Manny Rutinel has just won the Democratic primary in Colorado's 8th Congressional District, and that should raise red flags for the people he hopes to represent. Why? Well, Rutinel has a long history of radical vegan activism, and animal agriculture is a massive economic engine in the district Rutinel hopes to represent.
In fact, the 8th Congressional district is considered Colorado's agricultural capital. It is home to Weld County, the state's most agriculturally productive county, as well as some of the nation's biggest meat and dairy producers, the very companies Rutinel's vegan activism has targeted over the years. This includes JBS, the international meatpacking giant, which is headquartered in Greeley. This district is home to many cattle feedlots, including the Five Rivers operation in Kersey, one of the state's largest. There are numerous ranches in that district, and Leprino Foods operates a major mozzarella plant in Greeley. Aurora Organic runs a dairy there, and Morning Fresh Farms cultivates eggs in Platteville.
Cattle production is Colorado's leading agricultural commodity, too. Roughly 2.7 million head of cattle are being raised by families in every Colorado county, and more than half of the state's $7.1 billion in agricultural cash receipts are attributed to livestock.
Statewide, animal agriculture is a $47 billion industry that employs almost 200,000 people. That's a lot of money and a lot of jobs on the line, poised to be sacrificed for Rutinel's radical vegan activism.
This vegan activism is nothing new. Rutinel has been doing this since at least his undergraduate days in Florida, where he posed shirtless on campus, draped in a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) banner, to protest beef production.
"One pound of beef equals 180 showers," read the sign Rutinel held.
That activism followed Rutinel to Yale Law, where he was quoted in a campus publication calling the animal agriculture industry 'horrific' and 'exploitative.'
"As it stands now, animal agriculture is a horrific, exploitive industry. It’s producing an incredible amount of harm, from chronic health conditions to pandemics, that affect farmers, laborers, animals, local communities, consumers, and people drinking water miles down the road," Rutinel said. "Perhaps more so than other projects focused only on carbon dioxide, this project touches on all those things. It touches on food sustainability and security because it takes so many resources to produce a unit of animal product and humans could have directly consumed those resources."
To encourage farmers to move away from animal agriculture, Rutinel supported a proposal that would use carbon-offset credits to pay farmers who transitioned to plant agriculture. That proposal, titled 'From Animals to Plants: Financing Farm Transitions Through Carbon Markets' said in part:
From the methane emissions created by enteric digestion to livestock feed dominating the world’s agricultural lands, industrial animal agriculture is a leading and rapidly growing contributor to climate change, already responsible for more than 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In recent years, carbon markets have emerged as a promising strategy to help governments and businesses limit greenhouse gas emissions and incentivize better practices. In conjunction with the carbon market, carbon offset programs enable companies to diminish their net contribution to greenhouse gases
Prior to entering the state legislature, Rutinel also founded an organization that encouraged shifting away from the consumption of animal products by raising taxes on meat, dairy, and eggs. In 2021, Rutinel cited a report on climate change and told a legislative committee in Connecticut, "The globe must dramatically shift away from animal products and toward fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts."
Rutinel knows his veganism poses a problem for his campaign. During a Democratic primary debate, Rutinel pulled a page from the James Talarico playbook and claimed he's no longer a vegan.
Manny Rutinel (D) was a vegan activist who said “animal agriculture is a horrific, exploitative industry.”
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) June 9, 2026
Now running to represent ag-heavy CO-8, Rutinel says he is no longer vegan.
“It’s important for me to be able to enjoy the delicious products that Colorado ranchers make.” pic.twitter.com/oI8NJvvyGW
"I'm not a vegan," Rutinel claimed. "I think that it's important for me to be able to enjoy the delicious that Colorado ranchers make."
When asked about his past statements on the animal agriculture industry, Rutinel said, "Farmers and ranchers are my friends. I've been honored to be supported by United Farm Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents the meat packers over at JBS in Greeley. I will always fight for our ranchers and our farmers."
Note that Rutinel doesn't disavow his prior statements.
"Radical far-left vegan activist Manny Rutinel wants to end animal agriculture, effectively ending the way of life for thousands of hardworking ranchers in Colorado. Manny Rutinel couldn't be further out of touch with Colorado's 8th Congressional district and he will be resoundingly rejected by voters this fall," said NRCC Spokesman Zach Bannon.
And now Rutinel has won the primary and will possibly represent Colorado's 8th Congressional district. Voters, many of whom are employed by the state's animal agriculture business, would do well to know what Rutinel's record really is, and that his radical vegan activism is a major threat to their jobs and the state's economy.
"The socialist takeover of the Democrat Party is no longer confined to deep-blue strongholds. The radicals are taking over battleground districts, putting must-win seats out of reach for Democrats and sinking their chances of flipping the House," said NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella.