A lot of political fault lines have shifted in 2025. This is true also for animal agriculture — and the activist organizations that work in opposition to it. The last 12 months has introduced a number of new strategies to discourage meat production and processing. Some have been more successful than others, but the campaigns will continue apace in 2026.

Hannah Thompson-Weeman is president and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, and as such, she leads the animal protein industry’s efforts to push back on activist efforts. Some of her battle tactics are time-honored. Other advice has been updated to meet the new challenges of the new political era.

Hannah joined MeatingPod to discuss the new ways that activists have operated in 2025, and what she expects in 2026 — and beyond.

The machines in a meat processing plant are getting ever more sophisticated, efficient and programmable — but hacking them can be as easy as sending an email. Cyber attacks on companies, especially manufacturers, are picking up speed and food companies are a favorite target for bad actors looking to make high-profile trouble or arrange a ransomware payday.

Paul Kafer of Anabasis Consulting has been writing and advising on how to manage that electronic portal for hackers for years. In most cases, the technology exists to provide protection — but management has to acknowledge the threat, first.

Paul joined MeatingPod to discuss the state of automation, electronics, and cyber security in meat plants — now and in the new year.

Jeff “Trip” Tripician has played in nearly every sandbox in the meat industry: Conventional animal proteins to claims-based brands, the meat industry’s bleeding edge of technology — cultivated meat — to, most recently, a step back in time as CEO of Charcuterie Artisans. In this position, Tripician oversees the storied Daniele and Creminelli brands of salumi and charcuterie.

Charcuterie is exploding as a consumer category, spurred on by beautiful images of assembled charcuterie boards on Instagram and TikTok, especially among younger millennials and Gen Z. Boards can be made for large parties, or in grab-and-go packages for individual meals. And Charcuterie Artisans’ brands should not get the dreaded “UPF” tag, Tripician contends, because of the centuries-old recipes and techniques used to make them and their lack of industrial additives.

Tripician joined MeatingPod to discuss the twists and turns of his career, the state of salumi, charcuterie and cured meats now, and how he expects the sector to develop in the years ahead.

Note: In the discussion, Tripician refers to the Dukcevich family, which oversaw the U.S. part of the Daniele brand from 1976 to 2019, and Cristiano Creminelli, who founded his eponymous company in 2006.