It's delicious
In an attempt to allay fears, Agriculture Minister John
Gummer poses with
his daughter and a pair of well-placed burgers. Note
the extra hand helping
Cordelia hold hers.
The main burden of placating the public fell on the shoulders of Agriculture
Minister John Gummer, who entered the fray with the enthusiasm of one
of beef's true believers. Gummer's personal intervention was credited
for
putting beef back on the menu in Westminster schools and for preventing
other
member nations in the European Union from banning British beef altogether.
When appeals to science and common sense were insufficient to soothe
fears,
Gummer turned to personal testimonials. “My wife eats beef, my children
eat
beef, and I eat beef,” he said. “That is everyone's absolute protection.”
For
proof of this “absolute protection,” he arranged a publicity stunt
with Cordelia,
his youngest daughter, posing with her and a pair of hamburgers. At
least, that
was the way the day was supposed to go. Once they got in front of cameras,
Cordelia decided she didn't want a burger that day and refused to eat.
Gummer
improvised by taking a bite out of her burger himself and posing it
in front of
her face as TV cameras rolled. “It's delicious,” he said. It was a
photo opportunity
that would come back to haunt him in subsequent years, becoming a
symbol of the government's shameless eagerness to flack for beef despite
mounting evidence of human danger.
Excerpt from Mad
Cow USA
John Gummer: Beef eater
BBC
News - 10/11/00