~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
 Agriculture
AGRICULTURE News:
20080910
 Gordon
Smith -  Illegal
-  Immigration
-  Business
-  Food
-  Workers
-  Politics
- Agriculture
-  Property
-  History
-  Oregon
-  Md
-  Hawaii
-  Utah
-  Wash
"Señor
Smith: Low-wage Latino workers keep [Oregon Republican
Senator] Sen. Gordon Smith’s family business humming. Not all of them are
legal." ... "Up on a hill overlooking this Eastern Oregon town of 701 people,
Smith Frozen Foods turns raw produce from the surrounding fields into ready-to-eat
products." ... "Smith’s goods appear in grocery stores under other brand
names. But in tiny Weston [Oregon], a water tank emblazoned with the capital
letters S-M-I-T-H sits like a sentry greeting travelers on nearby Highway
11." ... "Gordon Smith, a United States senator from Oregon and the only
Republican senator representing a West Coast state, has owned the plant
his grandfather founded in 1919 for nearly 30 years." ... "“Son,” father
Milan Smith once said, according to Gordon Smith’s 2006 memoir, “you can
sell ice to Eskimos and coals to Newcastle.”" ... "Today, Smith Frozen
Foods generates millions in income for the senator, according to Smith’s
2007 financial disclosure report." ... "And in this town, Smith’s wealth
looms large, even though the 56-year-old lawmaker seldom visits and calls
nearby Pendleton [Oregon] his home. According to the Center for Responsive
Politics, Smith is the 12th-richest member of the U.S. [United States]
Senate, with an estimated net worth between $8 million and $39 million—wealth
that’s allowed him to buy a $3.5 million mansion in Bethesda, Md. [Maryland],
property on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, a Park City, Utah, condominium
and—more famously—four antique golf clubs worth $1.25 million." ... "The
workers at Smith Frozen Foods, who clean the machinery, monitor production
and pack upward of 50 million pounds of produce each year, earn about $80
a day, four or five days a week, 10 months a year—if they’re lucky." ...
"One other thing—some of them appear to be illegal immigrants." ... "WW
recently spent several days in Weston, and the nearby cities of Milton-Freewater
[Oregon] and Walla Walla, Wash. [Washington], where most of Smith’s employees
live. WW spoke to dozens of current and former Smith workers, Latino advocates,
court personnel, public defenders, educators, police administrators, church
officials, social service agents and business owners and determined that
some portion of Smith’s workforce comprises undocumented immigrants." ...
"It’s a revelation that may not be newsworthy around Weston, where most
people this reporter interviewed knew, or assumed, that the agricultural
processing plant hired illegal immigrants." ... "Additional interviews
and review of public records reveal that Smith’s company appears to have
employed illegal immigrants for decades, stretching back as far as the
1980s." -By Beth
Slovic -WWeek.com
20080619
Disaster
-  Environment
-  Human
- Agriculture
-  Land
-  Science
-  Iowa
- History
-  Weather
"Iowa
Flooding Could Be An Act of Man, Experts Say." ...
"[Cedar Falls, Iowa college professor and City Council member Kamyar] Enshayan,
director of an environmental center at the University of Northern Iowa,
suspects that this natural disaster wasn't really all that natural. He
points out that the heavy rains fell on a landscape radically reengineered
by humans. Plowed fields have replaced tallgrass prairies. Fields have
been meticulously drained with underground pipes. Streams and creeks have
been straightened. Most of the wetlands are gone. Flood plains have been
filled and developed." ... ""We've done numerous things to the landscape
that took away these water-absorbing functions," he said. "Agriculture
must respect the limits of nature."" ... "Officials are still trying to
understand all the factors that contributed to Iowa's flooding, and not
everyone has the same suspicions as Enshayan. For them, the cause was obvious:
It rained buckets and buckets for days on end. They say the changes in
land use were lesser factors in what was really just a case of meteorological
bad luck." ... "But some Iowans who study the environment suspect that
changes in the land, both recently and over the past century or so, have
made Iowa's terrain not only highly profitable but also highly vulnerable
to flooding." ... "" (1, 2)
-By Joel Achenbach with contributions by Kari Lydersen
-WashingtonPost
20080611
 Barack
Obama -  John
McCain - Money
- Politics
- Workers
-  Retirees
- Homeowners
-  Students
- Farmers
-  Families
- US_Debt
- Law
-  Illinois
-  Arizona
- 2008
Election
"A
Preliminary Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans."
[Full
Report PDF] ... "Senator [from Illinois and 2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama would permanently extend certain provisions
of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts primarily affecting taxpayers with incomes
under $250,000; increase the maximum rate on capital gains and qualified
dividends; and enact new and expanded targeted tax breaks for workers,
retirees, homeowners, savers, students, and new farmers. Senator [from
Arizona and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain
proposes to extend permanently the AMT "patch" that has prevented most
individuals and families with incomes below $200,000 from being affected
by the tax, and in our interpretation of his proposal, Senator Obama would
do the same." ... "Although both candidates have at times stressed fiscal
responsibility, their specific non-health tax proposals would reduce tax
revenues by $3.7 trillion (McCain) and $2.7 trillion (Obama) over the next
10 years, or approximately 10 and 7 percent of the revenues scheduled for
collection under current law, respectively. Furthermore, as in the case
of [Republican] President Bush's tax cuts, the true cost of McCain's policies
may be masked by phase-ins and sunsets (scheduled expiration dates) that
reduce the estimated revenue costs. If his policies were fully phased in
and permanent, the ten-year cost would rise to $4.1 trillion, or about
11 percent of total revenues." -TaxPolicyCenter.org
20080603
 Brazil
-  Satellite
- Photographs
-  Global
-Climate
-  Gases
- Food
-  Animals
- Farming
- Illegal
- Business
"New
satellite photos show Amazon deforestation exploding."
... "New satellite photographs show that the destruction of Brazil's fragile
Amazon rainforest has exploded this year, fueling fears that the government's
efforts to stop deforestation have been fruitless." ... "Brazil's DETER
real-time monitoring system found that more than 430 square miles of forest,
an area a bit smaller than the city of Los Angeles, vanished in the month
of April, while about 2,300 square miles, larger than the state of Delaware,
were destroyed between last August and April." ... "That nine-month total
surpassed the entire acreage in the Amazon that was destroyed over the
previous 12 months, according to DETER data. What's worse, the satellites
couldn't see about half of the forest in April due to cloud cover, suggesting
that actual deforestation likely was much greater." ... "That's raised
red flags among environmentalists, who say that soybean farming, cattle
production and illegal logging are destroying the world's largest rainforest
despite the government's attempts to halt the deforestation." ... "Chopping
down and burning the rainforest releases tons of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change.
Brazil is the world's fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, largely
because of deforestation, according to the U.S.-based World Resources Institute."
... "Worse is yet to come, environmentalists said." ... "The Amazon's dry
season, when farmers do most of their burning and clearing, starts this
month." -By Jack
Chang -McClatchyDC.com
20080509
-
Consumers
- Food
-
 Safety
- Humans
-  Health
- Law
- Politics
- Animals
- Agriculture
- Business
-  Kan
-  US
-  Japan
- "Government
asks court to block wider testing for mad cow." ...
"The [Republican President] Bush administration on Friday urged a federal
appeals court to stop meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad
cow disease, but a skeptical judge questioned whether the government has
that authority." ... "The government seeks to reverse a lower court ruling
that allowed Arkansas City, Kan.[Kansas]-based Creekstone Farms Premium
Beef to conduct more comprehensive testing to satisfy demand from overseas
customers in Japan and elsewhere." ... "Less than 1 percent of slaughtered
cows are currently tested for the disease under Agriculture Department
guidelines. The agency argues that more widespread testing does not guarantee
food safety and could result in a false positive that scares consumers."
... "Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, can be fatal
to humans who eat tainted beef. Three cases of mad cow disease have been
discovered in the U.S. [United States] since 2003." -By
Sam Hananel -AP
via -SFGate.com
20080430
-
Agriculture
- Factory
- Companies
- Poor
- People
- Nutrition
- Health
- US
-
- World
-  Biofuel
- Air
- Soil
-  Water
- Environment
- Animals
- Plants
- Science
- "Shortages
Threaten Farmers’ Key Tool: Fertilizer." ... "Some
kinds of fertilizer have nearly tripled in price in the last year, keeping
farmers from buying all they need. That is one of many factors contributing
to a rise in food prices that, according to the United Nations’ World Food
Program, threatens to push tens of millions of poor people into malnutrition."
... "Rising demand for food and biofuels prompted farmers everywhere to
plant more crops." ... "Fertilizer companies are confident the shortage
will be solved eventually, noting that they plan to build scores of new
factories. But that will probably create fresh problems in the long run
as the world grows more dependent on fossil fuels to produce chemical fertilizers."
... "The demand for fertilizer has been driven by a confluence of events,
including population growth, shrinking world grain stocks and the appetite
for corn and palm oil to make biofuel. But experts say the biggest factor
has been the growing demand for food, especially meat, in the developing
world." ... "Fertilizer is plant food, a combination of nutrients added
to soil to help plants grow. The three most important are nitrogen, phosphorus
and potassium. The latter two have long been available. But nitrogen in
a form that plants can absorb is scarce, and the lack of it led to low
crop yields for centuries." ... "That limitation ended in the early 20th
century with the invention of a procedure, now primarily fueled by natural
gas, that draws chemically inert nitrogen from the air and converts it
into a usable form." ... "Environmental groups fear increased use, particularly
of nitrogen fertilizer made using fossil fuels. Because plants do not absorb
all the nitrogen, much of it leaches into streams and groundwater. That
runoff has long been recognized as a major pollution problem, and it is
growing." ... "A barometer of the pollution is the rising number of dead
zones where rivers meet the sea. In the Gulf of Mexico, for instance, nitrogen
runoff from fields in the Corn Belt washes downstream and feeds plant life
in the gulf. The algae blooms suck oxygen from the water, killing other
marine life." (1, 2)
-By Keith
Bradsher and Andrew
Martin -NYTimes
20080421
-
Global
- Planet
- Oil
- Food
- Agriculture
-
 Car
- Economy
-  China
- "Running
Out of Planet to Exploit." ... "Last week, oil hit
$117." ... "Food prices have also soared, as have the prices of basic metals.
And the global surge in commodity prices is reviving a question we haven’t
heard much since the 1970s: Will limited supplies of natural resources
pose an obstacle to future world economic growth?" ... "How you answer
this question depends largely on what you believe is driving the rise in
resource prices. Broadly speaking, there are three competing views." ...
"The first is that it’s mainly speculation — that investors, looking for
high returns at a time of low interest rates, have piled into commodity
futures, driving up prices." ... "The second view is that soaring resource
prices do, in fact, have a basis in fundamentals — especially rapidly growing
demand from newly meat-eating, car-driving Chinese — but that given time
we’ll drill more wells, plant more acres, and increased supply will push
prices right back down again." ... "The third view is that the era of cheap
resources is over for good — that we’re running out of oil, running out
of land to expand food production and generally running out of planet to
exploit." ... "I find myself somewhere between the second and third views."
... "There are some very smart people — not least, George Soros — who believe
that we’re in a commodities bubble (although Mr. Soros says that the bubble
is still in its “growth phase”)." -By Paul
Krugman -NYTimes
20080414
-
Consumer
- Money
- History
- Poor
- Families
- Agriculture
- "Food
Costs Rising Fastest in 17 Years." ... "The U.S.
[United States] is wrestling with the worst food inflation in 17 years,
and analysts expect new data due on Wednesday to show it's getting worse.
That's putting the squeeze on poor families and forcing bakeries, bagel
shops and delis to explain price increases to their customers." ... "U.S.
food prices rose 4 percent in 2007, compared with an average 2.5 percent
annual rise for the last 15 years, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. And the agency says 2008 could be worse, with a rise of as
much as 4.5 percent." ... "Eggs cost 25 percent more in February than they
did a year ago, according to the USDA [United States Department of Agriculture].
Milk and other dairy products jumped 13 percent, chicken and other poultry
nearly 7 percent." -By Ellen Simon
-AP via -SFGate.com
20080331
-
Food
- Agriculture
- Plant
- Land
- History
- Ethanol
- Companies
- Animal
- Consumers
- "Corn
forecast suggests rise in food prices is ahead."
... "U.S. [United States] farmers plan to cut back corn planting and boost
soybean production, a shift that could send ripples from the farm belt
to your grocery bills." ... "The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday
released its prospective plantings report. The report, which came amid
surging grain prices, bore news that affects grain farmers, livestock producers,
ethanol companies, food processors and, ultimately, consumers." ... "Corn
plantings are expected to fall 8 percent this year, to 86 million acres,
according to the Department of Agriculture. Last year farmers planted a
post-World War II record of nearly 94 million acres of corn to meet burgeoning
demand for ethanol, which is expected to soon absorb about 30 percent of
domestic corn production." ... "“Last year many soybean growers switched
from soybeans to corn as ethanol expansion strongly increased the demand
for corn,” the Department of Agriculture said." ... "This year, though,
many of the 86,000 farmers surveyed for the report said they were shifting
production back toward soybeans, which had surged in price. Soybean planting
is expected to increase 18 percent this year, to almost 75 million acres."
... "Corn is trading near its record-high price of $5.70 a bushel, more
than double the price of two years ago. Soybeans are hovering around $12
a bushel, nearly double last year’s level." (1, 2)
-By Victoria Sizemore Long
-KansasCity.com
-
Food
- Crisis
- World
- People
- Farmers
- Land
- Fuel
- Money
- Politics
- History
- Weather
- Drought
- China
- UN
- "Tensions
rise as world faces short rations." ... "Food prices
are soaring, a wealthier Asia is demanding better food and farmers can't
keep up. In short, the world faces a food crisis and in some places it's
already boiling over." ... "Around the globe, people are protesting and
governments are responding with often counterproductive controls on prices
and exports -- a new politics of scarcity in which ensuring food supplies
is becoming a major challenge for the 21st century." ... "Plundered by
severe weather in producing countries and by a boom in demand from fast-developing
nations, the world's wheat stocks are at 30-year lows. Grain prices have
been on the rise for five years, ending decades of cheap food." ... "Drought,
a declining dollar, a shift of investment money into commodities and use
of farm land to grow fuel have all contributed to food woes. But population
growth and the growing wealth of China and other emerging countries are
likely to be more enduring factors." ... "World population is set to hit
9 billion by 2050, and most of the extra 2.5 billion people will live in
the developing world. It is in these countries that the population is demanding
dairy and meat, which require more land to produce." ... "In 2007 alone,
according to the U.N. [United Nations] Food and Agriculture Organization's
world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 percent and grain 42 percent."
[see also: Agflation]
(1, 2,
3,
4,
5)
-By Russell Blinch and Brian Love with contributions
by Ayesha Rascoe, Missy Ryan, Alistair Thomson, Ho Binh Minh and Eddie
Evans -Reuters
20080314
-
Political
-
 Government
- Environmental
- Air
- Science
- Health
- People
- Farm
- Land
- Animals
- Clean
Air Act - Law
- Industry
- Motor
Vehicles - "Ozone
Rules Weakened at Bush's Behest: EPA Scrambles To
Justify Action." ... "The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one
part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute
intervention by [Republican] President Bush, according to documents released
by the EPA." ... "EPA officials initially tried to set a lower seasonal
limit on ozone to protect wildlife, parks and farmland, as required under
the law. While their proposal was less restrictive than what the EPA's
scientific advisers had proposed, Bush overruled EPA officials and on Tuesday
ordered the agency to increase the limit [of allowable air pollution],
according to the documents." ... ""It is unprecedented and an unlawful
act of political interference for the president personally to override
a decision that the Clean Air Act leaves exclusively to EPA's expert scientific
judgment," said John Walke, clean-air director for the Natural Resources
Defense Council." ... "The president's order prompted a scramble by administration
officials to rewrite the regulations to avoid a conflict with past EPA
statements on the harm caused by ozone." ... "Solicitor General Paul D.
Clement warned administration officials late Tuesday night that the rules
contradicted the EPA's past submissions to the Supreme Court, according
to sources familiar with the conversation. As a consequence, administration
lawyers hustled to craft new legal justifications for the weakened standard."
... "Ozone, which is formed when pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and
other chemical compounds released by industry and motor vehicles are exposed
to sunlight, is linked to an array of heart and respiratory illnesses."
(1, 2)
-By Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost
20080313
-
Federal
- Food
- Safety
- History
- Agriculture
- Animal
- Corporation
- Politics
-
 California
- "House
grills meat packing chief: 'Downer' cow beef may
have been consumed." ... "The president of the company that was the subject
of the largest meat recall in U.S. history admitted Wednesday that "downer"
cattle -- cows that cannot stand because of sickness or injury -- were
slaughtered by his company and could have made it into the food supply."
... "Steve Mendell of California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co.
made the concession to the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee
after he was shown a video provided by the Humane Society of the United
States that featured a downer cow being slaughtered in a kill box." ...
"Under pressure from federal agriculture officials, the company recalled
143 million pounds of ground beef last month and laid off 220 workers."
... "Ailing cows are at greater risk of carrying E. coli, salmonella bacteria
and the fatal neurological disorder known as mad cow disease." -By
Whitney Blair Wyckoff -LAtimes
-ChicagoTribune
20080213
-
Food
- Agriculture
- History
- Illinois
-
 Minnesota
- US
- World
- Droughts/Water
- Weather
- United
Nations - "In
Price and Supply, Wheat Is the Unstable Staple."
... "With demand soaring abroad and droughts crimping supply, the world’s
wheat stockpiles have fallen to their lowest level in 30 years, and stocks
in the United States have dropped to levels unseen since 1948." ... "On
Tuesday, prices for a sought-after variety, spring wheat, jumped to $16.73
a bushel on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange [Minneapolis, Minnesota], the
latest of several records." ... "Though this week’s prices were nominal
records, the inflation-adjusted record for wheat was set in the mid-1970s,
when it exceeded $20 a bushel in today’s dollars after huge sales to the
Soviet Union." ... "The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations estimates that world wheat production will rise this year to nearly
664 million tons, from about 655 million tons — not enough to replenish
stocks and push down prices." -By David
Streitfeld -NYTimes
20080212
-
Food
- Agriculture
- History
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- "Wheat
Falls as Increased Global Planting May Boost Inventories."
... "Wheat futures for March delivery dropped 41 cents, or 3.9 percent,
to $10.07 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade [Chicago, Illinois]. The
contract reached a record $11.53 yesterday before closing down 45 cents,
the first decline this month. Wheat fell 7.9 percent in the past two days,
the biggest decline since Nov. 19, 2003." ... "On the Minneapolis Grain
Exchange [Minneapolis, Minnesota], wheat for May delivery fell the exchange
limit of 60 cents, or 4 percent, to $14.245 a bushel. The price rose 33
percent in January and almost tripled in the past year, partly because
of a shortage of high-protein spring wheat." -By Tony
C. Dreibus -Bloomberg
20080208
-
Food
- Agriculture
- Markets
- History
- Consumer
- Minnesota
-
 South
Dakota -  North
Dakota - US
- Worldwide
- "Record
wheat price ignites food inflation fears: It's $15
a bushel at Minneapolis Grain Exchange [Minneapolis, Minnesota] and expected
to keep climbing." ... "The highest wheat price in U.S. [United States]
history - more than $15 a bushel - was reached Thursday in Minneapolis
as a trading frenzy inflames the grain markets, fans fears of spiking food
costs and revives worries about food shortages." ... "With wheat stockpiles
dwindling, a worldwide scramble is under way for bushels of high-protein
spring wheat, the variety grown in Minnesota and the Dakotas [South Dakota
and North Dakota] and traded at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange [Minneapolis,
Minnesota]. Already, spring wheat prices have tripled in the past year
and are poised to move even higher." ... "Thursday's closing price of $15.23
a bushel may be jubilant news for wheat farmers and the rural Midwest,
as the historic rally pushes corn and soybean prices near records, too.
But it could mean new price shocks for consumers, and it already alarms
food companies that need wheat for such consumer staples as bread, cereal,
crackers and pasta." ... "In 2007, the rate of U.S. food inflation more
than doubled to a 17-year high of 4.8 percent. Some expect that pace to
nearly double again this year." ... "The [Minneapolis Grain Exchange] exchange
was founded more than a century ago in an era when Minneapolis was the
flour milling capital of the world, and it nourished local companies like
General Mills, Pillsbury and Cargill. It remains the U.S. marketplace for
spring wheat, a tough, high-protein variety that makes bread rise and bagels
possible." ... "On Thursday, the local grain elevator in Halstad, Minn.
[Minneapolis], was paying $16.13 per bushel for spring wheat. " -By
Tom Webb -TwinCities.com
-
Food
- Agriculture
- History
- Weather
- Illinois
- US
- China
- World
- "Wheat
Surges to Record as U.S. Supply May Drop to 60-Year Low."
... "Wheat rose to a record for a third day on the Chicago Board of Trade
[in Chicago, Illinois] as the U.S. [United States] forecast its lowest
inventories in 60 years." ... "U.S. stockpiles will drop to 272 million
bushels at the end of May, 6.8 percent less than expected a month ago and
down 40 percent from the prior year, the Department of Agriculture said
in a report today. Inventories will be the lowest since 1948 when farmers
grew less and shipped more wheat overseas to help rebuilding countries
after World War II, economists said." ... "Wheat has more than doubled
in the past year." ... "Wheat futures for March delivery rose 30 cents,
or 2.8 percent, to a record $10.93 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade.
The contract rose the 30-cent exchange limit for five straight days. The
16 percent gain this week is the biggest in history." ... "The rally in
wheat has accelerated in the past year after weather damaged crops from
the world's biggest producers. Rising food consumption in China and increased
demand for corn and soybeans used to make alternative fuels also are eroding
global crop supplies." ... "World inventories of all wheat are expected
to fall to 109.7 million metric tons by the end of the marketing year on
May 31, down 1.1 percent from the government's January estimate and the
lowest since 1978, the USDA said." ... "Wheat was the fourth-biggest U.S.
crop in 2006, valued at $7.7 billion, behind corn, soybeans and hay, government
data show." -By Tony C. Dreibus
-Bloomberg
-
Biofuels
- Plants
- Greenhouse
Gas - Global
- Climate
- Science
- Agriculture
- Land
- Environmental
- Economy
- Food
- "Biofuels
Deemed a Greenhouse Threat." ... "Almost all biofuels
used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels
if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken
into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded." ...
"The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent months,
as scientists took a closer look at the global environmental cost of their
production. These latest studies, published in the prestigious journal
Science, are likely to add to the controversy." ... "These studies for
the first time take a detailed, comprehensive look at the emissions effects
of the huge amount of natural land that is being converted to cropland
globally to support biofuels development." ... "The destruction of natural
ecosystems — whether rain forest in the tropics or grasslands in South
America — not only releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when they
are burned and plowed, but also deprives the planet of natural sponges
to absorb carbon emissions. Cropland also absorbs far less carbon than
the rain forests or even scrubland that it replaces." ... "Together the
two studies offer sweeping conclusions: It does not matter if it is rain
forest or scrubland that is cleared, the greenhouse gas contribution is
significant. More important, they discovered that, taken globally, the
production of almost all biofuels resulted, directly or indirectly, intentionally
or not, in new lands being cleared, either for food or fuel." (1, 2)
-By Elisabeth Rosenthal
-NYTimes
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Agriculture
|
Enforcement
- 
Video
- "USDA's
oversight of meat safety criticized." ... "The USDA
[United States Department of Agriculture] announced this week that it was
shutting down operations at a Chino[California]-based meat producer, after
hidden camera video showed workers there using various inhumane methods
to force "downer" -- or non-ambulatory -- cattle to their feet and into
the slaughter box." ... "Now, in the wake of the video's release and the
agency's response, food industry insiders are questioning just how reliable
the USDA's inspection process is. The incidents recorded at Hallmark Meat
Packing occurred under the noses of eight on-site USDA inspectors." ...
""We rely on a system, and the system dropped the ball," said Dean Cliver,
a food safety expert who has served in advisory roles with the Food and
Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. "Somebody ought
to be asking some questions."" ... "Cattle that are unable to walk are
banned from use as human food because they show a higher occurrence of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease." ...
"Westland Meat Co.[Company], Hallmark's distributor and a ground beef supplier
for the National School Lunch Program, has voluntarily halted operations,
and school district officials around the country pulled suspect beef from
lunch menus." -By Victoria Kim
-LAtimes
Vermont
- "Ben
& Jerry's Fights For Labeling Rights: States,
Industry Challenge Ice Cream Maker's Right To Advertise As Synthetic Hormone-Free."
... "Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. [Incorporated], one of the first companies
to label its ice cream as free of a synthetic hormone, is protesting a
move by some states to restrict such labeling." ... "The South Burlington
[Vermont] ice-cream maker has joined a national campaign to block what
critics say is an effort driven by Monsanto Co. [Company], which markets
recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST, also known as recombinant bovine
growth hormone, or rBGH." ... ""We're very concerned about, from a primary
standpoint, the freedom of speech to be able to put what we believe is
truthful and appropriate messaging on our packaging," said Rob Michalak,
a spokesman for Ben & Jerry's, which has mounted a campaign to get
consumers on its side." ... "But a newly formed farmers' group, backed
by Monsanto, is pushing for labeling changes, saying the hormone-free labels
imply that the milk is safer than other milk, when they say it's not."
-AP via -CBSNews
Kenya
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Terrorism
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Radio
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