Senators in the Western Caucus today decried a new U.S. Department of Agriculture effort to discourage employees from eating meat.
On Monday, the USDA sent out a “Greening Headquarters Update” newsletter to employees, in which the USDA’s Office of Operations encourages employees to participate in “Meatless Mondays” while dining in USDA’s cafeterias.
“How will going meatless one day of the week help the environment? The production of meat, especially beef (and dairy as well), has a large environmental impact. According to the U.N., animal agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gases and climate change. It also wastes resources. It takes 7,000 kg of grain to make 1,000 kg of beef. In addition, beef production requires a lot of water, fertilizer, fossil fuels, and pesticides,” the newsletter states. “In addition there are many health concerns related to the excessive consumption of meat. While a vegetarian diet could have a beneficial impact on a person’s health and the environment, many people are not ready to make that commitment. Because Meatless Monday involves only one day a week, it is a small change that could produce big results.”
“Did you notice that our cafeterias have tasty meatless options? So you can really help yourself and the environment while having a good vegetarian meal!” it adds.
“Never in my life would I have expected the USDA to be opposed to farmers and ranchers,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). “USDA should be promoting agriculture and our nation’s producers – instead of discouraging people from eating meat. American farmers and ranchers deserve a Department of Agriculture that will pursue supportive policies, rather than seek their further harm.”
He and Senate Western Caucus Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) fired off a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack questioning whether the USDA believes the discouragement of meat consumption in their facilities reflects the values of the department and if those values support America’s farmers and ranchers.
Ah, that brings memories!
In communist Poland Mondays were also officially meatless. The ostensible reason was frugality (bright and shiny communist future required sacrifices from everybody, except the Party cadre, of course). It was was also supposed to be a “rational” countermeasure against Catholic tradition of fast (no meat) on Fridays.
I do wonder if these pathetic later-day wanna-be commies are this clueless or they do it on purpose?
When, not if, the seven year plan is introduced, we’ll know they have really “gone Soviet” on our country.
These were five year plans then.
Now I think the plans mutated into 8 years, because, as it turned out, “radical transformation” of the nation cannot be quite accomplished in less than that.
Choosing the same day as Communist Poland is not a coincidence, nor is the use of the Communist slogan “Forward”, nor the Cuban type font on the websites, nor the Stalinist style of the posters. They think they can use these symbols to convince the far left that they are one of them, and the rest of US will be too clueless to notice. While we are on the subject, the Nazis were vegatarian too. Even today North Korea imposes meatless Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday on the common people. Let them eat grass.
The whole Climate Change scam is part of the movement to impose government control on every aspect of our lives. For the good of the planet, the government will tell us what to eat, what kind of cars to drive, where to set our thermostats…basically everything we do will be dictated by the Green Elite if they get their way. If we are going to do something to benefit the planet, let’s start with eliminating the ethanol laws that are taking food from the mouths of the poorest of the poor worldwide, and let the corn be used to feed the hungary rather than degrade the engines of our cars. How much extra fertilizer is used to grow ethanol corn, how much water is used, how much fuel burned to harvest it. Let’s start with outlawing use of corn based ethanol, the primary voters of Iowa be “darned”.
Vote wisely on Nov 6, folks!
Here’s what happens when people don’t bother to vote. Keep remembering that Obama was elected by only 30% of registered voters. There was a 58% turnout and of the people who actually voted, 52% voted for Obama. Multiply 0.58 and 0.52 and you get 0.30. Just 30% of registered voters saddled us with Obama. Forget about the polls and just vote.
Because they have to distinguish themselves from Catholics who abstain from meat on Fridays.
I was thinking the same thing. Meatless Friday would be politically incorrect to the ardent atheists.
Thought that too. More proof that Green is a religion. Or more like a sad attempt at replacing real religion with a pseudo-religion.
Well, since we’re going for meatless Mondays and we’ve adopted the Swiss healthcare insurance mandate system, we may as well adopt the Swiss national security requirement that every military age male have a GI issued, fully automatic, assault rifle at home in the closet with mags and one hundred rounds, ready to go. It’s the only way to fly in the interest of a Calvinist cross cultural international solidarity against the Big Mac under every bed. What’s next? The one car one baby per family policy with optional sex selection for gender based abortions?
It isn’t that eating meat is bad. It’s that if too many proles eat meat, there might not be enough for the politburo. The UN would have us all eating kibble while they dinned on steak and lobster. Remember Enemy at the Gates. When Vasily goes to the headquarters, in Stalingrad, to meet Khrushchev. Himself subsisting on meager soup rations, and he sees a cornucopia of food and liquor for the high command, yeah, coming to a country near you.
Word
If I worked at the USDA I would go out to lunch every Monday to either Chic-Fil-A or Mickey Ds
And if they want to complain, hello, Fox News!
the First family and the entire white house staff -the entire adminstration -should set the good example and start following the u.n. guidelines to encourage other progrossive forward thinking nitwits. Of course, maybe this is their way of saying “eat mor chicken”.q
If the UN said that the sun would set in the West, I’d be sure to be looking out the window to double-check.
If the U.N. said the sun set in the east, I wouldn’t bat at eye when they started trotting out peer reviewed, settled science on the matter, and called anyone who didn’t believe the sun settled in the east ‘deniers.’
I’m going to kill two birds (hopefully chickens) with one stone by eating at Chick-Fil-A every Monday.
I support your radical dissent.
I wish I could edit. Why don’t we start Chick-Fil-A Monday as an official counter-protest.
How about an “Obama-less 2013″?
Now that’s a movement I can get behind!
How about an ethanol free Friday for gasoline? If the USDA is so worried about the resources–water, fossil fuels, fertilizer (from fossil fuels) used to grow food, then what about the ridiculous waste of fossil fuels to grow corn for fuel?
Ethanol free Fridays? Are you from Alcoholics Anonymous?
What have you got against ethanol?
You prefer to send your fuel money to the Mideast instead of the Midwest?
Ethanol serves the twin purposes of reducing demand for oil from people who hate us and increasing the price that those people have to pay to eat. Win-win in my book.
Corn in the gas tanks makes no sense at all. People are starving for food in Africa (while we burn food in our cars) and pretty soon here too if we don’t get rid of Obama and his devouring agencies. Corn into ethanol instead of food products is causing food price inflation without helping domestic oil producers a bit. Oil can’t be eaten, obviously. What will cut food price inflation? Global warming? Hiking ethanol content to 15% at the pump? We can’t even import ethanol, given steep duties on the stuff. Gimme a break.
In keeping with the spirit of Ingsoc, I would like to thank BB for increasing our meat ration from 5 days to 6 days. All hail BB!
In all seriousness, why can’t they keep out of my kitchen?
At least they didn’t recommend Soylent Green……. yet.
I would love to attribute this to the current crop in government but, in reality, it’s just that they are so far removed they don’t know not to tell the truth. Perhaps it is another example of Ed Driscoll’s Leftist Reality Check post today.
The problem is and has been the shift from government agencies formed to help the US economy to ones now that work against their industries. USDA was formed to promote agriculture, spread best practices and even out the lean and fat years that is farming. National Marine Fisheries Service was formed for similar purposes for marine fisheries. The both and with support of responsible producers also started doing some management to maintain stocks. Sometime in the 1970s, however, the conservationist ideal got transformed into anti-human, anti-producer. USDA, NMFS and others started getting handed over to academics who neither understood nor liked the industry they came to rule over. Republican and Democrat administrations have put people in charge who saw their job as to control the producers rather than provide some benefit. Well, except to steer subsidies to the big producers who pay off Congress.
The only real difference in the Obama administration is their naivety. They don’t know that the opposition to the industry burdened with the government department is suppose to go unsaid, that they are no longer on the college campus. On the upside, as we see, when the truth of their opinions is spoken, people aren’t really on board with them.
Another reason to cut the Federal Government by the wholesale slaughter of multiple agenices, boards, committees, ad hoc working groups, czars, whatever…
and move on and cut every NGO and collectivist organization…these groups and entities are all major violaters of basic human rights across the board…the only thing they really care about is the fatting and enrichment of the so called elite.
I’d like to see the UN cafeteria output of meat on Mondays. Those dirtbag “ambassadors” live like kings, all on the US taxpayer’s dime since we provide a majority of their budget. There isn’t a one of them that would be willing to give up their steamship round to save the planet.
So now we have the USDA, the UN, Michelle Obama, and non-heteros telling me what not to eat and where not to eat it. A tear drips from my eye as I stare at the image on the wall. I love dear leader.
Kudos to whomever surfaced this little bit of government-think. My FOIA question is: what about the other 3,000 federal cafeterias and the 10,000 military cafeterias? Are they celebrating Vegan Mondays too? This is no isolated case.
From USDA: “USDA does not endorse Meatless Monday. The statement found on the USDA website was posted without proper clearance. It has been removed.”
This isn’t about Obama, or the administration, or Democrats or Republicans, this is about the expansion of the animal rights agenda of NO meat eating!While the rhetoric presents the benefits to the environment, that is the distraction from the simple truth of eliminating meat eating, little by little. We see the further efforts of the animal rights cults in their effort to restrict and control what farmers and cattlemen do in the management of their animals. The animal rights cults want to separate humans from animals: no pets, no meat, no circuses, no zoos, and no animal research. Just check out the bills in Congress: bills about management of laying hens, bills about eliminating research using primates, bills about increasing the inspection of breeders of pet animals: dogs, cats, birds, etc. When you put it all together, you see the big picture: control and eventually eliminate animal keeping.
This isn’t about Obama, or the administration, or Democrats or Republicans, this is about the expansion of the animal rights agenda of NO meat eating!While the rhetoric presents the benefits to the environment, that is the distraction from the simple truth of eliminating meat eating, little by little. We see the further efforts of the animal rights cults in their effort to restrict and control what farmers and cattlemen do in the management of their animals. The animal rights cults want to separate humans from animals: no pets, no meat, no circuses, no zoos, and no animal research. Just check out the bills in Congress: bills about management of laying hens, bills about eliminating research using primates, bills about increasing the inspection of breeders of pet animals: dogs, cats, birds, etc. When you put it all together, you see the big picture: control and eventually eliminate animal keeping.
No meat, once a week, for nebulous Good?
Are they Catholics?
(Actually, the Catholic justification, of self-abnegation, at least makes a little sense, if one is a Catholic.
This is just posturing, even if one accepts the premises.)
Hey farmers, you didn’t grow that, somebody grew that for you! Quit yer complanin’, bunch of ingrates.
Going meatless is one of the first things Wayne Pacelle, a degree in environmentalism, and CEO of the vegan animal rights movement, and company, HSUS proclaimed no meat at HSUS or at functions given by HSUS. In mid May in Iowa we see the wife of Valsick donated 1,000 dollars to HSUS PAC. So what is the goal of Vasick and why? Does anyone realize how much is taken from the economy including trickle down, when we have agencies that try to limit a industry, like cattle production, poultry, eggs dairy, and non farm animal pets. I would say in the last 5 – 10 years there has been a major shift in the USDA.
To Defy the idiots that thought this crap up, everyone should eat a double serving of MEAT on mondays. Hear that libtards? MEAT, RED MEAT, DEAD COW FLESH, oh just the thought of all those juicy bites! Yummm. More meat for us MEAT EATERS on monday..
ES&D you liberal rats.. Has anyone eaten rat? It still qualifies as a MEAT. This would be interpreted by libs as eating their own kind.
USDA may suggest their employees pass on eating meat one day a week. But 7 days a week, it subsidizes livestock production–animals for eating.
Funny to see this nonsense in here about how USDA is supposed to promote agriculture. Duh. First, plants–the only other thing that is eaten other than meat and dairy–are agriculture. Second, “promote” means subsidize. Now everyone’s in favor of “promotion”–i.e., agriculture subsidies? What is this, Daily Kos?
If food shortages and prices escalate as many are predicting, we might find ourselves instituting foodless Mondays.
The USDA is in the pocket of the animal rights radical cult members who do not want any animals to be raised. This is a cult of terrorists whose intent is to end all animal breedings. Sarah L. Conant is the leader of these hires. And she is on a rampage to end all breeding of all animals by fining people out of business. They are hiring animal rights radicals to do inspections to run people out of business for breeding animals. The proposed revisions to the USDA/APHIS licensing rules violate the clear language and history of the federal Animal Welfare Act, and therefore should be withdrawn. The summary describing the rationale for these proposed (Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2012 / Proposed Rules [Page 28799]) has major flaws. When the Animal Welfare Act passed in the 1960’s, “remote retail sales” of dogs were extremely common. It has been the norm and not the exception for retail dog sellers to ship dogs sight unseen to pet owners. In the past these dog breeders advertised in newspapers and magazines. Today they are more likely to advertise on the Internet. The Internet did not create remote retail sales of dogs. Many thousands of dogs were sold through remote retail sales each year 40 years ago, and 100 years ago. http://tinyurl.com/6tubrda There is no evidence that remote retail sales are more common today than when the AWA became law or was amended. The main change that the Internet has brought is an increase in transparency. Through the Internet, a potential dog buyer can easily search discussion forums, blogs, websites, and news articles to obtain far more information about a remote pet seller than he or she could acquire in the past through newspapers and magazines. Because of this new and extraordinary ability to gather information, the Internet has reduced rather than increased any justification for inspections of remote retail pet stores. Even though remote retail pet sales were very common when the AWA passed, and when the AWA was amended, Congress chose to specifically exclude retail pet stores from the licensing requirement. The USDA cannot require licensing of pet retailers who sell remotely when Congress specifically excluded them through the exemption in the AWA for “retail pet stores”. The proposed rule changes are an overreach and are unsupported by statute.
Anyone ever fly over places like Western Kansas? Growing grain out there signals its presence from the air with big, perfect green circles from the intensive irrigation that must be used. Talk about water waste! That’s why so many ranchers have cattle out there. They can graze the natural prairie and are more efficient and cost-effective to keep than water-intensive crop production. It’s the same in the Eastern Kansas Flint Hills region. Cattle are the more efficient “crop” for the rancher even though the climate is much less arid.