change? what change? Close friend of Big Meat may be put in charge of food safety

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Fox in the Henhouse

 

Close friend of Big Meat may be put in charge of food safety

Posted 9:48 AM on 11 May 2009

by Tom Laskawy More from this author

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USDA chief Tom Vilsack is once again on the verge of stepping in it regarding

his pick for food safety czar, i.e. the head of the USDA’s Food Safety and

Inspection Service. Some may recall that back in March the Obama administration

nearly appointed Dr. Michael Osterholm to the post only to back off when his

views on meat irradation (aka “Zap the Crapâ€) proved too hot to handle.

Ironically, Osterholm—who has ties to the meat industry, biotech heavyweight

Monsanto and defense contractor 3M—is also a legitimate expert on pandemic

preparedness, a skill which might’ve come in handy recently. Ah, well.

 

Now, swelling rumor has it that Dr. Mike Doyle is the leading candidate for the

post. Obamafoodorama first reported the rumor late last week and it has

solidified in recent days. Doyle meanwhile is proving at least as controversial

as Osterholm and is just as closely allied with the meat industry. Via Ob Fo:

 

Doyle is currently Director of the Center For Food Safety at the University of

Georgia, and a professor in the department of food safety and technology. His

work at the land-grant university has been heavily funded by major meat industry

concerns, and Doyle has won big acclaim for his industry-friendly policy

wonking, in particular from the American Meat Institute, a huge

pro-meat/low-government intervention lobbying force on The Hill. He’s also

received big funding and support from the National Chicken Council, another

industry lobbying group. He’s also recived a lot of funding from USDA’s own

Agriculture Research Service. How invested is Doyle in the economics of food

safety? He actually holds patents on a number of microbiological solutions for

disease outbreaks.

That last bit means that he could personally profit from decisions he might make

as head of FSIS. But I’m sure he’ll recuse himself from any decisions

regarding use of his patented methods for disease management. I’m sorry, did I

say something funny?

 

Doyle is being championed (again according to Ob Fo) by GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss

of Georgia. Note to Vilsack: Dude, the GOP LOST THE FRAKKING ELECTION!!! Since

when do they get to pick top administration officials? And to hear that Vilsack

is listening to Saxby Chambliss of all people, one of the more conservative

members of a party already far outside the mainstream, boggles the mind. And

apparently, if the administration judges Doyle’s conflicts of interest to be

manageable, he will in fact get the nod.

 

Doyle is also associated with the Animal Agriculture Alliance as well as the

American Council on Science and Health (this report [PDF], lists him as on the

ACSH science advisory board)—both industry-funded astroturf organizations

whose shared mission is to undermine any research that questions the safety of

industrial products or practices. To get a sense of where the Animal Ag Alliance

is coming from, you simply have to read its full-throated defense of the use of

sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics in livestock from this attack on the recent

Pew report documenting the dangers of livestock factory farms. In fact, Doyle

recently spoke at an AAA “summit†where he discussed his research claiming

that sub-therapeutic antibiotic use is crucial to “safe†livestock

practices. I wonder what Congress, which is considering legislation to outlaw

the practice, will make of this.

 

The only good news regarding Doyle is that his naming hasn’t been officially

announced. We can only hope that Vilsack and Obama come to their senses before

it’s too late.

Tom is a media and technology professional who thinks that wrecking the planet

is a bad idea. He blogs here and at Beyond Green about food policy, alternative

energy, climate science and politics as well as the multiple and various effects

of living on a warming planet.

 

 

 

So, men are scattered and smeared over the desert grass,

And the generals have accomplished nothing.

 

-Nefarious War

Li Po (Circa 750)