psychoceramics: [Pigdog] You'll Never Guess Who Wins in China's Chicken War

[RatSnatcher <s--@a--.com>]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com

WorldNetDaily
December 31, 1997

Who wins in China s chicken war?

By Joseph Farah

I should tell you, I was warned not to write this column.

The last time I suggested there was something fishy about the U.S. 
poultry business, I heard from a top executive at Tyson Foods. I didn t
know what I was talking about, I was told. Contrary to what I had
suggested, Clinton s old Arkansas pals and benefactors haven t been
given the time of day from their man since he became president, a Tyson
official said. In fact, I was told, the company had actually been
squeezed hard by federal regulators and the independent counsel
investigating its role in Department of Agriculture corruption. There
was simply no truth to the notion that Tyson Foods has benefited in any
way from Bill Clinton s ascension to power. In fact, he said, It s the
worst thing that ever happened to us. 

I put all that on the record just in case anything should happen to me. 
If I should suddenly come down with the mysterious bird flu virus or
contract a fatal case of salmonella poisoning or choke on a chicken
McNugget, maybe someone will ask some tough questions, demand an autopsy
and prevent my remains from being cremated. 

Not that I m making any accusations, mind you. I am not weaving another
conspiracy tale here. All I m doing is connecting some dots -- pointing
out a few coincidences. Maybe that s all they are -- coincidences. It
just seems like there have been too many in the last five years. 

OK, here it is. Without further adieu, let me review some facts. 

A few months ago, you may remember, Hudson Foods was hit with an e coli
bacteria scandal. The federal government regulators pounced on the
company -- even sending in a so-called SWAT team to shut down
operations. Within hours, the company s value plummeted. Within weeks,
Hudson Foods had been purchased by its major rival, Tyson Foods, owned
by Don Tyson, friend of the president and a long-time financial
supporter of his political campaigns. 

Tyson Foods had tried to buy Hudson Foods several times in previous
years, but the offers were spurned. Only after the smaller company was
brought to its knees, at least in part, through a public health scare
and some government brute force was Tyson able to make a deal Hudson
couldn t refuse. Coincidence? Maybe. Or was it a quid pro quo? Just
asking. 

Let s also recall that several years earlier, Tyson s general counsel,
James Blair, set up a sweetheart deal for Hillary Clinton to get into
the cattle futures business. She parlayed a $1,000 investment into
nearly $100,000 in a year. Good luck? Probably. I m sure the Clintons
didn t feel indebted to Tyson for the favor any more than they did for
all the campaign cash he threw at them over the years. 

Now for some recent developments: Tyson Foods just copped a plea and
agreed to cooperate with Independent Counsel Donald Smaltz s
investigation of former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. The company
will pay a $6 million fine ( chicken feed, one might say, to the
multi-billion-dollar enterprise) for attempting to bribe a Cabinet
member. 

Coincidentally, the very same day, Hong Kong officials were busy
slaughtering every single chicken in the region. Some people in Hong
Kong are wondering why such a drastic government action was ordered when
only a dozen or so human victims of the deadly bird flu virus carried by
chickens have been diagnosed. Maybe it s silly, but whenever I see
government reacting so quickly and with such overwhelming force, I
wonder why. Who s benefiting? 

Would you believe a major beneficiary of this disaster -- this public
health scare -- could well be, once again, Tyson Foods? 

Now I m sure what I m about to tell you is just another coincidence --
just the luck of the draw. But let s lay our eggs on the table. Are you
sitting down X-Files fans? Tyson Foods has struck a major deal with
China to explore the feasibility of developing as many as 10 poultry
complexes throughout the country. 

That s right. I m not kidding. On April 30, Tyson Foods, the world s
largest fully integrated producer, processor and marketer of chicken,
announced it had entered into an agreement with Kerry Holdings Limited,
the Hong Kong-based unit of the multinational conglomerate, the Kuok
Group, to expand its operations bigtime in the People s Republic of
China. 

What fortuitous timing! Now that every private chicken developer in the
area has been wiped out by a Chinese government blitzkrieg, Tyson is
poised to take over the South China poultry market. Its major push is
expected to come in early 1998. Now, remember, Tyson s deal is with the
very same Chinese government that apparently pumped massive amounts of
illegal cash into Clinton s 1996 presidential campaign. What s that
saying about birds of a feather ? 

I know, I know. I m just the suspicious type. Perhaps, I am too cynical. 
But coincidences like this make me nervous. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
JosephFarah is editor of the Internet newspaper WorldNetDaily.com and
executive director of the Western Journalism Center an independent group
of investigative reporters. 

c. 1997, Western Journalism Center

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