Poultry plant issues raise new questions

January 8, 2010  Letter to The Journal News

Re: "New Square poultry plant ordered to close," a Dec. 30 article:

Without rehashing the entire story of the New Square poultry plant, several questions come to mind:

1. Federal meat inspectors have the absolute authority to shut down a meat processing plant almost immediately when unsanitary conditions are found in the plant being inspected. Why wasn't the New Square Meats plant shut down in April 2009 when the unsanitary conditions were discovered there?

2. From 2002 to the present time, this plant operated without submitting the proper paperwork required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Why was this allowed?

3. Four of our politicians, namely U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, state Sen. Thomas Morahan and state Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, sent supporting letters for New Square Meats and Adir Poultry for a Restore New York program to help these companies obtain a $1.6 million grant. This grant would be used to construct a new slaughterhouse five times larger than the existing one. These politicians and Restore New York have staffs. Don't they believe in the practice of "due diligence?"

There are many other questions about this situation, but maybe the answer to the ones I have raised is "bloc vote." It is known that the community of New Square votes as a "bloc." Is the USDA fearful of alienating this "bloc vote?" Are the four politicians so shallow that they will do almost anything to get this "bloc vote?"