NCBA agrees.....

[ranch hand]

http://www.agribusinesscenter.org/docs/Tyson_Foods_7.pdf Shows some of the revolvling door business. page 29 of the report

 

[ocm]

At the time of the first Mad Cow, here are some facts about the revolving door from NCBA to USDA:

US Department of Agriculture has a dual, often contradictory mandate: to promote the sale of meat on behalf of American producers and to guarantee that American meat is safe on behalf of consumers. Ms. Alisa Harrison, who was director of public relations for the NCBA, is spokesperson for the Bush Administration Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Venneman. Ms. Harrison has helped guide news coverage of the mad cow crisis, issuing the statements reassuring the world that American beef is safe – simply continuing what she used to do as a corporate lobbyist. Then she also put into circulation press releases that said "Mad Cow Disease Not a Problem in the US."

Dale Moore, the chief of staff to Ms. Veneman used to be the NCBA chief lobbyist, and Julie Quick, another USDA spokesperson comes from NCBA. So does Chuck Lambert, currently USDA's Deputy Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.

The Wall Street Journal of January 8, 2004, gives further USDA personnel former industry positions. One Deputy Undersecretary For Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services was a partner in a Texas ranch, another was Vice-President of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the Chief Information Officer was President of a subsidiary of ConAgra Foods, the Deputy Secretary was manager of a hog farm, two Assistant Secretaries for Congressional Relations come also from ConAgra and IDFA. One could argue that this is how you get experienced people, but then this is surely going to produce inbreeding results and cover-ups. Carol Tucker Foreman, a USDA official during the Carter Administration, a Washington bureaucrat, now the director of Food Policy Institute of the Consumers Federation of America said she has been working for 20 years to create a mandatory identification system for cattle, so that when illness is discovered its source can be found quickly – the industry did not want any part of this.

Did you notice in this quote how it was Carol Tucker Foreman who wanted mandatory id way back when.

R-CALF has been criticized for standing in the same picture with her.

What about the fact that NCBA is actively engaged in carrying out her vision of mandatory id? Does that make them liberal?

 

[mrj]

Econ, if your position and comments were truly based on honesty, integrity and competence, you would not have to resort to name calling, NCBA bashing, and character assination against me to support them.

BTW, NCBA was built upon and is based on and insists on honesty, integrity, and competence from their staff and that is how they conduct the business of the association. They expect the same of those with whom they workl, including USDA.

Because you do not know what NCBA says about any given subject does not mean they are silent on it. The people who need to know DO know their position on these issues. It is obviously the R-CALF way, and yours, to toss about accusations and innuendo and assign guilt before the trial, it seems. That is counter productive to finding the facts of any situation, IMO.

You lost me on when talking about "my analogies". Point me back to them, and we will see if I am capable of comprehending them.

You seem a bit fixated on what you (erroneously, I would add) "beloved" NCBA.......yes, I do believe it is a high quality, honest, valuable tool for the cattle producer making a living raising cattle. That hardly makes it my "beloved". I reserve that emotion for my faith, family, and country. You can refuse to believe that standing up for, defending against fallacious attacks is different from mindless "cheerleading" till the cows come home, but that won't make you right.

1. You said "If you are saying that the people in USDA that came from the NCBA should not be as competent and honest in the USDA as you claim they were in the NCBA, maybe it tells you a little bit about your beloved NCBA training grounds."

I did NOT say that. In my point # 1., I asked why YOU believed former NCBA employees should have any particular loyalty to NCBA AFTER they leave that organization, other than to be honest about the org. I believe their first loyalty after leaving NCBA is to be loyal to the current employer, which, while they are at USDA, is the people of the USA

You lost me again when talking about bees and flies. Enlighten me. BTW, where can I find a copy of the OIG report. I will try to sort through it.

Please do remember, though, that I have a life apart from this website, and no employees to do my other work for me while I "play" on the computer. It may take time.

The fact that I responded to ridiculous insinuations and innuendo's here withouth reading that report gives you absolutely NO right or reason to call me "idiot" and make scurrilous accusations relating to Auschwitz. You insult and denigrage the Jewish people who died there making comparisons between that and any possible actions of packers/GIPSA incompetence/or any other thing! Have you no sense of decency at all?

Who are you claiming you KNOW "saw evil and did nothing to stop it"? What did you actually do to stop it? Other than post your little games and garbage on ranchers.net, that is?

What do you mean when you write "When I see NCBA has the same attitude, I will not call them out. Until then, the finger is pointed at them and their complacency". That makes about as much sense, and sounds very much as if, you are making an obscene gesture with your upraised middle finger pointed at the NCBA. Juvenile and ridiculous!

MRJ

 

[mrj]

reader 2, Where did that little piece of work come from? Why would they refer to Alisa Harrison as a "corporate lobbyist" when she was working for an organization representing cattle producers (some 67% of NCBA membership, and cattle feeders, 30some% of the membership of the 26,600+ member organization)?

Would you prefer that people with NO knowledge or expertise in and of the cattle/beef industry be the only ones allowed to serve in USDA? Do you honestly believe that would produce good results for anyone? While I don't know the context of the WSJ at that time, they obviously got some bad information because I do know that NCBA tried to work with Carol T. Foreman during that time period, bringing her to speak at workshops at our conventions more than once, and also meeting with her in Washington several times. We actually were successful in preventing her from removing beef from the school lunch program, but not because she became convinced it had any health benefits (which are truly superior to many other protein sources, BTW). I also really wonder about the veracity of her claims to have worked for M-ID of cattle. I sure would like to see even a shred of supporting evidence for that statement!

FYI, ocm, when NCBA did try to work with CTF, it was NOT to put an ad in big newspapers saying that some beef might present dangers of humans contracting BSE.

ranch hand, while skimming through that propaganda from Public Citizen I found some off the wall wrong false info re. NCBA.

The statement: "NCBA speaks for corporate meat packers and big importers, that is why the NCBA opposes country of origin labeling formeat Karen Englehart, Bison, SD. rancher told Public Citizen" is absolutely and verifiably not true. First, any connection between NCBA and importers referenced here would be the Federation division of NCBA and that group cannot and does not lobby. It is against the law for Checkoff groups to lobby. Doesn't happen! It is ONLY the Policy/Membership division that lobbies. The two divisions are totally separate financially, and operationally.

The comment that "The meat packers have sent an array of trade associations.....into battle (against COOL).....the NCBA, which sides with its packer members over its ranchers" is ludicrous! Have you ever seen a bunch of cowmen go along when ANYONE tries to tell them what to do? NO ONE gets their back up any quicker than cattlemen when someone tries to manage them! How stupid can anyone be to believe that packers with two members on a 130+ member board are going to be able to control that organization?

BTW, Englehart is a SD R-CALF promoter, maybe a member, Iwouldn't know, but has had no involvement in NCBA, so how can she be a spokesperson for that organization? She is simply repeating comments she was indoctrinated with by listening to Johnny Smith give his radio market reports for years, would be my guess. I heard it often enough to make me want to barf because I knew the facts. which she obviously did not, so she drank the Kool-aid, so to speak. I'd like to see the person who can provide one shred of evcidence to support her statements.

Why would anyone who is a cattle producer and supposedly somewhat conservative believe anything coming from Public Citizen? When have they been anything but a liberal, anti-business, Democrat front group?

MRJ