I very much appreciate feedback from those of you who read my blog commentaries. I was especially moved by J.E.B.’s reaction to my comments concerning BP (“Don’t punish BP franchisees, posted July 7, 2010). You said you don’t wish to see mom-and-pop gas-station owners suffer for corporate BP’s human tsunami in the Gulf, “…..but we need to get a clear and loud message to BP that we, the nation, are not happy and we blame them for what’s happened,” you wrote.

I know what I think about the decision-makers responsible for the worst oil spill ever. But I wanted input from others. To that end, I took your comments to the street so-to-speak and conducted a rather unscientific poll.

Everybody agreed punitive damages are mandatory in the face of leadership that allows for the destruction of the environment while also bankrupting lives. The only way a message can be sent to those who take such gambles is for them to lose pay, bonuses, stock options and other perks. We must cease rewarding bad behavior in corporate America.

Like so many court judgments that end up overturned, imposing such penalties in this case would be easier said than done, however.

Moreover it is misguided to slap the decision-makers on the wrist while punishing BP stockholders. This does little to send a message to oil execs with other producers. Perhaps the BP board received an advanced notice of this blog, given the news that they replaced Tony Hayward as BP’s CEO recently.

I’d like to know what other ideas are out there on how to “get a clear and loud message to BP.” As one of my friends said, “BP got caught, but what about other oil companies? Are they in good shape so this kind of thing does not happen to their companies, their customers and the environment that belongs to us all?"

Let’s talk about it. And let's talk about how we, in the meat industry, can learn from the mistakes here. We all know, sometimes too well, how one bad apple can spoil the bunch.