CALIFORNIA
The Golden State is threatened with a bacon drought in addition to its other water resource problems. Turkey bacon (turkon) is likely to experience a boon along with a price increase for orders of rashers, pancetta, gammon, and other bacon variants.
At the beginning of next year, California will start enforcing an animal welfare proposition approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 that requires more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens, and veal calves. National veal and egg producers are optimistic they can meet the new standards, but only 4% of hog operations now comply with the new rules. Unless the courts intervene or the state temporarily allows noncompliant meat to be sold in the state, California will lose almost all of its pork supply, much of which comes from Iowa, and pork producers will face higher costs to regain a key market.
The new rules are expected to severely affect the fare at breakfast-only diners but also establishments serving three meals a day or brunch. Tourism is certain to be affected, but in which direction is at present unanswered.
The CEO of a major pork producer, interviewed on Fox News, related, “We would estimate that you could see initial prices up as high as 30 to 50 percent,” further noting that “pork is a desired cuisine” by a “diverse population,” including African Americans, Asian Americans, and the Hispanic population, who “use pork as a staple of their diet in their homes.”
The traditional “bae” breakfast (bacon and eggs) will demand more gold in the Golden State.
TENNESSEE
When it comes to vaccinations in the Volunteer State, it pays to be a cow or a bull because your owner is compensated by a state agricultural program to inoculate cattle herds against a variety of diseases, including respiratory infections. Over two years, the program has rolled up nearly one-half million dollars in expenses.
The Herd Health Program was initiated in 2019 under Republican Governor Bill Lee, whose family owns a cattle farm. At the same time, the state has one of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates at 39%, while refraining from engaging in efforts to promote the jab among its citizens. COVID hospitalization rates have tripled in recent weeks.
An ABC News report taped Lee speaking at the Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association’s annual conference, where he said he did not think incentives were very effective. “I don’t think that’s the role of government. The role of government is to make it available and then to encourage folks to get a vaccine.”
In another interview the Governor states, “We want to encourage Tennesseans to talk to their doctor, to talk to their clergy, to talk to their family members, the trusted voices in their life, in order for them to make a personal decision about whether or not to pursue getting the vaccine, but we encourage that because it is the tool that will most effectively allow us to manage this virus.”
Tennessee cattle are not volunteers but it seems Tennessee citizens are. Go figure.
NEW YORK
The Empire State’s Governor Andrew M. Cuomo held a consistent presence in the national political arena, most especially his daily press conferences conducted during the pandemic crisis. But, in the modern era, neither heroism nor popularity contribute to survival in the face of withering findings of sexual misconduct.
Cuomo’s third 4-year term was eclipsed by a damning report from the state’s attorney general, listing multiple accusations of behavior ranging from the merely brutish to outright sexual abuse. Public and media outrage resulted in resignation effective August 24.
Perhaps, at some level, the moral is that no one is above the law; or misconduct by Caesar’s wife can be fatal. On the other hand, it also seems that elected Democrats, like Al Franken, are far more politically vulnerable than Republicans, e.g., Donald Trump and Mark Sanford.
However, as a recent OpEd in The Washington Post noted, resignations by Dem officials may be seen by women voters as signs of remorse and contrition, characteristics not evident in Republican circles, creating a more sympathetic political perception. Shares of the women’s vote in 2020 were highly skewed toward Biden.
Mr. Cuomo’s departure will produce the first woman governor of New York, a glass ceiling moment that remains to be evaluated over the longer term. The nation’s Empire State has housed many political empires, including the Roosevelts and Rockefellers along with a few Kennedys and an occasional Clinton, as well as the Cuomo clan. As yet, no family is known to be waiting in the wings.
Categories: Beyond our Borders, democrats, elections, Issues, legislature, National, political parties, politics, republicans
Join the discussion!