Earlier this summer U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack denied a request from the pork industry that the department purchase more pork products. At the time the secretary cited a lack of funding.Now, it appears as though funding has become available for the USDA to help out the pork industry by purchasing pork products for federal food and nutrition programs. According to an Associated Press story, Secretary Vilsack said on Thursday that the department would spend $30 million to buy more pork this year. According to Vilsack, the government currently spends $151 million on pork per year.
As this blog previously reported, governors from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin sent a letter to the USDA asking for more assistance for the struggling pork industry. The governors also wrote to President Barack Obama asking for government purchases of pork. One of the reasons cited for the pork industry’s struggles this year is the outbreak and fear over the H1N1 virus which has been dubbed the “swine flu,” and is consistently labeled as such by the media.
To read the Associated Press story click here.
Posted: 09/04/09
