Toxic Chicken Anyone?

Toxic Chicken Anyone?

Remember the chicken processing plant which locked the fire doors to keep employees from stealing chicken wings?  Workers died.  I live near plants like that which employ some of the poorest people, both citizens and some undocumented workers, to do some of the hardest and most filthy work!  Things may get a lot worse for them and for anyone who eats poultry.

The USDA is still rushing ahead with plans to slash poultry plant regulations and

privatize inspections -- even though the federal government’s own independent oversight

office has warned against it.

The new poultry regulations would

replace government safety inspectors with factory employees and let plants dramatically

speed up production

. Chickens and turkeys will be allowed to

soak in contaminants like feces and pus

, and then washed in chlorine. The USDA insists that the new rules won’t hurt consumers,

but last week the Government Accountability Office released a report revealing

massive flaws in the USDA’s study

. Meanwhile, independent studies show that the new rules will increase consumers’

risk of exposure to foodborne illnesses like salmonella and that workers will be

at risk of serious injury.

More than 75,000 SumOfUs members have already spoken out against the new regulations,

along with food and workplace safety experts. But the USDA isn’t listening to anyone.

It’s blown through the normal process for approving new regulations in its rush to

line the pockets of poultry companies -- it refused to hold public meetings and prevented

its own advisory committee from evaluating the rules. Now it’s planning to go ahead

with its plan despite the glaring flaws, and

the only person who can stop it is President Obama.

Can you call the White House comment line at (877) 977-1284 and tell President Obama to reverse the USDA’s new poultry plant regulations?

Here’s what to do:

1. Call the White House comment line at (877) 977-1284 between 9 AM and 5 PM Eastern

time. Wait until you get an operator on the line. This will probably take a few minutes.

2. Tell the person that answers that you’re calling with concerns about the USDA’s new

poultry plant regulations. You  can either give your own statement, or

read our sample comment here

.

3. Once you’re done, make sure to

report how your call went here

. These reports are extremely important, because they’ll help us track how the White

House is responding to our pressure.

The public is getting angrier about the USDA’s disgusting new rules -- they even

made the front page of the Washington Post this week. That means this is the perfect

moment to let the president know that we’re holding him accountable for stopping

the USDA’s terrible plan.

Can we count on you to make a call today to call the White House?

Thanks for all you do,

Rob and the rest of us at SumOfUs.org

 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

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