I have heard about writer’s block, but never experienced it until now.

Maybe it is the arrival of Spring and time for golfing and fishing, maybe it is the lack of controversial news about food safety, or maybe I just miss my co-blogger Dr. Marsden.

But whatever the cause, I have no creative thoughts on food safety today.

But I do have other ideas to put forth.

First of all, my home State of Nebraska (I still have season tickets for Cornhusker Football) seems to be feeling very well off financially.

Costco wants to build a $300 million dollar chicken slaughter and processing facility in Eastern Nebraska that would create 1,100 jobs and annual revenue of $1.2 billion.

The village board of Henderson, the preferred site, unanimously rejected a proposal for zoning changes that would allow the influx of dollars to the community, not to mention the increased demand for grain from area farmers.

The plant would provide one third of the Seattle-based warehouse giant’s rotisserie and raw chicken products.

Secondly, NAMI recently claimed that a new World Resources Institute (WRI) report recommending a reduction in red meat consumption to reduce greenhouse gas emissions used flawed calculations.

WRI said that “the average American could cut their diet-related environmental impacts nearly in half just by eating less meat and dairy.”

I don’t know about the calculations, but if I was the PR person for NAMI, I think I would simply point out that if WRI and others want to reduce the environmental impact of humans living on this planet, that they support walking to the grocery store to buy meat instead of driving.

Everyone would understand that idea, while few care about WRI’s calculations and NAMI’s expected response in defense of their dues paying members.

Lastly, it is time for Northern Colorado’s annual MS Walk event.

Many readers know my daughter Brooke was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis six years ago on her 35^th birthday.

And many of you have donated to Brooke’s Believers, our MS Walk team.

Thanks to the MS Society and its efforts such as MS Walk, $250 million has gone to research in just the last five years, and seven new drugs to slow the progress of this crummy disease have received FDA approval.

But all these drugs do reduce the patient’s immune system’s capacity to fight infections, including foodborne illnesses.

So there is the somewhat tenuous link to my blog.

And having said that, I solicit your support to our cause.

We have raised over $25,000 each of the last four years to fund research to end this disease. We stand at $15,000 as I write this blog.

I need your help.

Keep our food safe and help us find the cure.

Bits and pieces, odds and ends

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