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April 11, 2002
Trashing Pork, Cashing In
He's "very reckless." He's "assumed an arrogance above his intellectual stature." He "separates himself from good science at times in order to aggressively pursue an issue and win." He's Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and his Water Keeper Alliance is targeting American meat producers.
Those quotes -- from Kennedy's past allies and those who have worked with him -- reveal the true nature of the activist who hit Iowa last week for an anti-pork convention, and who will return to the state later this month. In his relentless campaign to drive hog farming offshore, Kennedy told a Fox-TV reporter last week: "Let me tell you, the best thing would be if this industry did leave the country."
Says Iowa Agriculture Secretary Patty Judge: "The true agenda of this group is to sue farms and take the monetary rewards back to the East Coast. We do not need lectures or threats from East Coast political organizations." Kennedy and his team of big-name attorneys, who sue pork producers using the same tactics used against tobacco, estimate potential "damages" of up to $13 billion. "We have attorneys now who have money and they know what they're doing," Kennedy has bragged.
He's made clear that pork is just the first step. Referring to the poultry and beef industries, he said last year: "We're starting with hogs. After the hogs, then we are going after the other ones."
He's "very reckless." He's "assumed an arrogance above his intellectual stature." He "separates himself from good science at times in order to aggressively pursue an issue and win." He's Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and his Water Keeper Alliance is targeting American meat producers.
Those quotes -- from Kennedy's past allies and those who have worked with him -- reveal the true nature of the activist who hit Iowa last week for an anti-pork convention, and who will return to the state later this month. In his relentless campaign to drive hog farming offshore, Kennedy told a Fox-TV reporter last week: "Let me tell you, the best thing would be if this industry did leave the country."
Says Iowa Agriculture Secretary Patty Judge: "The true agenda of this group is to sue farms and take the monetary rewards back to the East Coast. We do not need lectures or threats from East Coast political organizations." Kennedy and his team of big-name attorneys, who sue pork producers using the same tactics used against tobacco, estimate potential "damages" of up to $13 billion. "We have attorneys now who have money and they know what they're doing," Kennedy has bragged.
He's made clear that pork is just the first step. Referring to the poultry and beef industries, he said last year: "We're starting with hogs. After the hogs, then we are going after the other ones."
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