Ronald F. Eustice of the Minnesota Beef Council attacked Alan Guebert and Public Citizen in the Sept. 11 edition of Agri News. He has no usable argument against their message so he blasts the messengers.
He tries to discredit them by accusing them of using half-truths and fabrications without saying what they are. From the formation of our nation there have been factions. A small group wanted to become the new elites. Others wanted to truly be a nation with liberty and justice for all.
Those are opposite goals. We can't have both.
Which side are you on? Do you want the nation's wealth and power distributed justly among all producers or to have them concentrated into the control of economic idolaters?
If you take a good look at our political and economic policy, you will see that it doesn't work toward the common good. It is aimed at maximizing corporate profits to benefit a few.
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They disregard the welfare of producers and the ecosystem. Corporate meat processors speeded up the slaughter lines so the meat is often exposed to animal wastes, which contaminate the meat. The speed also compromises worker safety, but it maximizes corporate profits.
Alan Guebert and Public Citizen stand up for the rights of the common people. It is democracy in action to try to slow the slaughter lines to respond to worker demands for safe working conditions and so the meat can be kept clean and wholesome.
Instead of slowing the lines the Minnesota Beef Council wants to shoot a radioactive blast that kills most of the bacteria in the manure that contaminates the ground beef or chicken. The nuclear blast also destroys some of the nutrients in the meat that we need to maintain health.
The regulatory agencies are protecting corporate profits, not us.
If your goal is equal opportunity in a democracy, respect Guebert's and Public Citizen's message. Insist that your kids' school lunches are fresh, organic and locally produced, not irradiated.
-- Lorraine Redig, Winona, MN.
