Congress Dining on Activist Rhetoric

January 7, 2008 — 

The concessionaire responsible for food service at the U.S. House of Representatives is promoting activist agendas concerning the use of bovine somatotropin, cage free shell eggs, and organic production in the name of sustainability.

Restaurant Associates (RA), a subsidiary of the foodservice conglomerate Compass Group based in the UK, has posted on the U.S. House of Representatives Dining Services website its Corporate Social Responsibility mission describing its dedication "to being on the forefront of sustainability as well as social and environmental responsibility." Citing its desire to "impact both the health and wellness of our guests, and the quality of our community and the environment," RA promotes its corporate policy supporting agricultural sustainability.

They go on to describe their position on a number of food-related issues often using definitions derived directly from activist organizations. As an example, RA promotes the use of organic products as being more healthful for the soil and ecosystem disregarding the fact that it requires significantly more land to produce organic crops and livestock than conventional systems. RA also decries the use of bovine somatotropin as "not properly tested for safety." Fact - at the time of its approval, rbST was one of the most thoroughly researched products of its time. There is no indication that milk from cows given rbST is not just as safe as milk from untreated cows. Lastly, RA promotes the use of cage-free shell eggs while regurgitating the animal rights activists' rhetoric regarding cage space. Again, they ignore the fact that over 80% of U.S. egg producers participate in the United Egg Producers certification program instituted to address animal welfare issues. The program was developed by an independent panel of researchers, academics and USDA representatives and has been endorsed by both the Food Marketing Institute and the National Council of Chain Restaurants.

Compass Group, with 7500 food service clients in the U.S., has announced a corporate policy to utilize only cage-free shell eggs. The company estimates that this will affect 48 million eggs annually. The policy also requires that all producers supplying the company with cage-free eggs adhere to the standards of the third-party auditing organization Humane Farm Animal Care. The move to cage-free eggs was applauded by HSUS president Wayne Pacelle in the company's press release announcing the decision.

Compass Group and Environmental Defense entered into an agreement with Smithfield Foods in 2005 to provide "pork in which no antibiotics that belong to classes of compounds approved for use in human medicine have been used for growth promotion purposes. It also requires suppliers to report and reduce antibiotic usage over time." The policy applies to all animals that are raised by suppliers for the duration of their lives according to the company's press release.