Rep. Ron Erhardt, DFL-Edina, apologized Tuesday for delivering a meandering floor speech in which he donned a lab coat and stethoscope while alleging that avian flu can be transferred to humans who eat the meat of infected birds.
Erhardt's comments, which drew immediate criticism from his House colleagues, came shortly after more than 600 turkey burgers were served on the Capitol lawn in support of the state's turkey industry, which has been hit hard by the spread of avian flu. Jennie-O's Turkey Store in Faribault said Tuesday that they'd be forced to cut production and temporarily lay off 233 workers. The House on Monday passed an additional $6 million to the state's response efforts, including bolstering unemployment for affected workers.
In a statement, Erhardt said he since met with Minnesota Department of Health officials and better understands the issue.
"I am confident in their work, and assessment that consuming turkey is safe for Minnesotans," he said. "I apologize for making light of this serious issue and I support immediate passage of legislation that will adequately fund a response to the avian flu crisis."
The speech, transcribed below, can be viewed here.
"This is going to come a little late for some of you because you've already been to lunch, but on Saturday I had a nice turkey dinner and almost immediately after I began feeling signs of flu, and I was all flued out all day Sunday, so I got here on Monday and I heard about this giveaway, the turkey burger day, and I began to wonder…well I wonder, because I remember a couple years ago when we had some transference of avian flu to birds and people and I thought 'Well, maybe I think I should mention this, at least give you a fair warning that it's a possibility,' but I didn't get a chance to do that. After I found out, as a matter of fact that this (turkey burger cookout) was a bipartisan offer and not just an offer to the DFL, I felt a little better about it--the burgers I mean. Now, I put on my former doctoring hat and clothes and began to think about this, and I thought 'Well, there must be some way, even after you have ingested this possible poison, that we might help you out.' So I looked around for any type of vaccine and I couldn't find enough needles and it was too unsanitary so I ruled out that. But then I found there's that there's some oral vaccines that you can take that will slow it down…"
Erhardt then held up what appeared to be a candy jar labeled "Bird Flu Vaccine" before Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin, asked Speaker Pro Tem Tim O'Driscoll (R-Sartell) to cut off Erhardt's speech.
"It appears as though this is going to be maybe a joke at some point, but the turkey farmers of our state are suffering a very serious crisis. It is something that is not a partisan issue, it is something that impacts each and every one of us," she said. "Turkey is a safe food to eat. It is not something we need to be making light of, and I'm confused by what Rep. Erhardt is trying to do, and I just need to respond and ask for you to tell him to stop. Thank you."
