Ithaca 37
New member
As spokeswoman for Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, Ms. Harrison has helped guide news coverage of the mad cow crisis, issuing statements, managing press conferences and reassuring the world that American beef is safe.
For her, it's a familiar message. Before joining the department, Ms. Harrison was director of public relations for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the beef industry's largest trade group, where she battled government food safety efforts, criticized Oprah Winfrey for raising health questions about American hamburgers, and sent out press releases with titles like "Mad Cow Disease Not a Problem in the U.S."............her effortless transition from the cattlemen's lobby to the Agriculture Department is a fine symbol of all that is wrong with America's food safety system. Right now you'd have a hard time finding a federal agency more completely dominated by the industry it was created to regulate. Dale Moore, Ms. Veneman's chief of staff, was previously the chief lobbyist for the cattlemen's association. Other veterans of that group have high-ranking jobs at the department, as do former meat-packing executives and a former president of the National Pork Producers Council.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/opinion/02SCHL.html
I hope you're all able to access that article. It explains a lot about why the Forest Service lets welfare ranchers destroy our national forest wildlife habitat. I'm assuming you all know the FS is under the Dept. of Ag.
I'll copy and paste the whole article if you need it. Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse!! The Dept. of Ag is the worst example of that in the US gummint!
"the Agriculture Department is a fine symbol of all that is wrong with America's food safety system. Right now you'd have a hard time finding a federal agency more completely dominated by the industry it was created to regulate. "
<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01-03-2004 13:14: Message edited by: Ithaca 37 ]</font>
For her, it's a familiar message. Before joining the department, Ms. Harrison was director of public relations for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the beef industry's largest trade group, where she battled government food safety efforts, criticized Oprah Winfrey for raising health questions about American hamburgers, and sent out press releases with titles like "Mad Cow Disease Not a Problem in the U.S."............her effortless transition from the cattlemen's lobby to the Agriculture Department is a fine symbol of all that is wrong with America's food safety system. Right now you'd have a hard time finding a federal agency more completely dominated by the industry it was created to regulate. Dale Moore, Ms. Veneman's chief of staff, was previously the chief lobbyist for the cattlemen's association. Other veterans of that group have high-ranking jobs at the department, as do former meat-packing executives and a former president of the National Pork Producers Council.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/opinion/02SCHL.html
I hope you're all able to access that article. It explains a lot about why the Forest Service lets welfare ranchers destroy our national forest wildlife habitat. I'm assuming you all know the FS is under the Dept. of Ag.
I'll copy and paste the whole article if you need it. Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse!! The Dept. of Ag is the worst example of that in the US gummint!
"the Agriculture Department is a fine symbol of all that is wrong with America's food safety system. Right now you'd have a hard time finding a federal agency more completely dominated by the industry it was created to regulate. "
<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01-03-2004 13:14: Message edited by: Ithaca 37 ]</font>
