On, July 1st, the Feds will own the “Other White Meat” or at least the rights to use it. The U.S. Food Policy blog is alleging this is a big truck of pork-barrel politics. The smoking ham? That the federal Pork Board has already been using “Other White Meat” national advertising campaigns without a squeal of protest from anyone. Here’s the phony baloney:

“The sale will circumvent federal restrictions on how the National Pork Board may use money that it collects in taxes or mandatory assessments on pork producers and importers. The sale will funnel $3 million each year for 20 years to the National Pork Producers Council, a private industry association whose heavy influence over the federal government’s Pork Board has long been controversial. The Council, in turn, can spend the $60 million without federal government oversight.”

The blog’s author, Parke Wilde, has requested information relevant to the deal under the Freedom of Information Act, but the government has only released 2 of the 12 documents relevant to his inquiry, as the info is “pre-decisional” or “deliberative.” The two pages that were released? The National Pork Board’s press release from March.

And the meat goes on.

Read more at the U.S. Food Policy blog.

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