Spoiled meat, Rotten Congress

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


The USDA’s meat inspection program is virtually the same as it was in 1906. But now that the agency is trying to bring meat inspection into the 21st century, some members of Congress are battling to stick to the status quo.

The Senate regulatory reform bill (S.343) would effectively stifle the USDA’s modern, scientific inspection system which was to go into effect next month. The bill, introduced by majority leader Bob Dole, would put any government regulation through a long analysis to assess any economic impact. President Clinton has said that S.343 would let industries that are supposed to be regulated “delay and sometimes even control the rules that affect them.” (New York Times; July 18, 1995)

For its part, the House has already passed an even more radical regulatory reform package as part of its Contract with America. President Clinton has promised to veto that bill and he says he’ll veto the Senate package as well, if it goes too far.

In addition, Rep. James Walsh, R-NY, orchestrated his own crusade against the new meat inspection program. Walsh inserted a rider into a subcommittee report spelling out the details of the appropriated funds to the USDA. The rider would have halted the new program for nine months, during which time the meat and poultry industry would have been able to attack it in Congress. Walsh forced a compromise with Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. In return for dropping the amendment, Glickman will allow the meat industry to air its concerns at open public hearings. (Chicago Tribune, July 20, 1995)

Walsh’s amendment, according to the Washington Post, was written in large part by Philip Olsson, a meat-industry lobbyist. The Federal Election Comission reports that Walsh has received more than $66,000 in campaign contributions since 1988 from agribusiness and the meat and food industry.(Associated Press, July 17, 1995)

Back to “Unhappy Meals: Let the Eater Beware

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate