Livestock “The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it.”
MARKET
Digest W
by LEE PITTS
Background Check
– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL MAY 15, 2012 • www. aaalivestock . com
Volume 54 • No. 5
Meatless on Mondays F by Lee Pitts
ifty years ago when I was a young whippersnapper in grade school I had mixed emotions about Fridays. I was overjoyed that it was the end of the week and we’d get a two day reprieve from the prison we called Blanchard School, but I was also sad because Fridays meant that the ladies who slung the hash in the school cafeteria weren’t allowed to feed us any meat. The Protestant kids like me dreaded the deceitful beans and rock-hard cornbread we had to eat on Fridays just because of the Catholic kids. It almost caused an elementary-school religious war. Now there’s another group trying to make us go meatless one day of the week. This time on Mondays. Although they say it’s for health reasons, not religious ones, the people pushing the idea are every bit as zealous as the most pious priest ever was.
“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. —MARK TWAIN
days.” Don’t let the catchy name fool you, the folks pushing the idea want to make vegetarians of us all. Even though Americans are eating way less beef than they were 40 years ago, per-capita consumption of all meat has increased by eight percent during that time. We are currently consuming 5.3 ounces of meat per day, which is below current dietary recommendations. But
for the food police that 5.3 ounces is 5.3 ounces too much. Meatless Monday was founded in 2003 by a marketing genius named Sid Lerner. He’s the guy who came up with the idea not to “Squeeze the Charmin,” only now he doesn’t want you to prod the pot roast either. Or any other meat. And don’t for one minute foster the idea that these people just want you to quit eating meat one day of the week. As they say,
“Some meat may be “less bad,” but no meat is good.” Meatless Monday calls itself a nonprofit initiative of The Monday Campaigns Inc. which is associated with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Center for a Livable Future. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help you reduce your meat consumption by 15 percent.” But they also don’t mind selling you a tee shirt for $22.99 either! The Meatless Monday campaign really took off in 2009 when schools, hospitals and restaurants began to embrace the concept and it has spread around the world to 23 countries, and growing. Those last two words are the scary part! Sid Lerner was on Madison Avenue for 50 years and he was looking for something to do in retirement when he was told by his doctor that his cholesterol and blood pressure were way too continued on page two
Don’t Squeeze The Steak
NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING
Amidst the pink slime (lean, finely textured beef) and mad cow (BSE) uproar, it’s hard to tell if consumers are currently eating less beef because they are scared of mad cows, or rising beef prices. In the midst of all the hoopla there is yet another far more insidious threat to the beef industry. It goes by the cute sounding name “Meatless Mon-
Riding Herd
Two New Studies Identify Major Flaws in the Equal Access to Justice Act To support the nation’s veterans, seniors and small business, Wyoming Senator and Congresswoman call for swift passage of Government Litigation Savings Act Government Litigation Savings Act ends misuse of tax-payer reimbursements, and improves EAJA for needful users. he Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Notre Dame Law School published separate studies on the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) in early May that show funds intended for the nation’s veterans, seniors and small businesses are flowing to environmental groups contrary to Congressional intent. The Notre Dame law review article provides a comprehensive history of EAJA, and relies on a broad analysis of court records and public tax returns to show that millions of dollars are paid out to environmental groups using a social safety-net program not designed for them. The GAO study confirms that while the amount of tax-payer reimbursements to environmental groups is likely in the millions, the federal government has not kept track. “We have known for some time that the Equal Access to Justice Act needed attention, but these new reports from respected institu-
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tions shine a spotlight on the urgency of the matter,” Rep. Lummis (R-WY) said. “These two studies confirm that EAJA is broken and the government is not keeping track; it throws up unnecessary roadblocks to those who deserve the help, and at the same time is a free-flowing spigot for those the law was not intended to assist. But it can and should be fixed as soon as possible. Environmental laws exist for environmentalists; EAJA is for seniors and veterans in need.” “It’s time to return EAJA back to its original intent of helping our nation’s veterans, seniors and small businesses,” said Barrasso. “For far too long, we’ve watched special interest groups fund their anti-multiple use agenda with Americans’ hard earned taxpayer dollars. These new reports confirm the pressing need for more accountability and transparency when it comes to EAJA payments. Americans deserve to know who their money is going to and how exactly it’s being spent.” H.R. 1996, the Government Litigation Savings Act, will modernize the Equal Access to Justice Act by improving the process for legal fee reimbursement for veterans, seniors and continued on page four
e met at high noon, she was dressed completely in green from her pilates shoes to her forest green sweatband. She wore spandex leotards, an Audubon pin and a Sierra Club tee shirt with John Muir’s face on it. The leotards and Muir’s likeness were distorted by her 250 pounds of greenness. I wore jeans, boots and a free cap from an auction market. It was obvious that we were from different warring tribes. She sneered at me and drew first as both our hands reached for the door to the ice cream novelties in the frozen food aisle of our local grocery store. I’d seen her around town ever since she and her diminutive husband moved from the big city to our little town. I knew her only by reputation. She’d immersed herself in local politics and spent six nights a week going to meetings, and I bet her henpecked husband sure dreaded that seventh night when she stayed home. She was busy saving salamanders, watching birds through binoculars, carrying protest signs and going on sit-down strikes. And believe me, she had a considerable amount to sit down! When she took the last box of Skinny Cow® fudge bars I was in a fighting mood. “That’s a nice tee shirt you have there,” I said politely. “John Muir was quite a man.” “I’ll say,” she snarled. “He saved Yosemite from being decimated by your kind.” “He was one once, you know?” “Who?” she asked with a sour smile and a politically correct accent. “John Muir. The founder of the Sierra Club was a sheepherder when he first came to California. He also worked in saw mills where he stripped the beautiful trees of their branches before ripping the flesh from their bodies and turning them into lumber.” “That can’t be true. He continued on page twelve
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