Slimy Reportage Defames Sterling American Industry

Unfortunately, she had to be corrected by a local ABC weather affiliate no less, which stated that, in fact, the weather folks down in Alabama broadcast warnings about the imminent danger of twisters for days before the twisters and all night during the twisters in order to warn the local citizenry to seek shelter--proving once again that a sensational headline trumps the truth every time. Now it seems that Diane, ABC, and a chorus of other folks, such as but not limited to Jamie Oliver and PETA [People Eating Tasty Animals], have trained their sights on Beef Products, Inc.--an original and highly successful American company with a stellar track record in the meat industry. Diane--The Queen of Misinformation--Oliver, and others have made it a project to take down this company, while lacking any factual basis for their suggestion that the lean, textured ground beef produced by this company for decades is unhealthy, a threat to society, and should be taken off the shelves. Of course, when Big Media and the Veggie Left sense a headline to be grabbed, they will do so without regard to the truth or the tragic consequences which result. The same lack of any factual basis which led Diane to announce that there are thousands of foreign countries has now led Diane on a crusade against the mythical "Pink Slime" which she and her colleagues have used to defame the reputation of Beef Products, Inc.

Although neither Sawyer nor Oliver nor any of Sawyer's minions have ever set foot in any of Eldon and Regina Roth's BPI plants --which directly employ 1,500 people in several states and indirectly provide work for nearly 1,500 others who play a support role--such as providing transportation, packaging, labeling, and other related services -- they defame this industry by implying that the lean, textured ground beef produced by BPI and the facilities in which it is produced are unhealthy. Unfortunately, the Big Lie started by Sawyer and others, has taken on a life of its own and has, through social media, Big Media, anti-meat Veggie-Left groups and PETA, snowballed during the past weeks until a de facto boycott of BPI product has caused the closure of three of its four plants and may cause the loss of thousands of jobs. Of course, Sawyer, Oliver and others, care only for the big headline and could care less about the truth and the human and economic misery that reckless reportage causes. Unlike Eldon and Regina Roth, whose hard work and original ideas founded a heretofore thriving industry which has created thousands of jobs, fed untold numbers of people, and generated wealth--much of which has been contributed by the Roths to many charitable causes--Sawyer and her ilk have created nothing positive. Their reckless reportage notwithstanding, the truth--which you will never hear from them--is this:

• There have never been any reports of illness from any BPI products in three decades;
• There has never been any recall of any BPI products during this time;
• In 2007 the company received the coveted Black Pearl Award for food safety and quality, from the International Association for Food Protection;
• The company's lean, textured beef has contributed to 300 billion (with a "b") meals during the past thirty years;
• It is likely that most Americans have consumed BPI's product during the last three decades-including Michelle Obama who has famously consumed cheeseburgers in the past; and
• While Diane and Oliver whine about the fact that a minimal amount of ammonia is used in the processing of the lean, textured ground beef produced by BPI, hundreds of other food products safely consumed by the public also use ammonia in their processing. (Enjoy your Coke, Diane--know how they get that vivid caramel coloring? Ammonia.)

It is also interesting to note that during very recent past:

• Cantaloupes have killed 18 people and sickened 72 others in several states, in 2011 alone--the deadliest outbreak of food borne disease in over a decade
• Tomatoes have sickened 459 people in this country between 2005 and 2006 according to the CDC and
• Lettuce has sickened 60 people in the United States during 2011 alone.

Ironically, Diane and her uninformed cohorts in this smear campaign against BPI decry its product as being treated with tiny amounts of ammonia, yet this is precisely what kills the very bacteria of the sort that have tainted killer fruits and veggies and resulted in so many food-related deaths in the recent past. One may legitimately ask whether Diane's next crusade will be to ban fruits and vegetables. Their track record of late is far worse than the company which Diane attacks--a company that has no history of killing or injuring folks whatsoever. I hope that once the initial tidal wave of misinformation has receded and the truth behind the lean, textured ground beef produced by BPI is known, the public will start buying this product again--as they have for three decades. Beef Products, Inc. is an American success story and a shining example of American ingenuity in a country which increasingly seems to punish success and begrudge people who do well and create things. Meanwhile, as Diane Sawyer, Jamie Oliver and their reckless, woefully uninformed Big Media cohorts slap each other on the back and celebrate their successful campaign to defame this company while dining on their salads and cantaloupe atop some fancy restaurant, I hope they remind the chef to wash their fruits and veggies well. After all--unlike BPI's lean ground beef--that stuff will kill ya... © 2012 William Kevin Stoos for CANADA FREE PRESS