Manny Rutinel Attacks Agriculture

Image of Manny Rutinell shirtless wearing a PETA shower curtian - The Independent Florida Alligator.jpeg

Manny Rutinel Does Not Represent Colorado

Manny Rutinel is pulling a Pinocchio on Colorado voters. Year after year, he has proven he is an enemy of agriculture, especially animal agriculture.

His record shows years of alignment with animal rights ideology.

Don't let outside special interests grasp hold of Colorado. Rutinel spent the majority of his life on the East Coast; he has only lived in Colorado a short period of time. He is endorsed by Jane Fonda, a well-known activist who doesn't represent Colorado values.

Over 90% of the millions poured into his campaign funding is coming from ActBlue and out-of-state special interests. Less than 10% of his campaign contributions actually come from Colorado residents.

From Insult to Real Injury

Colorado's livestock industry has spent decades investing in environmental stewardship, animal care, water conservation, and production efficiency. Today, Colorado agriculture contributes approximately $47 billion annually to the state's economy and supports nearly 200,000 jobs. Weld County, Colorado, is one of the nation's most productive agricultural regions and is home to major beef, dairy, and food-processing operations. Against that backdrop, a known animal rights and environmental extremist, most recently from the East Coast, who has lately been seen wearing a cowboy hat, is running for the Congressional seat in District 8, which includes Weld County.

What Manny Rutinel doesn’t want people to know and has glossed over in recent interviews is the years' worth of work he has invested in attacking animal agriculture. The list is long and egregious.

The Insult

The cowboy hat is a sacred badge of Colorado’s western heritage, livelihood, and cultural community. It is not just a fashion choice. The cowboy hat is deeply tied to unwritten codes of honor and mutual respect, as well as to agriculture and the American West. Wearing the hat signals that you understand, respect, and are part of the West’s heritage. When an individual adopts the iconic headwear while simultaneously backing policies, founding NGOs, and pushing an ideological agenda that threatens the very survival of livestock production, farming, and ranching, it is deeply insulting. Using the symbol of a trade to dismantle that trade is a form of cultural mockery or deception. It feels as though the wearer is exploiting the positive, hard-working imagery of the American cowboy to gain trust while actively undermining the very people who created that legacy.

A Chronology of Animal Rights Ideology

The following chronology summarizes Rutinel’s publicly documented activities and statements related to animal agriculture, clearly demonstrating a deep commitment to animal rights ideology:

University of Florida 2014 -

Participated in a campus demonstration shirtless wearing a PETA shower curtain falsely maligning beef production
Opposed Gainesville, Florida’s Grilled Chicken Week. According to The Independent Florida Alligator, “Manny Rutinel, the vice president of UF’s Student Animal Alliance, said he does not support coupons for animal products. Rutinel, a 21-year-old UF microbiology and economics senior, said he believes animal products are bad for people, animals and the environment.”
Member of the on-campus animal rights group, UF’s Student Animal Alliance
Protested near the University of Florida Beef Teaching Unit on World Day for Farmed Animals in Gainesville, Florida. His sign read, “Animal liberation is human liberation.”

Humane Society of the United States – Intern During Undergrad

Humane League – Campus Coordinator – During Undergrad

Yale Law School LEAP CAFÉ and Law and Policy Lab Report – 2020

Rutinel's actions are not only insulting to those he's trying to impress but also openly undermine their way of life.

Belonged to the animal rights club at Yale Law School, LEAP, which stands for Law, Environment, and Animals Program.
In the video of the Animal Legal Defense Fund 2024 Student Convention, Rutinel tells viewers that the Yale Law School club is an Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter.
Rutinel was quoted in a Yale publication describing animal agriculture as "a horrific, exploitative industry," while discussing the farm transition to shut down animal agriculture proposal he co-authored
Co-authored From Animals to Plants: Financing Farm Transitions Through Carbon Markets, proposing carbon market incentives to transition farmers from livestock production to crop production.
The report specifically recommends that supported projects "move farmers from raising animals to growing plants." It repeatedly emphasizes that carbon funding should be reserved only for producers who leave animal agriculture.
Throughout the report, animal agriculture is characterized as a major environmental problem. It states:

"...the only supported offset projects should be those which specifically move farmers from raising animals to growing plants."

Among its assertions are that livestock production:

Creates a "tremendous strain" on the environment
Contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions
Increases water use
Increases land use
Creates air pollution, and should be replaced with plant-based production whenever possible

Animal Legal Defense Fund Intern – 2020 – During Law School

Brighter Green Intern – 2020 – During Law School

“in the animal and environmental space”

Popeyes Petition - 2020

Started a petition on Change.org encouraging Popeyes to offer plant-based protein options.

Connecticut Legislative Testimony 2021

Testified in support of policies encouraging a shift toward plant-based foods, citing climate-related concerns. “The globe must dramatically shift away from animal products and toward fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts.”

Climate Re-Farm 2021

Co-founded and served as CEO of Climate Re-Farm, an organization promoting the transition of livestock producers away from animal agriculture to solely crop production. According to reporting, the organization signed letters encouraging policies including greater consumption of plant-based foods

Rutinel Quotes from Yale Law School Article Q & A – 2021

“As it stands now, animal agriculture is a horrific, exploitative industry.”
“Many factory farms maintain lagoons of feces that get sprinkled out into the air, so neighbors down the road can’t picnic or spend time outdoors because whenever they go outside, the noxious gases hurt their lungs”
“Laborers are going to be better off because now they’re going to be working on crop agriculture, which isn’t a panacea, but it’s better than working with tortured animals.”

Open Letter to C40 Mayors – 2022

This letter blamed climate change on animal agriculture and encouraged mayors of C40 cities to press a global shift towards plant-based diets and moving away from animal products. The letter falsely claimed that the consumption of animal products contributes “3/4 of our emissions from food” and that consuming less red meat could save 170,000 deaths per year.
The letter also criticized the C40 Mayors Summit for offering meat and dairy on its menu and advocated that these cities implement a variety of methods to force their inhabitants to follow their ideological agenda

EarthJustice – Environmental Attorney– 2023

Rutinel stated, “My whole job was to take on large meat corporations and sue them for all they’re worth.”

ClimateCon Podcast 2023

Rutinel was featured in a podcast as the founder of Climate Re-Farm. In the podcast he shares his negative views of animal agriculture

Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Convention – 2024

Rutinel was listed as a speaker on the opening panel
He gave a shout-out to Just Egg (vegan egg substitute)

Backed the Fur and Slaughterhouse Bans in Denver – 2024

Colorado HB24 – 1338 – 2024

Rutinel wasted no time once obtaining a seat in the Colorado State Legislature. He sponsored HB 1338. While the legislation is written as an environmental justice measure, it creates a new regulatory framework that could have significant implications for Colorado agriculture.

Speech at University of Denver Law School – 2025

· Rutinel told law students that he became involved in politics in part due to how animals are treated in agriculture

Called the 2024 ballot initiatives to ban fur sales and processing, “really awesome”
Co-taught an animal law course at the University of Denver law school

Colorado Sun Article – August 2025

“There are bad apples, and I’ve spoken out against those bad apples that cause extreme and unnecessary animal cruelty in parts of the food industry and against the environmental cost of unsustainable food practices… I think that cruelty and environmental harm is concerning to many Coloradoans…”

Endorsed by Jane Fonda’s Climate PAC - 2026

The Real Injury

Rutinel’s campaign website omits any reference to animal agriculture and his ideological agenda. When questioned about his long history of attacking animal agriculture, he has skirted the issue. It is quite telling that he has not directly refuted his past claims; instead, he fully ignores the fact that the very people he is vying to represent are the ones he disparaged with misinformation and very real actions. It cannot be ignored that he is seeking to fool voters by cosplaying in a cowboy hat. In recent years, Colorado has faced some very real threats to our agricultural way of life, from ballot initiatives to predator introduction.

Given Rutinel’s background and his willingness to mislead voters, it calls into question whether a person who has lived in the state only a few years and has spent so many years immersed in animal rights ideology is the right person to represent Colorado in Washington, D.C. Make sure your family, friends, and neighbors know about his history.

AGPROfessionals: Leading The Fight For Agriculture

Our AGPROfessionals are advocates for agriculture. Manny Rutinel is pulling a Pinocchio on Colorado voters. Year after year, he has proven he is an enemy of agriculture, especially animal agriculture. We simply cannot stay quiet about a political candidate who threatens the very core of our agricultural roots in Colorado.

His record shows years of alignment with animal rights ideology. His track record has proven his true views. When he slid into an empty seat in the Colorado state legislature, he immediately sponsored and pushed forward Colorado HB 24-1388, which aims to promote environmental justice by addressing cumulative air pollution impacts. It creates a regulatory framework that could have significant implications for Colorado agriculture, particularly for dairy operations, feedlots, livestock facilities, food processors, grain-handling facilities, ethanol plants, and other agricultural businesses requiring state permits.

Learn More About Manny Rutinel

The article series below outlines why Manny Rutinel is not the right choice for Colorado's 8th Congressional District. His campaign finances and long history tell the real story.

Rutinel Advocates for Trojan Horse Activity to Push the Animal Rights Ideological Agenda

Manny Rutinel’s October 2024 appearance at the Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Convention revealed that he supports Trojan Horse activity to expand influence in animal advocacy, which involves entering government agencies, corporations, law firms, and politics. He described animal advocacy as “the movement,” spoke of “our values,” urged students to pursue careers outside traditional animal organizations, and introduced “counterfactual impact,” emphasizing activists could do more by embedding movement values into powerful institutions than working in nonprofits.

Manny Rutinel Says He's Changed: His Campaign Finance Report Tells a Different Story

Campaign contributions don't always prove how someone will vote; however, they often reveal which communities believe a candidate shares their priorities. A review of Manny Rutinel's campaign finance report (downloaded July 24th) shows contributions from individuals employed by organizations involved in animal-rights activism, plant-based food systems, cultivated meat, environmental litigation, and other efforts focused on transforming conventional animal agriculture. These are individual contributors' reported employers, not donations or endorsements from the organizations themselves.

They are nationally recognized leaders in the animal rights ideological movement. Rutinel's donor base includes individuals affiliated with organizations whose stated missions aim to end or fundamentally replace conventional animal agriculture through litigation, public policy, animal-rights activism, plant-based alternatives, and cultivated meat. For many Colorado producers, that is not simply another political coalition. It is a coalition that has often challenged the future of conventional livestock agriculture itself.

Manny Rutinel’s Animal-Rights Record Raises Questions About His Newly “Nuanced” Position on Animal Agriculture

Rutinel's Animal Rights Record Calls to Question His Newly Nuanced Position

Colorado State Representative and congressional candidate Manny Rutinel has recently attempted to portray his views on animal agriculture as more moderate and “nuanced” than his earlier statements and over a decade of activities might suggest. However, his participation in the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s (ALDF) 2024 Student Convention provides additional context for evaluating that claim. The convention occurred less than a year before Rutinel announced his campaign to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, a region that includes Weld County and some of the most economically important cattle, dairy, meat-processing, and agricultural operations in the state.

Before Running for Congress: Manny Rutinel’s Almost Two Decades in the Animal Rights Movement

As Colorado State Representative Manny Rutinel campaigns for Congress in a key agricultural district, questions have arisen about his history with the animal rights movement.

His documented involvement with the animal rights movement extends from a youth radicalized by a documentary at age 14 to college activism and social media posts in his early twenties to Yale Law School, an agricultural startup, litigation against meat facilities, animal law teaching, and a 2024 appearance before the Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Convention during his time in the Colorado General Assembly. Along the way, he has been involved with PETA, Mercy for Animals, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Humane Society of the United States, Earthjustice, and other radical activist groups.

According to Manny Rutinel - Stopping Veganism Is No Indication of a Lack of Ideological Commitment to Animal Rights

When animal rights groups have been attempting to convert the public to a vegan lifestyle, much of the public discussion of animal rights activist groups has focused heavily on personal behavior. Activists distributed vegan literature, conducted online troll campaigns, protested, harassed customers of grocery stores, butcher shops, and restaurants, and promoted plant-based lifestyles as the primary means of reducing the use of animals in agriculture.

At the 2024 Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) Student Convention, Colorado State Representative Manny Rutinel described a different strategy. He said the “movement” was shifting away from an emphasis on individual changes and toward institutional action. In his view, legal requirements, ballot initiatives, legislation, corporate policies, government programs, and investment strategies could achieve dramatically greater results than persuading individuals to change their diets one at a time.

That distinction provides essential context for Rutinel’s recent statement that he is no longer vegan when questioned about his anti-animal agriculture activities.