Wiener mobile sends wrong message
As a strong library supporter, it is seldom and always with reluctance that I complain about a library event. However, I have to say that I was appalled to read in the Press-Citizen that the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is being featured at the Iowa City Public Library on Oct. 28 and Nov. 1. This announcement in the P-C came the same day that the Gazette ran a warning from the World Health Organization: Processed meat can cause cancer. The lede to this article begins, “Eating processed meat can lead to bowel cancer in humans, while red meat is also a likely cause of the disease.”
Not only are Oscar Mayer’s processed products dangerous to our health, they come from animals raised on CAFOs — Confined Animal Feeding Operations, also known as factory farms. The library should not support either processed meats nor CAFOs.
I know the Wienermobile sounds like a fun attraction for kids, but it gives the wrong message. The WHO warning should give all meat-eaters pause.
The last thing we need is libraries encouraging children and their parents to eat hot dogs and other processed meats.
Having the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile at the library is nothing more than a corporation using the library for its own advancement. I hope the library will continue its great resourcefulness in finding entertaining ways to teach children to value books and other materials, but at the same time keep in mind that this shouldn’t come at the expense of a healthy population while elevating corporate aggrandizement.
Ann Christenson Iowa City