A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
There’s
only one
kind of beef
W
ith all due respect,
our friends at Har-
vard University are
wrong.
We disagree with their pro-
posal to label all meat as beef,
whether it comes from a cow or
from a culture of cells created in
a laboratory.
Harvard Law School’s Ani-
mal Law and Policy Clinic
recently chimed in on an effort
by USDA to come up with a
regulation for labeling meat.
The law students say that all
meat, whether raised on a pas-
ture or in a Petri dish, is the
same, which it is not.
Here’s what we mean.
As most consumers know,
beef comes from cows. Cows
are born and grow up grazing.
Then most go to feedlots, where
they put on the requisite amount
of weight.
Then they go to a proces-
sor or butcher and exit as steaks,
roasts, hamburger and other cuts
of beef.
Meat grown in a lab is no
more like beef than Tang is like
orange juice. Both are bever-
ages and both are orange, but
only one could ever be labeled
orange juice. Tang was invented
in 1957 and got a boost when
astronaut John Glenn drank it
while orbiting the earth, but it
isn’t orange juice.
Why beef labels have baffled
the folks at Harvard, we cannot
say. Like so many other legal
arguments, common sense has
been left out.
For example, the raw ingre-
dients for beef are hay, silage
and grass with some water to
wash it all down.
What goes into “cell-cul-
tured meat?” God knows, but
we bet you a doughnut and a
cup of coffee that no hay, silage
or grass is involved. In fact,
the dozens of companies that
are creating that stuff won’t tell
anyone exactly what goes into
their products. It’s a secret.
Then they have to add other
things — including coloring and
flavoring — to make it palat-
able. Talk about Frankenfood.
All that effort for a ham-
burger patty that costs $600
when you can get a genuine
beef burger for a tiny fraction
of that.
The U.S. Cattlemen’s Asso-
ciation pointed out that dif-
ference a couple of years ago,
when it petitioned the USDA
to label as beef only meat that
is “harvested in the traditional
manner.”
The cattlemen are 100% cor-
rect. Beef is beef, and that other
stuff is a lab experiment.
Maybe the Harvard folks
should look at it this way. Their
moms and dads spent a fortune
to put them through Harvard,
where many of the elites send
their progeny. What would they
do if anyone who received a
college degree from any college
could also say they are Harvard
graduates?
Harvard graduates every-
where would probably choke on
their champagne and caviar at
the thought.
That is why the USDA has to
get this beef labeling rule right,
no matter what Harvard’s best
and brightest say.
WHERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax:
541-575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509.
Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@
centurylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John
Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028.
Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@
centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601.
Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@
cityoflongcreek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426,
Monument 97864. Phone
and fax: 541-934-2025. Email:
cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688.
Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@
ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website:
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State
Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503)
986-1180. Website: leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution and
Oregon Revised Statutes).
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol
or messages for legislators) — 800-
332-2313.
• Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario – 900
Court St. NE, S-301, Salem 97301.
Phone: 503-986-1730. Website:
oregonlegislature.gov/Bentz. Email:
Sen.CliffBentz@oregonlegislature.gov.
• Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-
986-1460. Website: oregonlegislature.
gov/findley. Email: Rep.LynnFindley@
oregonlegislature.gov.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
GUEST COMMENT
Operations affected by pandemic
should apply for CFAP
F
armers and ranchers feed our
state, our nation and, in fact,
our world. You work long
hours to provide essential resources
for us all, and in these challeng-
ing times, I want you to know that
USDA is here to support you and
your operation through our Corona-
virus Food Assistance Program, or
CFAP. Whether you farm one acre or
many more, grow food for local mar-
kets or big supply chains, CFAP can
help. We’re accepting applications
through Aug. 28 and encouraging
producers to apply now.
In Oregon, we have already
approved 2,506 applications and dis-
bursed $65,059,302 as of Aug. 3.
I know many of our farmers and
ranchers have applied for CFAP
already, but the numbers indicate that
some who are eligible have not. If
you’re still unsure about CFAP and
your operation, I encourage you to
take five minutes today to visit farm-
ers.gov/cfap or call 877-508-8364 to
learn about eligibility and options to
apply. Whether you’ve worked with
FSA for years or this will be a first,
we’re here to help you every step of
the way.
‘Join me in
working toward
a more inclusive
community’
CFAP provides
direct relief to pro-
ducers who faced
price declines and
additional market-
ing costs due to
COVID-19. A range
Josh Hanning of commodities are
eligible for CFAP,
including various fruits/vegetables,
wheats, grains, livestock, wool, and
dairy. You can access the full list of
eligible non-specialty, specialty, live-
stock, dairy, and wool commodities
by visiting farmers.gov/cfap.
We know you’re busy, so we’ve
outlined options to apply at the top of
farmers.gov/cfap. We offer a CFAP
Application Portal where those of
you with eAuthentication accounts
can submit your application online.
Don’t have an eAuthentication
account? You can enroll at farmers.
gov/sign-in. We also offer a man-
ual application option, and a CFAP
Application Generator and Payment
Calculator that allows you to input
information specific to your oper-
ation to determine estimated pay-
ments and populate the application
form.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
it’s necessary for the greater good of Proposed new pool
humanity.
poorly planned and
As a country we’re being asked
to confront the heartbreaking and
unaffordable
deadly implications of racism. I
To the Editor:
Only 60 years ago, Ruby Bridges
was escorted past an angry crowd as
schools in the South began to inte-
grate. As our country moves for-
ward, and as individuals, communi-
ties and states do the personal and
collective work to dismantle racism,
I look forward to where we’ll be in
another 60 years.
The upheaval we’re experiencing
now is a continuation of the Civil
Rights Movement. It’s not complete;
there’s more work to do. Our coun-
try grew up with slavery and racism.
It’s in the blood of our institutions.
Even how we vote today is a result
of our tainted history. During slav-
ery, the North had more voters than
the South. The South didn’t want
the enslaved to vote, but wanted to
count them in their population totals.
The Electoral College, our process
of determining presidential elec-
tions, was their solution. Racism is
everywhere in subtle and not so sub-
tle ways.
It’s uncomfortable for white peo-
ple to talk about race. We rarely
think of it because our skin color is
not a determination of our safety.
Race comes up occasionally, and it’s
typically uncomfortable. It’s usu-
ally not a willing conversation. This
is our white privilege, to be able
to push it aside and not have the
uncomfortable conversations and
feel all those uncomfortable feels.
When your skin is dark, there’s no
avoiding it. You can’t set it aside or
sweep it under the rug.
In order for our country to move
forward, we all need to do some
work. As with any sort of learn-
ing, it’s not going to be smooth or
perfect. We’ll get it wrong, we’ll
learn, we’ll fail, we’ll learn some
more and we’ll keep at it because
hope you’ll join me in working
toward a more inclusive commu-
nity, country and world. We choose
to exist in service to humanity, or
we choose to perpetuate hate and
fear. We can choose to lean into all
this learning and make our country a
more perfect union.
Ashley Stevick
John Day
Claims mail-in
voting is fraudulent
are insulting
To the Editor:
Not once in my July 22 let-
ter did I mention Joe Biden. Mr.
LeQuieu needs to re-read that let-
ter. I was referring to the inadequacy
of Donald Trump as our president.
One of the things he has said is that
mail-in voting is full of fraud. I take
that as a personal insult, as should
any Oregonian who voted for that
legalization.
So, Mr. LeQuieu, don’t assume to
know what I think. I am a Christian
first, and I believe in a democratic
republic.
I would also like to address
COVID-19 to my fellow friends of
Grant County. There are some of
us who think we are safe from this
virus because we are so rural. We
have many outside visitors. In only
the “Cops and Courts” section of
this paper were at least 20 people
listed from different areas, such as:
Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon;
Bonners Ferry, Idaho; Pahrump,
Nevada; Camas, Washington, etc.,
etc. We need to wear our masks and
distance socially.
Elberta Miller
Mt. Vernon
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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Phone: 541-575-0710
To the Editor:
Working with others to stop a
new taxing district recently suc-
ceeded for the hard-working resi-
dents of Grant County. The proposed
new pool was a poorly planned
and unaffordable project from the
beginning. Even worse, using “the
kids” as leverage to override voters’
desires was exceptionally inappro-
priate on the part of the swim team
and Nick Green. In fact, to quote
Dr. Phil there are two rules regard-
ing children: 1) Do not ask them to
deal with adult issues. 2) Do not bur-
den them with situations they can-
not control. Nick Green and the
swim team broke both these rules. If
the swim team and company wants
to pursue the initiative option to get
this project on the ballot so everyone
can vote (and they will lose again,
I predict), they are welcome to do
so; of course, that would take some
effort on their part. Their right to
vote still exists, albeit along a differ-
ent political trajectory.
In conclusion, the consensus at
most of the recent meetings is to
fix and build on what we have in
an affordable manner. Mayor Ron
Lundbom and council members need
to first get their own business affairs
in order before pushing agendas for
the county that we cannot afford.
They have started on yet another
agenda to expand the fairgrounds.
They had their Macy Walker PR
partners write the design and expect
the county to pay for that also. Don’t
they ever learn? That is how the city
incurred the $70,000 expense that
was wasted and they were whining
about. Common sense.
Bob Pereira
John Day
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
You can apply now for the com-
modities that are currently eligi-
ble, and if any other commodities
you produce are added to the pro-
gram, we will happily amend your
application.
If you have questions, please let
us know. You can call our CFAP
Call Center for one-on-one support
with the CFAP application process.
Call 877-508-8364 to speak directly
with a USDA employee ready to
offer personalized assistance. And,
as always, the FSA office at your
local USDA Service Center is also
there to help you prepare your
application.
Farmers and ranchers continue
to be the backbone of our nation. I
know Oregon’s agricultural produc-
ers are facing unprecedented chal-
lenges with the coronavirus pan-
demic, and I want to make sure we
at USDA are doing all we can to pro-
vide critical support. We thank our
farmers and ranchers, and we encour-
age you to apply for CFAP today.
Josh Hanning is the acting state
executive director in Oregon of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Farm Service Agency.
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