USDA PR CHIEF FLACKED FOR THE BEEF INDUSTRY

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USDA PR CHIEF FLACKED FOR THE BEEF INDUSTRY

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/opinion/02SCHL.html

Eric Schlosser, author of the hugely popular bestseller Fast Food

Nation, notes that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's PR point

person on mad cow disease, Alisa Harrison, flacked for the beef

industry. " Before joining the department, Ms. Harrison was director

of public relations for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association,

the beef industry's largest trade group, where she battled

government food safety efforts, criticized Oprah Winfrey for

raising health questions about American hamburgers, and sent out

press releases with titles like 'Mad Cow Disease Not a Problem in

the U.S.' ... Right now you'd have a hard time finding a federal

agency more completely dominated by the industry it was created to

regulate. Dale Moore, Ms. Veneman's chief of staff, was previously

the chief lobbyist for the cattlemen's association. " Meanwhile, the

federal government is failing to take the only steps that will

solve the mad cow crisis in America: a total ban on feeding

slaughterhouse waste to livestock, and testing tens of millions of

cattle. John Stauber says 'it's the cow feed, stupid!'

SOURCE: New York Times, January 2, 2004

More web links related to this story are available at:

http://www.prwatch.org/spin/January_2004.html#1073019600

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