Since the Industrial Revolution, the American people have made a monumental shift away from growing their own food or, better yet, bartering within their local communities. We have collectively traded this ability to satiate our needs for the convenience of not dealing with it. The Industrial Revolution was a massive achievement in the ability to provide food to almost everyone on the planet. However, it has not all been positive. I cannot argue with the fact that fewer people starve to death today than ever before, and that is absolutely because of the Industrial Revolution. Even with the success though a quick look at the current state of Health in America, the blurry picture becomes clear that something is horribly wrong with our bodies.
Growing up a Conservative, I was told that the “Free Market” would fix all the ills of corporate evil because, well, the Market would correct itself because people would not purchase products from an evil company. This was quickly validated by the liberal policies of the Obama Administration choking businesses. The Free Market can correct issues, and Government intervention is almost always terrible. However, what happens when this idea fails? What happens when the Market cannot regulate anything because of crony capitalism. The establishment of Private Equity and Monopolies, or “Hudge” if you will. Hudge has crippled the “Free Market”. There is no longer an existence of mere competition. In fact, most items at the grocery store are owned by the same companies; therefore, we only have the illusion of free choice. Couple this with a Government that ensures justice is only served to the poor and never to the ruling establishment class. This is where we get Boar’s Head Horror.
On July 27th, 2024, Boar’s Head Deli announced a product recall on many items found to contain the deadly Listeria bacteria. Listeria outbreaks are now a standard occurrence in our modern society. Unless you know someone affected, they can often be another negative news story you scroll past on a Monday morning. However, in this case, 9 people lost their lives, and 57 people were hospitalized due to the insane negligence of the Boar’s Head Corporation (Gibson, 2024).
9 lives were lost, and they are gone. These people and their family’s lives were forever changed. Now, if you, or I, for that matter, the average person, was responsible for the deaths of 9 people. The DOJ would have us drug before a court and tried for our horrific slaughter. That would be justice, of course. However, when Hudge is responsible for the death of 9 people. The ruling class corporation that brings in around a billion dollars every year. Well, now there are lawsuits and payouts, they will announce changes that the company will make to show how absolutely serious they are taking this! All smoke and mirrors because they really are not taking it seriously at all; nobody in power is. In fact, I believe this news story lasted less than a month, and due to our political landscape, we must continue moving to the next story.
Some may be tempted to give the company the benefit of the doubt: “Well, these things happen. It is a risk you take owning a company that produces something as gross as Liverwurst.” That may be the case in some instances where accidents happen, and I do not advocate locking everyone up because of accidents. With that said, though, I will stress here that this was NO accident. This was yet another diabolical case of corporate greed running a muck, and people should be going to prison for this disaster.
In USDA report filings from August 2023 to August 2024, it was painfully transparent that this Boar’s head factory (now closed indefinitely) had numerous and repeated disgusting health infractions and should have been shut down, if not years ago, at least in August when some of these things were found.
This is just ONE day of findings from almost a year before the Listeria outbreak that took the lives of 9 people. These findings showcase the impenetrable disregard for the health and safety of consumers. “Rome was not built in a day…” and factories do not get this disgusting overnight. In the United States, this is not the first and will not be the last factory found with foul conditions that have killed people. The question is, when will the people responsible be criminally charged? At the bare minimum, there should be manslaughter charges brought against anyone and everyone who was made aware of the factory’s condition and willfully kept the plant going, all for the mighty dollar bill.
My recommendation to us all is that we try as hard as we can to become more self-sufficient and buy as locally as possible. While I know this cannot solve all our problems and that local farms can be equally as dangerous, at the very least, you will be dealing with an average person who can and likely will be held accountable for their actions.
Obediently yours,
G.T. Kinder
Sources
Gibson, K. (2024, September 13). Boar’s Head shutters Virginia plant tied to deadly listeria outbreak. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boars-head-plant-closure-listeria-outbreak-liverwurst/
Head, B. (n.d.). July 2024 Product recall information. Boar’s Head. https://boarshead.com/recall
United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service. (2024). Noncompliance Report, EstablishmentNumber(s): M12612+P12612 from 08/01/2023 to 08/02/2024 (M12612+P12612). https://www.scribd.com/document/763954974/USDA-FOIA-records-requested-by-Alexander-Tin#fullscreen&from_embed
The Hudge & Gudge Chronicles 
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