Catfish Contingent Prepares to Abuse Public Trust Using Faux Food Safety Scare to Further Trade Agenda

July 21, 2010, Washington, D.C. – Tomorrow the Catfish Farmers of America and other bottom-feeding special interest lobbying groups will sell the media a bill of goods during an afternoon news conference, unless you know the right questions to ask. Consider asking: 

• …Sen. Lincoln what she knows that a bi partisan group of Senators (Kennedy, Baucus, Enzi, Kerry, Durbin, Crapo, Murray, Rockefeller and Feinstein or perhaps Gov. Lynch) doesn’t that prompted them to “strongly oppose” the efforts she is promoting (see attachments below) 
• … Joey Lowery, President Catfish Farmers of America if making fun of Asian people in YouTube videos is part of their strategy for better food safety. 
• … Tony Corbo of Food and Water Watch why his group thinks it’s alright to exploit the human and natural disaster in Gulf to promote anti-import lobbying goals while fundraising. 

This is another blatant attempt to scare consumers into thinking this is a food safety issue when CDC statistics reveal people are simply not getting sick from the imported fish demonized by domestic catfish producers who would rather regulate their way around competition.  

The National Fisheries Institute stands ready to expose this special interest dog and pony show and its distortions.  A few well-researched questions will reveal this is an issue of trade and not food safety. 

One way to start is by asking yourself in the last year, two years or ten years have the food safety scares you’ve covered been about meat and vegetables or imported seafood?

State of New Hampshire Document (PDF)
California Delegation Letter (PDF)
Kerry, Brown, Frank Letter (PDF)
Catfish USDA Letter (PDF)