Eight months ago I signed into law the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967. That landmark bill capped a crusade that had begun 60 years ago—[in the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt] to assure American housewives that the meat they served their families was pure, not harmful or dirty or diseased.
Today I am proud to sign a bill that will extend the same coverage to all poultry products. It is the fulfillment of a promise I made to every housewife—in my first consumer message just after I became President.
In the early days of this century, Americans took for granted that there were risks in buying food. They even joked about it in print. One newspaper printed a little poem:
And when she saw it sicken,
She shipped it off to packing town,
And now it’s labeled chicken.”
In 1968, we cannot tolerate the image, or the fact, of unwholesome food:
—Not when Americans last year consumed more than 12 billion pounds of poultry.
—Not when a full 13 percent of that supply—or 1.6 billion pounds—was subject to little or no inspection because it didn’t cross State lines. . . .
The Wholesome Poultry Products Act of 1968 will insure that dirty plants will have to clean up or close down. . . .
Source: President Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement Upon Signing the Wholesome Poultry Products Act, August 19, 1968
