Letter: Be aware of what your meat purchase supports

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I was happy to see Renee Dunaway’s letter in support of the Farm System Reform Act [“Take Action for Agriculture,” Aug. 19, Xpress]. In addition to poor treatment of workers and animals, concentrated animal feeding operations have substantial links to the origin and spread of diseases. A July 14 Facebook post by Esquire calls the food-processing industry the Typhoid Mary of the pandemic. It referenced the July 20 issue of The New Yorker, which examines Mountaire Farms and its owner, Ronald Cameron.

Political scientist Chris Cooper of Western Carolina University mentioned Ronald Cameron and his donation to the District 119 race in his July 23 interview with Matt Bush of BPR. Per The New Yorker, “Mountaire has operations in five states. Because it is owned almost entirely by Cameron — and because it supplies poultry to other companies that put their own labels on the meat — the company’s public profile is virtually nonexistent.”

We do know that he donated $3 million to Trump’s 2016 campaign and that despite record-breaking exports, food-processing industry workers were judged to be essential, turning “the plants into biowarfare labs.”

Many who avoid clothing made in sweatshops and who buy Equal Exchange coffee and chocolate may be unaware what they are supporting when they purchase meat. Please read the Esquire Facebook post before you make your next purchase. And check your candidates’ donations before you vote.

— Lynda Cozart
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “Letter: Be aware of what your meat purchase supports

    • Lou

      Yeah, so much negative press about meat and the devastating effect it has across the board makes me happy I stopped eating it a couple decades ago. I am pescatarian now and it won’t take much longer to start maintaining a strictly vegan diet. Who wants to eat fish taken from such polluted, disgusting oceans? While we’re on the subject, did you read recently that the human animals has now destroyed an estimated EIGHTY PERCENT of wildlife?? People will be smarter and the planet and its wildlife will be much happier when we all respect every creature. It is downright criminal how abusive humans have become, towards our glorious planet and towards each other. Sad times.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.