Straight from the Horses Mouth

      
Duane A. Lienemann,
UNL Extension Educator,
Webster County
September 15, 2012 Edition
I was hoping to give an update on harvest, but it would be pretty much a repeat of last week. From what I hear, the corn for the most part is dry and the yields are pretty much all over the board. It was nice that we had a nice gentle rain across most of South Central Nebraska. I know some guys that almost drowned trying to figure out what it was hitting there seed corn hats. I know that a half inch doesn’t seem like much, but when you are as dry as we are it is very significant. If nothing else, it settles the dust, helps the collective attitude, and has a great aroma. I almost forgot what the smell of earth was during and right after a good rain. They ought to bottle that as a perfume or after-shave.
There were a couple of things in the news that caught my eye this week. I think it might be good to discuss these things as I see them as significant to Nebraska agriculture and agribusiness. Anyone that knows me probably has figured out that I have a passion for Nebraska agriculture, our agricultural youth, and even more specifically the livestock industry in our state. It upsets me when I see all the efforts by environmentalists, ideologues, animal rights groups, crackpots, and a whole list of misguided and misinformed people and groups who seem constantly to assail the animal agriculture industry.
I see it as one of the biggest problems facing agriculture. I say this because this sentiment goes beyond dialogue it becomes personal and expensive when it manifests itself into outrageous constraints, regulations and biased attacks via internet, radio and more disturbingly on national television networks like ABC. The readers of this column may remember my distaste for the vicious and misinformed attack on Beef Products Inc. (BPI) by ABC news causing an unwarranted uproar with consumers and even grocery stores across the nation. The negative impact on LFTB forced the company to close three of its four plants and cut about 650 jobs. Furthermore it put a burden on our school lunch programs. It ultimately affected the upward price of hamburger and a downward price for fat cattle. Just for a sensational story?
Needless to say I was pleased when I saw that Beef Products Inc., the maker of lean finely textured beef, often called “pink slime” by the media, has announced a defamation suit against ABC News after media attention led to decreased product demand, job layoffs and closed plants. I see it specifically named ABC anchor Diane Sawyer, Senior National Correspondent Jim Avila and correspondent David Kerley, along with the disgruntled Department of Agriculture microbiologist who coined the term “pink slime” as defendants in its lawsuit. The lawsuit is charging that several ABC News reports ignored countervailing facts offered them by the company and third parties, and “knowingly and intentionally” published “false and disparaging statements” about the company’s lean finely textured beef product. BPI seeks $1.2 billion in damages for roughly 200 ‘‘false and misleading and defamatory’’ statements about LFTB.
ABC used the pejorative phrase “pink slime” more than 130 times within 30 days in the context of 11 television broadcasts and 14 online news reports, which also repeated inaccurate statements about the product’s safety, nutrition and the actual substance of the product. BPI lost 80 percent of its business in 28 days and LFTB sales have fallen from five million pounds per week to less than 2 million pounds per week. The lawsuit seeks three times an estimated $400 million for compensatory damages in addition to punitive damages. All I can say is “Good for them!” They are doing what we need to do to stop this all out affront on animal agriculture. This suit could have far reaching impact.
The legal hurdles that BPI faces for defamation are huge. Obviously, proving economic damage will be easy, and there certainly was a wealth of incorrect material presented by ABC regarding lean finely textured beef. But the sad fact is that when the media chooses to ignore facts and sensationalize a story, there’s little recourse for the aggrieved to take, even if a company, its employees, consumers and the public are injured in the process. The big question still remains.. How can we prevent such uninformed, inaccurate, ill-intentioned, and well-orchestrated attacks from succeeding in the future? That is something that we in the animal agriculture industry must get our minds around. I hope they win and make a big statement that people cannot make false and misleading claims about meat and the meat industry. Kudos to BPI!
The reality of this whole thing is that while I believe we have made tremendous strides in producing a healthier, safer, more environmentally friendly product, we have also advanced the basic tenet of our industry that the welfare of our animals and the land comes first. Unfortunately as this BPI “pink slime” fiasco proves, we are being demonized instead of congratulated for those successes. We have created a great story; however we’ve fallen very short in the telling of that story. We in the ag industry must not be fragmented, we must pull together despite our differences. We have a wonderful story to tell and we need to tell that story. We need it to be science based, steeped in tradition, but with an eye to the future. Producers need to step up to the plate. They need to become involved or they will wonder “What happened?”
I was very pleasantly surprised and proud when I saw an article in this past Monday’s Omaha World Herald entitled “Animal Agriculture Even More Vital”. I think it sends a very positive message. You can contact me for a copy, or if you have internet you can go to this URL -   http://www.omaha.com/article/20120910/NEWS0802/709109989/1677  It is worth the read! My hat goes off to Ronnie Green, Harlan vice chancellor of IANR-UNL; Archie Clutter, Dean of IANR-ARD; and Greg Ibach, Director of the Nebraska Department of Ag. It does my heart good to see them take a stand. Thank you!