Inside D.C.
USDA, ‘Meatless Monday,’ Ag Outrage
Stupidity? A newsletter writer with an axe to grind? An honest mistake? An insight into President Obama’s “true” USDA philosophy when it comes to what America should eat and what he really thinks about U.S. animal agriculture?
These are the questions and excuses being asked and made for what can only be called an unprecedented breakdown in adult supervision at USDA, the posting July 23 on USDA’s website of an employee newsletter encouraging USDA workers to embrace “Meatless Mondays” in order to save their health and the planet. Here’s a slightly abbreviated, but accurate excerpt from the offending section of the “USDA Greening Update:”
“One simple way to reduce your environmental impact while dining at our cafeterias is to participate in the ‘Meatless Monday’ initiative…How will going meatless one day of the week help the environment? The production of meat, especially beef (and dairy as well), has a large environmental impact. According to the U.N., animal agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gases and climate change. It also wastes resources. It takes 7,000 kg of grain to make 1,000 kg of beef. In addition, beef production requires a lot of water, fertilizer, fossil fuels, and pesticides. In addition there are many health concerns related to the excessive consumption of meat. While a vegetarian diet could have a beneficial impact on a person’s health and the environment, many people are not ready to make that commitment. Because ‘Meatless Monday’ involves only one day a week, it is a small change that could produce big results. Did you notice that our cafeterias have tasty meatless options? So you can really help yourself and the environment while having a good vegetarian meal!”
This absolutely incredible gaffe on USDA’s part came to me in a July 25 email from a writer buddy in Kansas City who lives on USDA’s website in hopes he will/won’t find such things. I relayed it to the Farm Animal Welfare Coalition (FAWC) – plus some groups unwise enough not to be FAWC members – and what followed can only be described as the epitome of collective ag – producer, corporate, association, customer – outrage, amplified by some serious USDA gigging by ag journalists who caught wind of the situation. In less than two hours from receipt of the original email, USDA “tweeted” its retraction and pulled down the offending website. The official response? “USDA does not endorse Meatless Monday. The statement found on the USDA website was posted without proper clearance and it has been removed.” No attribution to any ranking USDA official, just an official “oops…we bad.”
Congress quickly got on the bandwagon. Rep. Steve King (R, IA) was the first to tweet his outrage: “USDA HQ meatless Mondays!!! At the Dept. of Agriculture? Heresy! I’m not grazing there. I will have double rib-eye Mondays instead.” Sen. Jerry Moran (R, KS) took to the Senate floor, saying, “Never in my life would I have expected USDA to be opposed to farmers and ranchers. American farmers and ranchers deserve a USDA that will pursue supportive policies rather than seek their further harm.”
What immediately followed were email conversations and postings to listserves that conjectured how an act so blatantly thoughtless could have happened. The kindest of these observations was that the official clearance process broke down as USDA tries to juggle the 2012 Farm Bill, the drought, calls for a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), etc.; the more cynical attributed the posting to an inadvertent revelation of the true colors of this USDA when it comes to animal agriculture, meat consumption and overall support of farming and ranching.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn. (NCBA), in the midst of its mid-summer meeting in Denver, was the only group to issue a press release. I’ve abbreviated it, but here’s what NCBA’s leadership had to say: “NCBA President J.D. Alexander said the USDA’s recent announcement that the agency embraces the ‘Meatless Monday’ concept calls into question USDA’s commitment to U.S. farmers and ranchers…the ‘Meatless Monday’ initiative…is an animal rights extremist campaign to ultimately end meat consumption. ‘This is truly an awakening statement by USDA, which strongly indicates that USDA does not understand the efforts being made in rural America to produce food and fiber…This move by USDA should be condemned by anyone who believes agriculture is fundamental to sustaining life on this planet,’ Alexander said. USDA goes one step further…by specifically calling out beef and dairy production as harmful to the environment. Additionally, USDA cites health concerns related to the consumption of meat. These concerns are not at all based in fact…but simply spout statistics and rhetoric generated by anti-animal agriculture organizations…Alexander said NCBA will not remain silent as USDA turns its back on cattlemen and consumers.”
I’m not a conspiracy theorist, nor do I believe all of President Obama’s USDA appointees are flaming vegetarian/vegan activists eager to drag us into veggie-centric dietary enlightenment. But just as this colossal misstep on USDA’s part was a wake-up call for a lot of aggies, so, too, should it be a wake-up call for USDA.
To paraphrase the cattlemen: U.S. farming and ranching will not remain silent if USDA turns its back on animal agriculture.
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I understand that the Gallup poll numbers re vegetarians in the US is 5 % and vegans 2%, yet this small percentage of dedicated animal rights cultists are infiltrating federal agencies, lobbying Congressmen, putting forward amendments, all in an attempt to restrict, control and eventually eliminate animals from our lives, whether pet animals for our pleasure or meat on the table for our food. Folks, we need to fight this monster all the way back to its dungeon…95 % of the public should NOT have to live the way a few of the 2% want us to live.
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On his blog, Wayne Purcell of the H$U$ praised the USDA for its newsletter and condemned it for retracting the statement, saying that it was just more evidence of the animal agriculture industry’s control over the USDA. How can we convince the public that we know what we’re doing when strong statements strongly disliked by the public, such as “controlled by” and “lobbies,” are used? Why does the H$U$ see animal agriculture as controlling the USDA without seeing their introduced legislation and attempt to change animal agriculture as contol? Why is it that they can levy these and other claims against agriculture, but when agriculture replies in a way to support farmers and ranchers, the animal-rights groups decry the ties to the industry? Animal-rights groups are an industry themselves, it seems. Industry is somehow seen as negative, yet it brings food, fiber, fuel and clothing to the nation. How do we convince people of that?
As animal rights infiltrators have become more influential in government agencies, they have gotten bolder and arrogant in pushing their agenda. Just look at the proposed reg that USDA/APHIS is trying to cram down the throats of all pet animal breeders! The major AR-led organizations (H$U$, A$PCA, ALDF, PeTA, et al) are actively campaigning for this proposed regulation, including ads and a pink city bus in a major city that calls for supporting this outrageously overstepping regulation that would bring most small and medium *experienced* pet breeders (because they have the expanded clientele and reputation over the U.S. and therefore sell long-distance) under USDA licensing. Of course, that would mean most would quit–because you can’t have a USDA-compliant facility (hundreds of pages of requirements including washable, impermeable, drained floors, etc.) in your home! The Those requirements were originally written for commercial business facilities that sold wholesale and to research, NOT for home pet breeders! And who wants to live in fear that the animal rights bullies would harass them and set them up for APHIS busts (and fines into the 6 figures)? Even the Animal Agriculture Alliance has come out against this proposed rule because it would also mean that any farmer who sold livestock (e.g., goat, rabbit, mini-pig, etc.) as a “pet” would be required to be USDA licensed (if they had more than *4* breedable females–of any type). H$U$, ALDF, et al, are going for the brass ring on this one, and ALDF has even commented to USDA that they think APHIS needs to be able to use *private entities* to enforce the new reg–yea, like we want the AR bullies in our homes–NOT. The AR industries haven’t been able to move their anti-breeder-authored PUPs bill through Congress, but they have been able to infiltrate the USDA/APHIS (e.g., Sarah Conant, ex-H$U$ litigation attorney, now high in APHIS enforcement), and they realize that at the end of this year, there may not be an AR-friendly administration any longer, so they are pushing to get all they can NOW, using the federal government to attack animal industries. AMERICA, THAT’S NOT ACCEPTABLE or TOLERABLE!!!!