Don’t send McKinley Meat packing

To the editor,

My name is Julia Beck, I am a sophomore at Palmer High school. I am also an active 4-H member. I am writing today as a representative of the local 4-H and agriculture community. I raise cows, lambs, turkeys, and chickens. Mt. McKinley Meat and Sausage, our state-run meat processing plant, is one of the key factors in making my experience in raising livestock possible.

Debate has been going on about whether, due to lack of money, Mount McKinley Meat and Sausage should be shut down.

The pressing issue at hand is something major that will affect Alaska as a whole and especially the agricultural community. No person who has any knowledge of the importance of agriculture, and the work put into it, should ever consider shutting down the meat plant merely for economic benefits. An investment in the plant is an investment in young people and farmers like me who rely on its services. Besides learning how to raise locally produced food for our community, local 4-H kids learn employment and communication skills that reach long into the future.

In order to raise an animal for meat, I need to know that in the end, I have a reliable way and source to process it. The fact that I can raise and love an animal and know exactly what it is for is awesome, and that is the only reason I do it. I love every minute with the animals. We need Mt. McKinley Meat and Sausage for the sake of knowing that our meat is safely processed according to USDA standards.

Please don’t close Mt. McKinley Meat and Sausage.

Julia Beck

Palmer