|
|
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 22, 2022) — On Friday, February 18, Mercy For Animals, along with nearly 30 other organizations representing consumer protection, environmental protection, and workers’ rights, submitted letters to the U.S. Department of Agriculture nominating Delcianna Winders, Animal Law and Policy Institute director and visiting associate professor at Vermont Law School, and Dr. Parthapratim “Pat” Basu, former chief public health veterinarian at the Food Safety and Inspection Service, to the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI).
“Despite federal law requiring the NACMPI to be ‘fairly balanced,’ the committee overwhelmingly consists of individuals with close ties to industrial animal agriculture, and no currently appointed members represent animal welfare organizations or environmental interests in general,” said AJ Albrecht, director of government affairs at Mercy For Animals. “We believe that Professor Delcianna Winders and Dr. Pat Basu will provide the much-needed perspective of animal-welfare and environmental experts.”
Professor Winders has published extensively on legal issues pertaining to animals, both in top-ranked law journals and in leading press outlets. Her most recent publication is the essay “Accelerating Catastrophe: Slaughter Line Speeds and the Environment.” Dr. Basu received the USDA Unsung Hero Award in recognition of his leadership in promoting and supporting diversity throughout the USDA during his 35 years of service.
According to the committee’s charter, NACMPI’s role is to advise the secretary of agriculture “concerning meat, poultry, and processed egg products inspection; food safety; and other matters that fall within the scope of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), and the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA).”
Professor Winders is not only one of the country’s most distinguished experts on laws regarding meat and poultry processing but a steadfast advocate for animal welfare, worker safety, food safety, and the environment.
Dr. Basu is widely recognized as one of the foremost authorities on issues in meat and poultry processing that impact food safety, worker safety, animal welfare, and the environment owing to his more than four decades of award-winning public service, including his previous role as chief public health veterinarian at the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Notes to Editors
For more information or to be connected with AJ Albrecht, contact [email protected].
Mercy For Animals is a leading international nonprofit working to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system. Active in Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, and the United States, the organization has conducted more than 100 investigations of factory farms and slaughterhouses, influenced more than 500 corporate policies, and helped pass historic legislation to ban cages for farmed animals. Join us at MercyForAnimals.org.