organization and its donors.

My search for events information took me to the “Get Active” tab, which references an online “Events Directory”, but I’m not sure where to find this.  (Perhaps you can go through the directory after joining the CAN?)  Regardless, there are lots of ideas for supporters who want to help arrange events (more on that in the booster section of this review) but without any transparent calendars, or sign-ups, I’m unsure how joiners can “get active” aside from joining CAN and receiving alerts from FARM campaigns.

For those interested in participating in some on-the-ground advocacy, members of CAN are given what is described as "materials, hints and media" for their efforts.  There is also a section at the FARM website titled “Spread the Word” that offers PDF handouts, web banners, and even billboards (at the cost of $400).  This is a great way to provide supporters a comprehensive set of tools to advocate and recruit for FARM on and offline in a directed way. Kudos!

Just as my research uncovered a few, scattered joiner-level opportunities, I similarly found booster-level options, but very few transparent web tools to provide clear pathways for supporters.  The “Event Coordinator” position described at the “Get Active” pages is the most obvious booster-level action highlighted at the the FARM website. (More in the following section.)

Brief information about job opportunities is also located under “Get Active” pages under the sub-title “Job Application Details”.  There are no online tools that make this section interactive, instead supporters are offered email addresses and pertinent information such as “We accept resumes throughout the year.”  Without a job bank or database, I am unsure if there are openings at the moment, but it seems the process is entirely offline (or at least not transparent from the website itself).

Judging from the FARM website, this seems like a nonprofit that values and encourages a wide-range of actions from its supporters.  FARM boosters (individuals who galvanize their own communities into collective action) are most obviously “Event Coordinators”, who are encouraged to plan and hold their own events.  FARM provides a list of ideas, from tabling to lecturing to holding a walk or cage-in (not sure exactly what that is) to hosting a festival, for those interested.  Similarly, it seems like volunteers who “boost” are encouraged to participate in a number of activities, but there are no online tools (sign-ups, tool-kits, etc.) to help encourage this level of action. 

That’s a good question.  I couldn’t find any information about FARM staff, their Board of Directors, or leadership at their website.