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Vilsack's 'Meatless Mondays' questioned
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August 1, 2012 |
Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch have
joined their Western Senate colleagues in
sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of
Agriculture Tom Vilsack regarding the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to
discourage employees from eating meat.
The USDA recently distributed a “Greening
Headquarters Update” newsletter to employees in
which their Office of Operations encourages
employees to participate in “Meatless Mondays”
while dining in USDA cafeterias.
The newsletter criticized meat consumption by
citing the United Nations and claiming that the
“production of meat, especially beef (and dairy)
has a large environmental impact” and also
“wastes resources.”
In response, the Senators sent a letter to
Secretary Vilsack noting that such a newsletter
raises serious concerns about USDA priorities.
The USDA has since removed the newsletter from
its website, but the issue remains as to whether
the USDA believes the discouragement of meat
consumption in their facilities reflects the
values of the Department and if those values
support America’s farmers and ranchers.
“The underlying issue is that there is a culture
at the Department that would allow this to
happen,” Crapo said. “That a newsletter was
released promoting a radical environmental
agenda—with no insight that USDA works with
animal agriculture as well—is truly disturbing.
American farmers and ranchers deserve a USDA
that supports all forms of agriculture and
promotes policies that will help those in the
industry, rather than a government that caters
to extremism.”
“As a senator and part of a family cattle
operation, I am appalled by the employee
newsletter at the U.S. Department of Agriculture
that promoted ‘Meatless Mondays’ and used United
Nations material to discourage the consumption
of beef,” said Risch. “Here is a federal agency
that was specifically created to promote
nutritious American farm products, yet during a
time when beef producers are facing severe
drought and high feed costs, they advocate for
an action that causes further harm.”
In addition to Crapo and Risch, the letter is
signed by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming),
Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mike
Crapo (R-ID), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Orrin Hatch
(R-UT), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mike Johanns (R-NE),
Mike Lee (R-UT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jim
Risch (R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and John Thune
(R-SD). |
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