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Van Smith

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Valley Proteins/Animal Rendering Story

Published Sept. 25, 1995

Since the original publication of this article in 1995, the Valley Proteins rendering plant in Curtis Bay, Baltimore, has become somewhat famous. Pet food activists around the globe, concerned about the article's disclosure that the plant at that time recycled dead pets from the city animal shelter into raw materials for dry pet food, continue to use the story to urge changes in the pet food industry--or at least in the buying patterns of consumers. And lawyers defending talk-show host Oprah Winfrey against libel charges brought by ranchers in Texas found the article--and the author's testimony--useful in successfully proving their case during the 1998 trial in Amarillo. Facts in the article, and in photographs taken for the story, showed the jury that allegedly libelous statements about rendering practices made on her show by rancher-turned-activist Howard Lyman were, in fact, substantially true.

What's Cookin' pt. 1 (1 mb pdf)
What's Cookin', pt. 2 (1.1 mb)

Weather Retort: Is Maryland In For Doom and Gloom on the Climate Front?

Published Nov. 20, 1996

Cover 496 kb .pdf
Part 1 656 kb .pdf
Part 2 580 kb .pdf
Part 3 604 kb .pdf
Part 4 584 kb .pdf
Part 5 636 kb .pdf
Part 6 748 kb .pdf