Why did Minnesota X-ray all the meat donated for its venison distribution program?
In 2008, Minnesota hunters donated about 25,000 pounds of deer meat for the state’s food sharing programs. Random testing of that meat conducted by the state’s Department of Agriculture found that 5.3 percent of the meat contained “lead fragments.” So even though 95 percent of the meat tested contained no lead, the state made a decision to round up all 25,000 pounds of the meat, ship it to the Twin Cities, and X-ray every bit of it before they distributed it to any food banks or get it to people who are hungry. There are several problems with this decision: • It cost the taxpayer about $6,000 to have the meat tested by an outside contractor. Not a huge amount, but certainly an unnecessary expense. • It caused an unnecessary delay getting the meat to the families who needed it. • It contributes to increased calls for restrictions or bans on lead ammunition. The Humane Society of the United States has called for a total ban on lead ammunition, and they are the most radical anti-hunting g
