[IMC] Skipping showers for beef: funny, but the reality is no joke

[Andy Bichlbaum]

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NEWS FROM THE YES LAB
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Staying Stinky For Steak?
"Skip showers for beef" is funny, but the reality is no joke (click here for video)

Los Angeles - For the last several weeks, millions of Californians have been surprised, amused, and bewildered by an elaborate beef industry campaign showing drought-conscious Californians the ethical way to enjoy factory-farmed beef, which uses almost half of California's water supply. The campaign—complete with slick PR video, street teams, and even a heartfelt address from Moby—has encouraged people to skip 26 showers for every 4-ounce hamburger that they eat, in order to offset the water used to produce it.

The figures are real, but the campaign is an elaborate joke. The project was put together by the Yes Men together with FunnyOrDie's infamous prank squad, the Merkin Bros. The campaign included the collaboration of recording artist Moby, and was created in consultation with Courage Campaign.

“Skip Showers for Beef” launched with an "official" announcement before the “Water in the West” symposium with Governor Jerry Brown. The pranksters eluded security and hijacked the microphone just before the governor’s talk, and explained to the crowd that instead of reducing California's cattle industry to solve the drought, people should simply skip showers in order to keep eating it.

As if on cue, shortly afterwards the governor made what seemed to be his first public statement on the role of beef consumption in the drought: “If you ask me, I think you should be eating veggie burgers.” 

"We're constantly hearing about consumer action—shorter showers, no flushing, no glass of water in restaurants. Yet the water used for industrial-scale beef absolutely dwarfs what consumers could save in a million years," said Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men, whose new movie is currently out on iTunes .

"Why don't we just shut down factory-farmed beef in California? If we can't make decisions that are good for people, there's no hope of fixing a problem like the California drought—let alone climate change," said Mike Bonanno of the Yes Men.

The campaign’s ridiculous call to action managed to pass for typical corporate "astroturf" efforts and a number of outlets reported it as real—a testament to the absurdity of the drought solutions currently being proposed.  Far from promoting beef, the point was to place the onus for action on the industry that uses almost half of all California's water (click for petition).

"The idea that individual consumers should carefully monitor their 20% of the water-use pie, while major industries do whatever they want with the rest, is the real joke here," said Bonanno.

“We don’t really have to skip showers, but we do have to hold industry accountable,” added Bichlbaum.

“We won’t be able to fix big problems like the California drought or climate change without talking about factory farms,” said Adam Scow, California Director of Food & Water Watch, which is asking Gov. Brown to limit water use by factory farms. “Asking individuals to cut their water use without putting serious restrictions on 'Big Ag' misses the point."

The Yes Lab helps organizations develop creative media actions around issues that matter with in-person brainstorms and workshops. The Action Switchboard helps organizations and individuals do the same thing online. The Yes Men's latest movie, The Yes Men Are Revolting, is now available at a reduced price on demand.

Contact: 
beef at theyesmen.org
917-209-3282
Twitter: @theyesmen
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/The-Yes-Men/96761506615
Youtube: The Yes Men
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