Recently the media (both papers and WTIP) have nearly peed their pants over the visit by Governor Plenty-for-the-Rich. His speech was broadcast on WTIP. He was featured in photos with his oh-so-adorable wife and kid.
At the same time there were stories about the local delegates to the Dim and Repug annual love-fests.
Hey, politics is no longer a ball game, if it ever in fact was. Politics is war, at least since the 1980's when a group of Machiavellan plotters later known as "neocons" hatched up a battle plan to take over the US government permanently. Soon they also hooked up with the then-toothless "Moral Majority" and combined the advantages of wealth, power and a supposed channel to God to build a permanent one-party government. A government not of the people, by the people and for the people, but of the rich, by the rich and for the rich.
They have all-but succeeded. They have bought two presidential elections and brought to power a fool who is also a willing tool of his ultra-right, ultra-rich buddies from Yale and Texas oil.
They have decimated the middle class by outsourcing jobs and attacking unions, made college education an unaffordable luxury for many, slashed public school funding, pandered to big corporate interests to the detriment of health and well-being, created new classes of homeless people and near-poor, stacked the courts with their far-right-wing appointees, squandered the future of our children with overwhelming debt for their stupid wars-for-oil while also destroying thousands of young people's lives who idealistically wanted to serve their country after 9/11, made us the most hated people in the world, allowed and even encouraged big corporations to take over the media so the people would never get the real news, condoned torture and spying on all Americans, created a new Big Brother called "Homeland Security" that makes J. Edgar Hoover look like a pussycat, and tried to dismantle Social Security and Medicare.
Perhaps worst of all, these rich-and-powerful morons have probably doomed the earth to unmitigated disaster by denying global warming despite the melting of Artic permafrost, promoting environmental devastation in ever more invasive mining and lifting of regulations to protect air, land and water. This list actually only scratches the surface of the terrible damage done to the world by the neocons and their tame but hateful Religious Right.
This is war, war against the American people, waged by the party that controls the White House, the judiciary and even the Congress despite the 2006 election mandate to throw the suckers out. Pelosi, Reid, and the Blue Dog Dims don't have the stomach or the gumption for the hardball tactics that they COULD employ to bring democracy back to America.
Barack Obama has been voting party-line lately, too, for funding the Iraq war for another year, for giving amnesty to the big telecoms that were spying on our emails and phone calls...
I grew up in a world where the parties jousted and fenced, but had basic respect for the two-party system, the checks & balances of the Constitution, and yes, Truth, Justice and the American Way.
I was a "Nixonette" who later came to love JFK. I went to DFL bean feeds. It was all good fun in those days, until one party started assassinating the charismatic leaders of the other party.
Now it is war. Gov. Plenty has reduced taxes on the rich and replaced them with horrendous fees and sales taxes paid by the poor. He has refused to rebuild our failing infrastructure and bears direct responsibility for the 35W bridge collapse. He is angling for a high place in a McCain administration. He's a snake and also a seller of snake oil and he's looking out for Number One with every photo-op.
-True
Showing posts with label schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schools. Show all posts
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Founding fathers and religious liberty in Cook County
Dear True,
I'm writing to comment on the troubled and sad column by Mitch Dorr in this week's News Herald, "The Death of Faith, Family and Country." I have some sympathy for Mr. Dorr, as I too recall a time in America that I think was better than today, but I'm not willing to blame the changes on "intolerant intellectuals," radical politicians, or Muslims. Also, methinks I have heard the tune he is singing before, on right-wing talk shows and in emails that sometimes come my way--such as naming Barack Obama a Muslim terrorist and other nonsense claiming to be "God's truth."
I know from Mr. Dorr's other writings that he is a good and loving family man and I don't mean to attack him in any way. But I do feel an urgent need to put forth an alternative view of religion and society.
I want to address the parts of Mr. Dorr's column about religion and try to infuse a dose of historical fact-checking. One of my personal regrets about modern society is the dismal failure of our schools to teach history. When I was a child in the 1950's we were rigorously taught to understand the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We studied the Revolutionary War and we read the speeches by Washington and Jefferson and the other so-called "founding fathers." Back then we had no problem that there were no founding mothers.
The first thing to remember is that the men who devised the Constitution were, yes, mostly Christians (in fact mostly Episcopalians) but they were even more firmly for freedom of religion, the right to worship or NOT worship as anyone may choose. They were best termed "deists" rather than Christians, however, as followers of the "Enlightenment" philosophies of Locke, Rousseau and Voltaire promoting individual liberty and equality. Of course they were referring to the equality of white men, and several were slave owners but in their time they were visionaries.
Several of them spoke quite firmly on the issue of religion and government, for example:
"I believe in one God, Creator of the universe...That the most acceptable service we can render Him is doing good to His other children...As to Jesus..I have some doubts as to his divinity..."
-Benjamin Franklin
"Every man ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience."
-George Washington
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of..."
-Thomas Paine
"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned, yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half of the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth."
-Thomas Jefferson
"That religion, or the duty we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience."
-Patrick Henry
"The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretence, infringed."
-James Madison
(original wording of the First Amendment, 1789)
In short, the founders were clear and adamant about protecting the rights of all to worship as each one chooses. The Religious Right have made an issue of actual non-issues like worship in public schools or government buildings.
Granted, the founders never specifically forebade worship in public buildings because they never foresaw free public education for all, the great immigrations of many races and creeds that would re-make America in centuries to come, or that one day some people might feel excluded by a government display of one religious viewpoint such as the Ten Commandments. Nonetheless, they foresaw that there would be possibilities they couldn't cover, and so laid down the principle of religious neutrality in the brilliant First Amendment.
But ironically, what has been decreed in the past is subject to change under those same principles laid down by the founders.
And so, a "Unitary Executive" (anathema to the founders), a judicial system stacked to favor the rightest of the right wing, and a gutless Congress have conspired with the right-wing corporations that buy votes, that control our media and that are supported by the Christian right to perpetrate untruths about the role of religion in America.
The right to worship in government buildings and display the Ten Commandments smacks of a state religion. Or, why not the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism instead? Why not face Mecca and chant?
Mr. Dorr, it was not about keeping you from your Christian worship, at home, at church or within the community, but rather about respecting those who are not Christian that the founders had in mind when they decreed there would be no mixing of religion and government. They understood only too well how easily any religious group may drive "unbelievers" to become second-class citizens, refugees, or victims of genocide, as in recent times we were appalled to witness in Nazi Germany.
Genocide, by the way, proceeds unabated today in many parts of our lawless corporate dominated world. Our aid is urgently required and yet the Religious Right is silent.
In Cook County, Christians have many forums of expressions, unlike urban areas. There is a religion page and a column by a minister in both weekly papers and these are exclusively Christian. There are Christmas pageants and activities at school. Perhaps, you say, this does not matter because everybody in Cook County is a Christian? Not so. I am not.
On the other hand I am more than happy to read the thoughts of Christian ministers, SO LONG AS other voices are also heard equally (or at least occasionally). Such as columns about Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, or my own faith of Hinduism which embraces the teaching of the saints and sages of all religions.
And for those who can't bear to make it through the school day without prayer, you can always pray silently, pray with your heart and mind if not your mouth. Pray while taking tests or eating lunch.
The commonality among religious faiths is what tolerance is all about, and tolerance is the very foundation of a free and just society. I don't know how we can co-exist with one another in harmony without it.
If you seriously study Islam you will find its teachings not very different from those of Christianity. The Islamic fundamentalists who believe in jihad or holy war are not all that different from the Christians who slaughtered Muslims during the Crusades.
Any who kill in the name of religion are not practicing the great moral and universal truths of their faiths. The similarities have always been apparent to great religious leaders like the Dalai Lama, Pope John XXIII, Gandhi and Mother Teresa as well as humbler students of comparative religion, like my personal hero, Bill Moyers.
Shortly after reading Mr. Dorr's column, I chanced to read a speech by Moyers made at Union Theological Seminary in 2005 on receipt of the President's Medal, their highest award. Bill is a devout Christian. He begins his speech by, like Mr. Dorr, looking back to happier times when he was growing up but in a very different vein: "At the Central Baptist Church in Marshall, Texas, where I was baptized in the faith, we believed in a free church in a free state. I still do."
Bill goes on to describe the First Amendment as "a remarkable arrangement honoring 'soul freedom'--the inviolate right of each of us to believe and worship as our conscience determines, in a society that honors freedom over conformity." He sees that fundamental right at risk in the rise of a new religious movement that is based in the Republican party, well-funded and organized, and resolved on a "sectarian crusade for state power." "The religious right has become the dominant force in America's governing party," he said, and thereby also complicit in "upholding a system of class and race in which the rich thrive and the poor barely survive."
"This is the crux of the matter: to these believers there is only one legitimate religion and only one particular brand of that religion that is right; all others are immoral or wrong. They believe they alone know what the Bible means."
Bill concludes, "As I look back on the conflicts and clamor of our boisterous past, one lesson about democracy stands above all others: bullies--political bullies, economic bullies and religious bullies--cannot be appeased; they have to be opposed with courage, clarity and conviction. This is never easy. These true believers don't fight fair."
Well, this says it all to me, Mr. Dorr, and it is why I feel obliged to take issue with your view of MY country as a CHRISTIAN country while to me it is still, if precariously, a FREE country.
Sincerely,
Nancye Belding
Grand Marais
"Kindness is my religion."
-The Dalai Lama
I'm writing to comment on the troubled and sad column by Mitch Dorr in this week's News Herald, "The Death of Faith, Family and Country." I have some sympathy for Mr. Dorr, as I too recall a time in America that I think was better than today, but I'm not willing to blame the changes on "intolerant intellectuals," radical politicians, or Muslims. Also, methinks I have heard the tune he is singing before, on right-wing talk shows and in emails that sometimes come my way--such as naming Barack Obama a Muslim terrorist and other nonsense claiming to be "God's truth."
I know from Mr. Dorr's other writings that he is a good and loving family man and I don't mean to attack him in any way. But I do feel an urgent need to put forth an alternative view of religion and society.
I want to address the parts of Mr. Dorr's column about religion and try to infuse a dose of historical fact-checking. One of my personal regrets about modern society is the dismal failure of our schools to teach history. When I was a child in the 1950's we were rigorously taught to understand the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We studied the Revolutionary War and we read the speeches by Washington and Jefferson and the other so-called "founding fathers." Back then we had no problem that there were no founding mothers.
The first thing to remember is that the men who devised the Constitution were, yes, mostly Christians (in fact mostly Episcopalians) but they were even more firmly for freedom of religion, the right to worship or NOT worship as anyone may choose. They were best termed "deists" rather than Christians, however, as followers of the "Enlightenment" philosophies of Locke, Rousseau and Voltaire promoting individual liberty and equality. Of course they were referring to the equality of white men, and several were slave owners but in their time they were visionaries.
Several of them spoke quite firmly on the issue of religion and government, for example:
"I believe in one God, Creator of the universe...That the most acceptable service we can render Him is doing good to His other children...As to Jesus..I have some doubts as to his divinity..."
-Benjamin Franklin
"Every man ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience."
-George Washington
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of..."
-Thomas Paine
"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned, yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half of the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth."
-Thomas Jefferson
"That religion, or the duty we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience."
-Patrick Henry
"The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretence, infringed."
-James Madison
(original wording of the First Amendment, 1789)
In short, the founders were clear and adamant about protecting the rights of all to worship as each one chooses. The Religious Right have made an issue of actual non-issues like worship in public schools or government buildings.
Granted, the founders never specifically forebade worship in public buildings because they never foresaw free public education for all, the great immigrations of many races and creeds that would re-make America in centuries to come, or that one day some people might feel excluded by a government display of one religious viewpoint such as the Ten Commandments. Nonetheless, they foresaw that there would be possibilities they couldn't cover, and so laid down the principle of religious neutrality in the brilliant First Amendment.
But ironically, what has been decreed in the past is subject to change under those same principles laid down by the founders.
And so, a "Unitary Executive" (anathema to the founders), a judicial system stacked to favor the rightest of the right wing, and a gutless Congress have conspired with the right-wing corporations that buy votes, that control our media and that are supported by the Christian right to perpetrate untruths about the role of religion in America.
The right to worship in government buildings and display the Ten Commandments smacks of a state religion. Or, why not the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism instead? Why not face Mecca and chant?
Mr. Dorr, it was not about keeping you from your Christian worship, at home, at church or within the community, but rather about respecting those who are not Christian that the founders had in mind when they decreed there would be no mixing of religion and government. They understood only too well how easily any religious group may drive "unbelievers" to become second-class citizens, refugees, or victims of genocide, as in recent times we were appalled to witness in Nazi Germany.
Genocide, by the way, proceeds unabated today in many parts of our lawless corporate dominated world. Our aid is urgently required and yet the Religious Right is silent.
In Cook County, Christians have many forums of expressions, unlike urban areas. There is a religion page and a column by a minister in both weekly papers and these are exclusively Christian. There are Christmas pageants and activities at school. Perhaps, you say, this does not matter because everybody in Cook County is a Christian? Not so. I am not.
On the other hand I am more than happy to read the thoughts of Christian ministers, SO LONG AS other voices are also heard equally (or at least occasionally). Such as columns about Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, or my own faith of Hinduism which embraces the teaching of the saints and sages of all religions.
And for those who can't bear to make it through the school day without prayer, you can always pray silently, pray with your heart and mind if not your mouth. Pray while taking tests or eating lunch.
The commonality among religious faiths is what tolerance is all about, and tolerance is the very foundation of a free and just society. I don't know how we can co-exist with one another in harmony without it.
If you seriously study Islam you will find its teachings not very different from those of Christianity. The Islamic fundamentalists who believe in jihad or holy war are not all that different from the Christians who slaughtered Muslims during the Crusades.
Any who kill in the name of religion are not practicing the great moral and universal truths of their faiths. The similarities have always been apparent to great religious leaders like the Dalai Lama, Pope John XXIII, Gandhi and Mother Teresa as well as humbler students of comparative religion, like my personal hero, Bill Moyers.
Shortly after reading Mr. Dorr's column, I chanced to read a speech by Moyers made at Union Theological Seminary in 2005 on receipt of the President's Medal, their highest award. Bill is a devout Christian. He begins his speech by, like Mr. Dorr, looking back to happier times when he was growing up but in a very different vein: "At the Central Baptist Church in Marshall, Texas, where I was baptized in the faith, we believed in a free church in a free state. I still do."
Bill goes on to describe the First Amendment as "a remarkable arrangement honoring 'soul freedom'--the inviolate right of each of us to believe and worship as our conscience determines, in a society that honors freedom over conformity." He sees that fundamental right at risk in the rise of a new religious movement that is based in the Republican party, well-funded and organized, and resolved on a "sectarian crusade for state power." "The religious right has become the dominant force in America's governing party," he said, and thereby also complicit in "upholding a system of class and race in which the rich thrive and the poor barely survive."
"This is the crux of the matter: to these believers there is only one legitimate religion and only one particular brand of that religion that is right; all others are immoral or wrong. They believe they alone know what the Bible means."
Bill concludes, "As I look back on the conflicts and clamor of our boisterous past, one lesson about democracy stands above all others: bullies--political bullies, economic bullies and religious bullies--cannot be appeased; they have to be opposed with courage, clarity and conviction. This is never easy. These true believers don't fight fair."
Well, this says it all to me, Mr. Dorr, and it is why I feel obliged to take issue with your view of MY country as a CHRISTIAN country while to me it is still, if precariously, a FREE country.
Sincerely,
Nancye Belding
Grand Marais
"Kindness is my religion."
-The Dalai Lama
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Border Patrol-Petersen case story: True salutes Jane Howard
True nominates Jane Howard for the First Place Investigative Journalism in Cook County Award (an apocryphal but still powerful accolade). Her story, "Border Patrol agent seeks court elsewhere in vehicular death case," is a remarkable piece of journalism.
Jane did her homework and did it well, interviewing everybody concerned and taking good notes. Then she assembled the facts she gathered, as well as evidence regarding all those things that we all have been wondering and grieving about: how could it have happened? why did Ms. Weber fail to appear in court? what is her story about why she is not to blame for the death of a beloved resident? what will happen next to offer closure (if not justice) to county residents? are we really the ogres that Ms. Weber claims us to be? is the Border Patrol adequately trained to drive here? do the increasingly large number of agents have a clue about our community? is it appropriate for the DHS to impose Texas border rules on our quiet backwoods?
Well, True might (and has in the past) offer comments on all of the above questions, but the point is that Jane has raised them and brought them to a place where we can now have a community conversation. Ms. Weber has escaped the wrath of our traffic ticket. So it seems we can go ahead and dissect the lingering unanswered questions and sorrow that remain for us living here, that will perhaps never be resolved and yet in the seeking give us some peace of mind.
Jane did her homework and did it well, interviewing everybody concerned and taking good notes. Then she assembled the facts she gathered, as well as evidence regarding all those things that we all have been wondering and grieving about: how could it have happened? why did Ms. Weber fail to appear in court? what is her story about why she is not to blame for the death of a beloved resident? what will happen next to offer closure (if not justice) to county residents? are we really the ogres that Ms. Weber claims us to be? is the Border Patrol adequately trained to drive here? do the increasingly large number of agents have a clue about our community? is it appropriate for the DHS to impose Texas border rules on our quiet backwoods?
Well, True might (and has in the past) offer comments on all of the above questions, but the point is that Jane has raised them and brought them to a place where we can now have a community conversation. Ms. Weber has escaped the wrath of our traffic ticket. So it seems we can go ahead and dissect the lingering unanswered questions and sorrow that remain for us living here, that will perhaps never be resolved and yet in the seeking give us some peace of mind.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Cattle Abuse, Beef Recall Highlight Systemic Weaknesses - CommonDreams.org
Here's a link to a St. Paul Pioneer Press story about the beef recall, and a press release on the same subject from Food and Water Watch:.
Stay tuned for a post-in-progress to be called "The Lunch Box," reflections on school lunches, animal rights and those animal rights "terrorists."
Cattle Abuse, Beef Recall Highlight Systemic Weaknesses - CommonDreams.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 20082:18 PM
CONTACT: Food & Water Watch Jennifer Mueller at (202) 797-6553, e-mail: news (at) fwwatch.org
Video Reveals Big Problems at Meat Plant
WASHINGTON DC - February 20 - The February 18, 2008 announcement that more than 140 million pounds of frozen ground beef produced by a plant in California was being recalled has sparked lots of media coverage, not only because of the sheer size of the recall (the largest in U.S. history) but because of the dramatic video footage of the humane handling violations at the plant that sparked the recall. To top it off, the company that produced the recalled meat, Hallmark/Westland, is the second largest supplier of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program. So it’s no surprise that this has become a pretty big story, just the latest in a string of examples of our broken food safety system. But, as always, there is more to the story that what you see on the news.
What are downer cows exactly?
The recall was instituted because the plant violated a rule that downer cattle (those that cannot walk into the slaughter plant under their own power) are not allowed into the human food supply. This is because these animals could be suffering from neurological problems and are considered to be high risk for mad cow disease. When plants try to use downers, workers end up pushing, dragging, or otherwise forcing them into the plant. That is what the video footage obtained by the Humane Society of the United States shows. In addition to being cruel and inhumane, it is illegal, and that is why the USDA shut down the plant earlier this month after the video was released.
How did the plant get away with this?
We think this is one of the most important questions. USDA has a longstanding problem with vacancies in the ranks of its meat inspectors, so there are questions about whether there were enough USDA inspectors in this plant to do all of the things they need to, including looking at live animals before they go to slaughter. Additionally, some inspectors have raised concerns that USDA management in the plant instructed them not to go outside to check animals. Click here to read more about these concerns.
Why was the recall so big?
The amount of meat covered by this recall is so large because the USDA included all products that came from the plant for a long period of time – two years. This means that USDA is concerned that these violations may have been happening for that long, a sad commentary on their willingness to enforce their own rules. Because the recalled product is from such a long time period, most of it has probably been eaten, which makes the recall too little, too late. The other issue with this recall is that not all of the meat went to schools – some went to retail stores. For years, we have been urging USDA to include the names of stores where recalled product was sold in their public announcements. This massive recall just shows once again that this information is vital for consumers and the agency is irresponsible not to release it.
What can I do to avoid meat from plants that don’t treat animals humanely?
Check out the Eat Well Guide to find out where to buy local, sustainable meat in your area.
How do I find out if I bought meat involved in this recall?
The ground beef from Hallmark/Westland will have a stamp on it that says "Est. 336" on the package. This is the indentification number for this plant. Click here for a list of types of product types that were recalled.
###
Printer Friendly Version E-Mail This Article
Common Dreams NewsCenter is a non-profit news serviceproviding breaking news and views for the Progressive Community.
The press release posted here has been provided to Common Dreams NewsWire by one of the many progressive organizations who make up America's Progressive Community. If you wish to comment on this press release or would like more information, please contact the organization directly.*all times Eastern US (GMT-5:00) Making News?Read our Guidelines for Submitting News Releases
Common Dreams NewsCenter A non-profit news service providing breaking news & views for the progressive community. Home Newswire Contacting Us About Us Donate Sign-Up Archives
© Copyrighted 1997-2008www.commondreams.org
_
Stay tuned for a post-in-progress to be called "The Lunch Box," reflections on school lunches, animal rights and those animal rights "terrorists."
Cattle Abuse, Beef Recall Highlight Systemic Weaknesses - CommonDreams.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 20082:18 PM
CONTACT: Food & Water Watch Jennifer Mueller at (202) 797-6553, e-mail: news (at) fwwatch.org
Video Reveals Big Problems at Meat Plant
WASHINGTON DC - February 20 - The February 18, 2008 announcement that more than 140 million pounds of frozen ground beef produced by a plant in California was being recalled has sparked lots of media coverage, not only because of the sheer size of the recall (the largest in U.S. history) but because of the dramatic video footage of the humane handling violations at the plant that sparked the recall. To top it off, the company that produced the recalled meat, Hallmark/Westland, is the second largest supplier of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program. So it’s no surprise that this has become a pretty big story, just the latest in a string of examples of our broken food safety system. But, as always, there is more to the story that what you see on the news.
What are downer cows exactly?
The recall was instituted because the plant violated a rule that downer cattle (those that cannot walk into the slaughter plant under their own power) are not allowed into the human food supply. This is because these animals could be suffering from neurological problems and are considered to be high risk for mad cow disease. When plants try to use downers, workers end up pushing, dragging, or otherwise forcing them into the plant. That is what the video footage obtained by the Humane Society of the United States shows. In addition to being cruel and inhumane, it is illegal, and that is why the USDA shut down the plant earlier this month after the video was released.
How did the plant get away with this?
We think this is one of the most important questions. USDA has a longstanding problem with vacancies in the ranks of its meat inspectors, so there are questions about whether there were enough USDA inspectors in this plant to do all of the things they need to, including looking at live animals before they go to slaughter. Additionally, some inspectors have raised concerns that USDA management in the plant instructed them not to go outside to check animals. Click here to read more about these concerns.
Why was the recall so big?
The amount of meat covered by this recall is so large because the USDA included all products that came from the plant for a long period of time – two years. This means that USDA is concerned that these violations may have been happening for that long, a sad commentary on their willingness to enforce their own rules. Because the recalled product is from such a long time period, most of it has probably been eaten, which makes the recall too little, too late. The other issue with this recall is that not all of the meat went to schools – some went to retail stores. For years, we have been urging USDA to include the names of stores where recalled product was sold in their public announcements. This massive recall just shows once again that this information is vital for consumers and the agency is irresponsible not to release it.
What can I do to avoid meat from plants that don’t treat animals humanely?
Check out the Eat Well Guide to find out where to buy local, sustainable meat in your area.
How do I find out if I bought meat involved in this recall?
The ground beef from Hallmark/Westland will have a stamp on it that says "Est. 336" on the package. This is the indentification number for this plant. Click here for a list of types of product types that were recalled.
###
Printer Friendly Version E-Mail This Article
Common Dreams NewsCenter is a non-profit news serviceproviding breaking news and views for the Progressive Community.
The press release posted here has been provided to Common Dreams NewsWire by one of the many progressive organizations who make up America's Progressive Community. If you wish to comment on this press release or would like more information, please contact the organization directly.*all times Eastern US (GMT-5:00) Making News?Read our Guidelines for Submitting News Releases
Common Dreams NewsCenter A non-profit news service providing breaking news & views for the progressive community. Home Newswire Contacting Us About Us Donate Sign-Up Archives
© Copyrighted 1997-2008www.commondreams.org
_
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