Also on today’s menu:
Michael Sylvia Earns Speaker’s Scorn
President Biden Takes On Meatpacking Conglomerates
We were saddened to hear of Pastor Sherman Stevens’ death on Aug. 24 at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida. He had just reached the age of 90 on July 12.
We met Pastor Sherm at Camp Fireside in the early 1970s, and his faith was inspiring. Even after the loss of four daughters in a fire, he never questioned his beliefs, and he went on to found several churches, including the Evangelical Baptist Fellowship in Gilmanton Iron Works. He and his wife, Millie, also spent time as missionaries in Gayuna and Ecuador, as well as making eight missionary visits to Russia in the 1990s to churches founded by one their sons, who was involved in the underground church movement prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
There will be a memorial service on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. at the Community Christian Church, 26 Brookline Road in Athens, Vermont, and a graveside service will take place in Gilmanton next summer.
Michael Sylvia Earns Speaker’s Scorn
Representative Michael Sylvia of Belmont, who came to New Hampshire as part of the Free State movement, has challenged sensibilities before, but he reached a new low during a chat in which he defended the use of racial stereotypes to build support for Republicans.
In a video posted on FreeKeene social media pages, Sylvia suggested that pro-secession activists should take advantage of the idea that “those dirty Mexicans or Guatemalans or whatever are coming across the border and bringing COVID with them.” While he considered such stereotypes nonsense, he said, “if we can take advantage of it, why wouldn’t we?”
House Speaker Sherman Packard condemned Sylvia’s comments, saying, “Employing racial stereotypes for any purpose is wrong, shameful, and will never gain Republican support.”
President Biden Takes On Meatpacking Conglomerates
A big reason for higher prices at the grocery store is the price of meat and, while factors like increased consumer demand have played a role, the price increases are driven by a lack of competition among meat-processing companies, the White House has said. Four large conglomerates control the majority of the market today, and the Biden-Harris Administration is looking to enforce the antitrust laws, boost competition in meat-processing, and push back on pandemic profiteering.
Those four firms control 55-85 percent of the market for beef, pork, and poultry, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1977, the largest four beef-packing firms controlled just 25 percent of the market, compared to 82 percent today. The top four poultry-processing firms controlled 35 percent of the market in 1986, compared to 54 percent today. The top four hog-processing firms controlled 33 percent of the market in 1976, compared to 66 percent today.
That allows the firms to squeeze both consumers and the farmers and ranchers who produce the meat. The giant meat processors make more and more money, while families pay more at the grocery store and farmers and ranchers earn less for their products.
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