Thursday, July 26, 2012

USDA Apologizes for Meatless Mondays Gaffe

From AgWired

After an internal USDA newsletter promoting “Meatless Mondays” was made public Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack personally apologized to the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and said the document was not only pulled from the website, it was edited and re-sent to USDA employees without suggestions that meat production was bad for the environment and human health. “We appreciate USDA’s swift action in pulling this disparaging statement off its website,” said NCBA president J.D. Alexander. “We appreciate USDA making this right. The agency is important to all cattlemen and women, especially as we face unprecedented challenges, including drought and animal rights extremist groups spreading fiction to consumers who need to know the importance of beef in a healthy diet.”

The NCBA statement says

USDA publicly stated it does not support the extremist “Meatless Monday” campaign and stated that the statement was posted on its website without the “proper clearance.”
Where did they "publicly" state this?  It's not posted in their official press office.  I guess this AP story is it:

USDA spokeswoman Cortney Rowe says the department does not endorse the "Meatless Monday" initiative, which is part of a global public health campaign.
I still think we should know who is responsible for this.  Who wrote this section of the newsletter, who is the editor of same and what "proper clearance" procedures did they violate?  

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/07/25/2922592/usda-meatless-monday-posting-was.html#storylink=cpy

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