AGRICULTURE

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1996:

A USDA proposal to allow schools
to substitute yogurt for meat in federally
subsidized lunches has the meat industry howling.
Other permitted meat substitutes include
cheese, beans, eggs, and peanut butter.
“The USDA should be promoting meat, not
pushing it under the counter,” said Senator
Larry Pressler (D-S.D.)
The 1996 edition of the American
Cancer Society’s dietary guidelines,
released September 17, recommend choosing
“most of the foods you eat from plant
sources,” and limiting “intake of high-fat
foods, particularly from animal sources.

Limit consumption of meats,” the guidelines
emphasize, “especially high-fat meats.” Upset
with an Associated Press article about the
guidelines that began, “People should not eat
any red meat because of the risk of cancer,”
the Georgia Beef Board actually distributed the
complete guidelines via national newswires.
The USDA has hired Colorado
State University assistant professor Temple
Grandin to survey meatpacking plant compliance
with the Humane Slaughter Act. The survey
is being undertaken in connection with the
development of new USDA livestock care and
handling guidelines, a preliminary draft of
which was issued on May 17. The draft drew
predictable flak from the meat industry, particularly
portions dealing with the treatment of
non-ambulatory cattle. The American Feed
Industry Association further asserted that the
USDA does not have “statutory authority to
promulgate an animal welfare rule concerning
livestock at a stockyard,” a hint that whatever
guidelines are eventually adopted must either
be nonbinding, be ratified by Congress, or
withstand court review.
North Carolina labor inspectors
are investigating the Lundy Co., a major
pork packer, for possible child labor and safety
violations in connection with the August 20
death of Solomon Velasquez, 18, when someone
turned on an industrial meat blender while
he was inside cleaning it. Velasquez, a
Guatemalan native, was hired at age 16. The
probe turned up two cases of workers losing
their hands in mechanical accidents last year
which were never reported to state authorities.
Aerostar Lynn, a Holstein treated
with recombinant bovine growth hormone
(BGH), owned by Floyd and Lloyd Bauman
of Marathon, Wisconsin, produced a record
7,737 gallons of milk in 12 months,
University of Wisconsin Extension
Agricultural Research Station superintendant
Tom Drendel announced on September
20––but dairy farmers generally aren’t
impressed, as only 10% of the U.S. herd is on
BGH, two years after it was approved for use.
The value of the increased production is offset
by the increased appetite of cows on BGH;
due to drought, the price of feed grain is up
77% since last year.
Vermont has asked the Federal
Court of Appeals to review a recent 2nd U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals verdict striking down
a state law that milk from cows using BGH be
labeled for consumer protection.