Iowa Senator Charles Grassley got into a nasty spat with PETA recently over the “Meatless Mondays” movement where the USDA temporarily backed the idea.
After Grassley, Steve King and other conservative politicians lashed out at the idea, the USDA retracted its support of “Meatless Mondays.”
PETA, seemingly in retaliation, went on the offensive and attacked Senator Grassley, writing on its website “Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley is apparently anxious to show his campaign contributors that he will fight to the death (literally, perhaps) over Americans’ right to be sick and fat.”
PETA did not stop there, saying in the article “Grassley, a legislator from a beef-belt state, vowed to ‘eat more meat on Monday’ in an attempt to singlehandedly (forkedly?) make up for the meat that conscientious USDA workers might be planning to forgo on the first day of the workweek.
“We’re taking bets… on how long it will take Sen. Grassley to succumb to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or some other meat-related disease.”
Grassley perhaps stoked the ire of PETA by recently tweeting “I will eat more meat on Monday to compensate for stupid USDA recommendation abt a meatless Monday.”
Then today, Grassley announced via his website that he was celebrating “Meat Monday.”
The offices of U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today celebrated ‘Meat Monday’ with barbeque beef brisket, ribs, and sausage from Hill Country BBQ restaurant (See photo above, from Grassley’s website, posted on Monday, July 30, 2012.). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees our nation’s ranchers and farmers, recently encouraged its employees to boycott meat on Mondays:
“In some of the toughest times they’ve seen in recent memory, Texas cattle ranchers and farmers deserve an Administration who works with them, not one who undermines them with boneheaded decisions from bureaucrats in Washington,” said Sen. Cornyn.
“This is a reminder to USDA that it’s supposed to advocate for American agriculture, not against it,” Sen. Grassley said.
