Martin Austermuhle
Photo by Plantains & Kimchi
Two aging U.S. senators—Iowa’s Chuck Grassley and Texas’ Jon Cornyn—tried to make a point today about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s promotion of Meatless Mondays by stuffing themselves with meats that their doctors might advise they consume in moderation, reports Iowa Politics:
The offices of Republican U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and John Cornyn of Texas celebrated “Meat Monday” today with a lunch of barbecue beef brisket, ribs, and sausage from Hill Country Barbecue Market in Washington, D.C.
They were responding to recent reports that a U.S. Department of Agriculture newsletter had encouraged federal employees to participate in “meatless Mondays” by sampling some of the options available in USDA cafeterias. USDA officials quickly retracted the recommendation in response to protests from farm groups, saying it was posted without proper clearance on a USDA website and had been removed.
But Grassley and other Republicans aren’t letting go of the issue.
“This is a reminder to USDA that it’s supposed to advocate for American agriculture, not against it,” Grassley said.
Cornyn remarked, “In some of the toughest times they’ve seen in recent memory, Texas cattle ranchers and farmers deserve an administration who works with them, not one who undermines them with boneheaded decisions from bureaucrats in Washington.”
ABC News has more on the meatless Monday-backlash, noting that it was the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association that first objected to the initiative. (The memo promoting it is no longer available online, but it’s posted below.) Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) followed up with complaints to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“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. With extreme drought conditions plaguing much of the United States, the USDA should be more concerned about helping drought-stricken producers rather than demonizing an industry reeling from the lack of rain. I have requested that Secretary Vilsack let me know if it is now USDA’s official policy to discourage the consumption of American grown meat. It is my hope that the USDA has not abandoned farmers and ranchers in pursuit of policies best left to the Environmental Protection Agency,” said Moran in a statement last week.
Not unexpectedly, animal rights group PETA jumped into the fray late last week—by placing bets on how quickly Grassley would succumb to the numerous ailments they say could befall meat-eaters.
