Cattlemen Score DNC Ads

May 8, 2001

An advertisement by the Democratic National Committee criticizing the Bush administration's 100-day record on food safety is being labeled "deceptive" by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. A letter from the NCBA to the DNC also was sent to all Democrats to whom the association contributed over the past two years.

The advertisement features a little girl asking, "May I please have some more arsenic in my water, mommy?" And a little boy who asks, "More salmonella in my cheeseburger, please?" The announcer then says, "George W. Bush tried to roll back protections against arsenic in drinking water and salmonella in school lunches." The announcer also says, "George Bush's first 100 days. Brought to you by the oil industry, the meat industry the chemical industry….The Republicans….these guys just aren't for us."

It its letter to the DNC, the association said it was "dismayed by the deception" in the ad, run as a television commercial. "It is irresponsible and inexcusable to release an ad that could mislead consumers and introduce distrust for the school lunch program in the country with the world's safest food supply."

The letter explained that during the Clinton administration, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman "proposed a new standard for the purchase of ground beef in the school lunch program. This standard was intended to bring the school lunch standard in line with that of the commercial sector, which utilizes exemplary food safety criteria. However, the resulting standard, one of absolutely no salmonella present, is not scientifically valid."

Last September, USDA, under Glickman "recognized the folly of the ‘zero-tolerance' standard and began considering changes to make the standard more reasonable and science-based. That standard, developed during President Clinton's tenure, was released under the Bush administration, and subsequently pulled for further review by Secretary of Agriculture Veneman."

NCBA, the American Commodity Distribution Association (ACDA) and the American School Food Service Association (ASFSA) support a commercial standard "since it is science-based and allows the industry to continue supplying schools with high quality, safe beef products," the NCBA letter continued. "America's cattle producers strongly advocate safe food for children and all consumers."