[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 19, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6762-S6763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                FOOD DAY

 Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, today I wish to submit for the 
Record an article written by Ann Wittman, executive director of the 
Wyoming Beef Council and published October 8, 2011, in the Wyoming 
Livestock Journal. The article's title is ``Food Day Includes Gravy.''
  As Ann correctly points out, Monday, October 24, 2011, is being 
billed as Food Day with events planned across the Nation. Here in 
Washington, DC, the National Archives will be hosting a Food Day open 
house in conjunction with their ``What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?'' exhibit. 
Of note, the open house is being supported by the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration along with the 
primary Food Day sponsor, the Center for Science in the Public 
Interest.
  It is the Center for Science in the Public Interest's agenda Ann 
calls into question. As she writes, the group's goal is to ``encourage 
people around the country to sponsor or participate in activities that 
encourage Americans to `eat real' and support healthy, affordable food 
grown in a sustainable, humane way.''
  The question must be asked, who is defining what is or what is not 
sustainable, healthy, and humane? In the article she points out behind 
the innocent name of the ``Center for Science in the Public Interest'' 
are groups with very extreme positions such as the Humane Society of 
the United States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Farm 
Animal Rights Movement, and FBI-designated terrorist groups, including 
the Animal Liberation Front. These groups push radical environmental, 
animal rights, and vegan positions and lifestyles that have very little 
to do with either science or public interest.
  The USDA and FDA should not align themselves with fringe groups who 
push ideology over science. I commend Ann for her research and wise 
judgment in exposing special interest masquerading as public interest.
  The material follows.

                        Food Day Includes Gravy

      (By Ann Wittmann, Executive Director, Wyoming Beef Council)

       When I started working at the Wyoming Beef Council more 
     than a decade ago, I had fewer gray hairs, fewer wrinkles and 
     enthusiasm that might have been referred to as effervescent. 
     My ideals were grand, my trust was large and I had great 
     faith in the public to seek and gravitate toward the truth. 
     Don't get me wrong, my enthusiasm has not waned, anyone who 
     works with me or in the continental vicinity of me knows that 
     I am passionate about my work, but the direction and means of 
     expressing my enthusiasm has become more focused over the 
     years. It's become less like an exploding soda pop and more 
     like simmering gravy.
       Several weeks ago I read with great interest an invitation 
     to work with an organization called Center for Science in the 
     Public Interest (CSPI) to participate in and facilitate 
     ``Food Day'' activities throughout Wyoming. The invite billed 
     ``Food Day'' as a national event on Oct. 24, 2011 to 
     ``encourage people around the country to sponsor or 
     participate in activities that encourage Americans to `eat 
     real' and support healthy, affordable food grown in a 
     sustainable, humane way.''
       Had I received that offer 10 years ago, I would have been 
     shocked to discover the true message and motive behind the 
     effort. After all, the event was created by the Center for 
     Science in the Public Interest, and who among us doesn't 
     believe that science should be in the public interest? My 
     older, wiser simmering brain prevailed, however, and held 
     back enthusiasm pending further investigation.
       Research into the event listed partner organizations as 
     Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Farm Animal 
     Rights Movement and the notorious Humane Society of the 
     United States. Similar to the CSPI group, these organizations 
     have feel-good names that serve to mislead the public. Most 
     of us are aware that the Humane Society of the United States 
     (HSUS) is a national nonprofit organization with a $200 
     million budget raised under the guise of funding pet 
     shelters, but that spends all but one percent of that budget 
     on efforts to eliminate animal agriculture. The other two 
     groups, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) 
     and Farm Animals Rights Movement (FARM) may not be as 
     familiar. PCRM, in spite of its name, has a very small number 
     of physicians as members and has direct ties to PETA, as well 
     as several FBI-designated terrorist groups including Animal 
     Liberation Front (ALF) and Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty 
     (SHAC). FARM is a national nonprofit organization promoting a 
     vegan lifestyle through public education and grassroots 
     activism to end the use of animals for food.
       As cautious as I am about jumping to conclusions, less than 
     60 seconds into my research I began to think ``Food Day'' was 
     not

[[Page S6763]]

     a beef-friendly event! Sadly, other organizations that have 
     been, and often continue to be, beef-friendly did not come to 
     the same conclusion. Specifically, the American Dietetic 
     Association, the American Culinary Federation and the 
     National Association of City and County Health Officials 
     signed on as partners to this campaign.
       The five central goals of CSPI Food Day are: reduce diet-
     related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods; support 
     sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness; 
     expand access to food and alleviate hunger; protect the 
     environment and animals by reforming factory farms; promote 
     health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids; and support 
     fair conditions for food and farm workers. This campaign 
     recommends a nearly-vegetarian diet to meet these goals.
       The fourth goal of protecting the environment and animals 
     by reforming factory farms continues to bring up false 
     claims, such as the fat content of grain-finished beef or the 
     greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. This alone is enough to 
     make a simmering brain steam up and boil over. However, one 
     of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my conversion 
     from carbonation to stove top is to ensure that actions and 
     reactions don't provide unintended publicity to the event or 
     issue. After all, do these folks really need help giving 
     their events more attention? Careful behind-the-scenes work 
     is most often the best way to navigate these waters.
       Two Wyoming events were posted on the CSPI Food Day 
     website. The first was a mailing to Women, Infants and 
     Children (WIC) clinics throughout the state. After discussing 
     my concerns with a long-time beef-friendly contact at Wyoming 
     WIC, she and I decided that sending out checkoff-funded 
     information detailing the true story of beef production was 
     in order. This effort is currently underway. Second, the 
     University of Wyoming posted plans to host their own version 
     of Food Days on Oct. 24-26 to includes a food drive and 
     resource fair along with a harvest dinner made with locally 
     sourced foods. UW Food Days will wrap up on Oct. 26 with a 
     day of trayless dining and cooking demonstrations showcasing 
     local foods. Wyoming Collegiate CattleWomen and other 
     university contacts have been alerted and asked to ensure the 
     events are balanced and the truth about beef production is 
     also available.
       Nationally, proactive checkoff-funded programs such as 
     panel discussions and national town hall conversations about 
     America's food system are taking place, seeding the 
     environment with positive messages about agriculture. 
     Additionally, national beef checkoff staff has been meeting 
     with several of the afore-mentioned beef-friendly 
     organizations and advisory board members to try and educate 
     them about the beef industry and understand why they are 
     supporting this campaign. State beef councils across the 
     country are meeting with state/local chapters of the 
     organizations on the advisory board for Food Day, as well 
     explaining that, while on the surface Food Day appears to be 
     an initiative to promote healthy foods versus fast-food and 
     junk-food, it is actually a cleverly disguised event by 
     groups opposed to modern food production practices.
       Ultimately, I believe the true story of beef production and 
     the opportunity to share the reality of the wholesomeness of 
     our product and production methods are enthusiasm worthy and 
     the checkoff will continue to roll along, working 
     proactively, reactively and frequently behind the scenes, 
     like a savory gravy on the back burner, to tell the positive 
     story about our product.
       For more information about the beef checkoff program visit 
     mybeefcheckoff.com, wybeef.com or contact me at 
     [email protected].

                          ____________________