Pink slime's defenders continue to crawl out of from the woodwork in most of the usual places as we learned today ('Pink Slime Defenders Line Up', WSJ p. B1). According to the latest news, the defenders now include the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (hmmmmm.....there's gotta be some Bushies left in there like in other agencies) as well as the governors of two states: Rick Perry of Texas, and Terry Branstad of Iowa.
They are evidently all planning a major PR event to gobble this stuff in public (Perry says he might even ingest it raw) to show there ain't nuthin' wrong at all. The aim is clear (op. cit., p. B2) to:
"pressure supermarkets to return ground beef packed with the filler to refrigerator cases"
Hmmmm....then why do I suspect that train already left the station?
Anyway, to try to confer some bona fides on this farce, USDA chief Tom Vilsack is dispatching his No.2, Under secretary Elizabeth Hagen, today, to a facility that produces this crap and located in South Sioux City, NE (one hopes Hagen will be sure to bring enough barf bags since she seems to be the sacrificial lamb). According to Gov. Branstad (ibid.):
"We are going to consume it! We'll do everything we can to set the record straight!"
Well, good luck on that, gubernator! Damn, it's always amazing to see the reactions when powerful government-aligned corporate interests lose the PR war. Hell, I wouldn't be all amazed that if it was toxic sludge instead of pink slime and billions in profits were on the line from padding beef, these fuckers would eat sludge, or shit...to make their points. Then maybe use the tried and true method of gagging themselves later like bulemics do.
The piece notes that "the decision (of supermarkets to pull the additive filler) caught state and federal officials off guard"
Hence they're only now revving up their PR armaments. Evidently, one supermarket outlet has already caved, even before today's planned circus. That's the chain Hy-vee, Inc. which these impressarios of PR impressed to "back off its original plan"
Vilsack himself bloviated about the "difficulty of getting ahead of opposition to a product even if deemed safe by the government" - but that's not much use. We know a lot of products, including GM-designed foods (such as tomatoes with mouse genes) have been deemed safe by the U.S. Food Corporatocracy yet the same foods aren't allowed in most European nations! Why? Because the latter actually care a bit about their citizens and don't see them merely as fodder for the corporate profiteers. This includes toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A- which Canada and most European nations have outlawed but the U.S. gov't continues to drag its ass on. Why?
Because of MONEY! Profits! That's all these fuckers care about! So they will even (like the CDC) approve the toxic sludge associated with Hydro-flourosilic acid (for use in fluouridating water systems) if it means profits to those companies for whom this crap's a spinoff that'd otherwise be wasted. They will even subsidize corn farmers then allow the spinoff crap called high fructose corn syrup to be pumped into any and all foods - thereby massively inducing sugar content and triggering lots of diabetes! The aim is corporate profits, not care for consumers.
Then to top it all off, we are supposed to be on our lonesomes, most of us, in terms of health care when we do get sick from ingesting this shit! So pardon me if most of us don't bite.
Let us hope in the meantime that this PR-pressure pitch fails and most supermarkets stick to their guns.
Finally, is there a possible compromise in which our free marketers could possibly be happy?
Sure! Just LABEL all the ground beef, that's been fillered "Contains PINK SLIME" - then feel free to sell it at will and let people -consumers choose based on that.
Oh, they won't do it....like they wouldn't if GM foods were labelled? Then tough shit, you lose! Go back to the PR drawing boards!
They are evidently all planning a major PR event to gobble this stuff in public (Perry says he might even ingest it raw) to show there ain't nuthin' wrong at all. The aim is clear (op. cit., p. B2) to:
"pressure supermarkets to return ground beef packed with the filler to refrigerator cases"
Hmmmm....then why do I suspect that train already left the station?
Anyway, to try to confer some bona fides on this farce, USDA chief Tom Vilsack is dispatching his No.2, Under secretary Elizabeth Hagen, today, to a facility that produces this crap and located in South Sioux City, NE (one hopes Hagen will be sure to bring enough barf bags since she seems to be the sacrificial lamb). According to Gov. Branstad (ibid.):
"We are going to consume it! We'll do everything we can to set the record straight!"
Well, good luck on that, gubernator! Damn, it's always amazing to see the reactions when powerful government-aligned corporate interests lose the PR war. Hell, I wouldn't be all amazed that if it was toxic sludge instead of pink slime and billions in profits were on the line from padding beef, these fuckers would eat sludge, or shit...to make their points. Then maybe use the tried and true method of gagging themselves later like bulemics do.
The piece notes that "the decision (of supermarkets to pull the additive filler) caught state and federal officials off guard"
Hence they're only now revving up their PR armaments. Evidently, one supermarket outlet has already caved, even before today's planned circus. That's the chain Hy-vee, Inc. which these impressarios of PR impressed to "back off its original plan"
Vilsack himself bloviated about the "difficulty of getting ahead of opposition to a product even if deemed safe by the government" - but that's not much use. We know a lot of products, including GM-designed foods (such as tomatoes with mouse genes) have been deemed safe by the U.S. Food Corporatocracy yet the same foods aren't allowed in most European nations! Why? Because the latter actually care a bit about their citizens and don't see them merely as fodder for the corporate profiteers. This includes toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A- which Canada and most European nations have outlawed but the U.S. gov't continues to drag its ass on. Why?
Because of MONEY! Profits! That's all these fuckers care about! So they will even (like the CDC) approve the toxic sludge associated with Hydro-flourosilic acid (for use in fluouridating water systems) if it means profits to those companies for whom this crap's a spinoff that'd otherwise be wasted. They will even subsidize corn farmers then allow the spinoff crap called high fructose corn syrup to be pumped into any and all foods - thereby massively inducing sugar content and triggering lots of diabetes! The aim is corporate profits, not care for consumers.
Then to top it all off, we are supposed to be on our lonesomes, most of us, in terms of health care when we do get sick from ingesting this shit! So pardon me if most of us don't bite.
Let us hope in the meantime that this PR-pressure pitch fails and most supermarkets stick to their guns.
Finally, is there a possible compromise in which our free marketers could possibly be happy?
Sure! Just LABEL all the ground beef, that's been fillered "Contains PINK SLIME" - then feel free to sell it at will and let people -consumers choose based on that.
Oh, they won't do it....like they wouldn't if GM foods were labelled? Then tough shit, you lose! Go back to the PR drawing boards!
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