Food safety is clearly an issue of importance to the public, especially when it comes to children. If there are deficiencies in our food handling chain, they must be discovered and corrected. So, it wasn’t a surprise to me that The Herald recently weighed in on the issue with an editorial calling for close scrutiny of food purchased by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the National School Lunch Program.
The object of the scrutiny was what I know as light fowl meat, although The Herald chose a less complimentary label. Given that my family has operated an egg farm and processing business in Snohomish County for more than 50 years, I recognized the product as good meat from egg-laying hens. I know it to be a nutritious, flavorful food that is very economical for schools. I also know that it is processed in plants that operate under USDA supervision and that the final product must comply with the same food safety standards as apply to any chicken processed and sold to consumers.
The Herald editorial relied upon a published research paper from Washington State University’s Avian Health and Food Safety Laboratory in Puyallup in support of its position. The Herald noted that the research paper had been referenced in an article in USA Today about the safety of the National School Lunch Program.
Thinking that I couldn’t possibly be so out of touch as to not be tuned in to the findings of a local research institution for which I have great respect, I contacted the WSU laboratory and got a copy of the paper. I also spoke to the recently retired former director of the laboratory, who was the primary author of the paper. I learned from that quick research that The Herald and USA Today had misstated the findings of the research paper and had drawn their own conclusions by way of extractions from a data table in the paper. Those conclusions were not in any way supported by the findings of the research paper.
USA Today sought to legitimize its position by offering the commentary of a representative of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) who attempted to link food safety in light fowl meat with the types of modern, sanitary housing systems that farmers use today for their hens, which HSUS is opposed to. The Herald, perhaps unwittingly, seems to have bought into that notion.
Please understand that the Humane Society of the United States is not a governmental entity, nor is it associated with any local Humane Society or any of the animal shelters in Snohomish County. It is an organization with a long track record of opposition to every aspect of animal agriculture, most notably the egg farmers of this country. HSUS would likely be most happy if no animal products — including eggs, milk, turkey and beef —were served in school lunches and every school child was encouraged to be vegan.
As an egg farmer, I am proud to provide high-quality food products for the consumers of Snohomish County and those throughout the Northwest. I am currently chair of the Snohomish County Agricultural Advisory Board, where I have worked hard to preserve and promote agriculture in the county. We farmers are real people who typically seek no special recognition for our efforts. We do, however, ask for fair treatment from our national and local media when it comes to issues relating to the safety of the food we provide.
Brian Bookey is president of National Food Corporation, and chairs the Snohomish County Agricultural Advisory Board.
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