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The Meating of America
Press release: June 1998
When Oprah Winfrey was put on trial for bad-mouthing beef,
many spoke out in favor of free speech. But behind the headlines
some saw the trial as yet another sign of the political clout
and influence of the meat industry. From relaxed labeling
standards, to the lack of food safety regulations for processors
passed by Congress, to subsidized grazing lands for cattle
ranchers in the West, the perks given to this industry are
enormous. But despite the current environment of lobbying
reform, the influence of this industry is silent and unknown
to the average consumer.
Falling Through the Patchwork
Pick up most food at your grocery store and you’ll find
the box containing the "Nutrition Facts" label that
tells you calories, fat, cholesterol, etc. But you won’t
find this on most packages of steak, chops, hamburger, or
other fresh meat or poultry. That’s because packaged
and processed foods are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), but "fresh meat" is produced and packaged
under the rules of the USDA. And the USDA doesn't require
nutritional labeling.
EarthSave and other consumer and health groups have criticized
this patch-work quilt of regulation and supervision. As Stacey
Vicari, President of EarthSave International explains, "It's
particularly troublesome that the U.S. government gives preferential
labeling treatment to the meat industry since most of the
fat, saturated fat and cholesterol that kills tens of thousands
of Americans a year is hidden in that meat." She continues,
"What's even more troubling is that animal feed falls
under the jurisdiction of the FDA. Why? Because most animal
feed is packed with hormones, steroids, antibiotics, and other
drugs! But the animals who eat that feed are raised, killed,
and then presented to the American public by the USDA as 'food
that's good for you' without so much as a nutritional label."
EarthSave also voiced strong concern this past year when
the FDA allowed feed for cows to contain the rendered remains
of pigs, horses and chickens, as well as blood and gelatin
from any animal. Similar practices were banned in Great Britain
where scientists now believe that these methods may be linked
to the outbreak of mad cow disease and the deaths of 20 humans.
But in the crazy quilt world of U.S. food regulations, the
slaughterhouses that kill the cows fall under USDA regulation.
And there are numerous practices still in use in slaughterhouses
that can allow cow brain and spinal cord tissue to find their
way into U.S. consumers' ground beef. According to EarthSave
International Board member, Howard Lyman, who stood trial
with Oprah, "In meat today we are dealing with the Golden
Rule- those with the gold are trying to write the rules."
How much for that vote?
Some are suggesting that one of the reasons the meat industry
gets favorable perks and legislation is because of their powerful
political influence over lawmakers. According to a recent
report by the Center for Public Integrity, the meat industry
has created one of Washington's most effective influence machines,
partly by recruiting federal lawmakers and congressional aides
for its lobbying juggernaut.
The report found House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Republican
Sens. Phil Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas ranked
among the top recipients. Gramm received $611,484 from meat
industry groups between 1987 and 1996, followed by Hutchison
with $409,178 and Gingrich with $232,239.
Current Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, who joined the
Clinton administration after representing Kansas in Congress,
accepted $37,540 in campaign contributions from slaughterhouses
while he was in elected office, the report said. While Glickman’s
predecessor, Mike Espy, goes on trial this spring on charges
of accepting gifts from meat and poultry companies he regulated.
Espy has denied any wrongdoing. And although today’s
headlines are filled with talk of lobbying and campaign finance
reform, the enormous political influence of the meat industry
has gone largely unnoticed.
Home on the Range
While most industries have been required to adapt their ways
in response to concern for the environment, the cattle ranchers
remain a holdout. For decades, cattle and sheep ranchers throughout
the West have been permitted to graze their herds on some
270 million acres of our federal estate. They enjoy rates
that are well below what the states charge and a fraction
of what grazing land is worth on the open market. Some estimates
of the subsidies for grazing on public lands range as high
as $250 million annually.
Current rates for grazing livestock on public lands are well
below what private landholders charge, and below what the
states charge for their lands. The current federal fee is
about $1.35 for a cow and its calf (or five sheep) to graze
for a month. This fee does not even cover program administration
costs. And lobbyists for the livestock industry are working
hard to block any reform at all. They are pushing legislation
that will guarantee the ability of large livestock corporations
to continue their subsidized destruction of federal rangeland
in perpetuity.
"Educating" Consumers
And while industry promotion from car makers or computer
manufacturers would be seen as pure advertising, the beef
and dairy industries enjoy the ability to aggressively advertise
their products while being seen as doing public service for
the health of our country. For example, in December 1997,
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) visited
national food editors and writers of some of the country's
largest food and lifestyle magazines, providing up-to-date
information on beef. The results are paying off -generating
more than 7,050 positive beef stories that reached into homes
1.24 billion times during one year according to NCBA statistics.
And while the giant publicity machines of the meat industry
roll on, grassroots groups like EarthSave International are
hard at work. According to Vicari, EarthSave reached just
over 3.0 million people with its spring educational campaign
urging the public to "Save the Earth – one bite
at a time!"
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