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March 21, 2001
Preaching To The Choir
Last night the District of Columbia Bar Association sponsored a panel discussion on factory farming, food safety, and mad cow disease. The panel included a representative from the USDA (Richard Reynnells), a physician from Ralph Nader's Public Citizen group (Peter Lurie), and an attorney from a respected New York City law firm (David Wolfson). Imagine our surprise when the evening turned into a roundtable on animal rights! Wolfson, it turns out, is the country's most outspoken attorney when it comes to "animal rights law." He accused the American farming industry of systematically disassembling state animal-cruelty laws, and lashed out against farmers who have the gall to turn a profit. "In the case of farm animals," Wolfson insisted, "the whole thing is governed by economics. That's not good. That's not how it used to be." When asked if his own well-documented vegetarianism contributed to his animal-rights advocacy, he responded, "I'm not going to comment on that. Next question?"
Last night the District of Columbia Bar Association sponsored a panel discussion on factory farming, food safety, and mad cow disease. The panel included a representative from the USDA (Richard Reynnells), a physician from Ralph Nader's Public Citizen group (Peter Lurie), and an attorney from a respected New York City law firm (David Wolfson). Imagine our surprise when the evening turned into a roundtable on animal rights! Wolfson, it turns out, is the country's most outspoken attorney when it comes to "animal rights law." He accused the American farming industry of systematically disassembling state animal-cruelty laws, and lashed out against farmers who have the gall to turn a profit. "In the case of farm animals," Wolfson insisted, "the whole thing is governed by economics. That's not good. That's not how it used to be." When asked if his own well-documented vegetarianism contributed to his animal-rights advocacy, he responded, "I'm not going to comment on that. Next question?"
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