Posts Tagged ‘USDA’
Posted on Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 by Michele Simon
In March, when I first wrote about how the biotech rider—called the Monsanto Protection Act by its vocal opponents—undercut the constitutional concept of separation of powers, it seemed hardly anyone (other than the usual advocacy groups) was paying attention. But then a lot of people got mad, really mad.
Within a few short weeks the issue exploded in the mainstream media, with the surest sign the issue had hit the big time being (what else?) coverage by The Daily Show (hilariously entitled, “You Stuck What Where?”). Another indication was outrage even from a Tea Party blogger.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Food Safety, Industry Tactics | Tagged: Big Food, Congress, farm bill, FDA, GMO labeling, GMOs, lobbying, Obama, USDA | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Monday, March 25th, 2013 by Michele Simon
Our founding fathers, white-maleness aside, did get a few things right. One of them was the concept of “separation of powers,” to ensure a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. But a dangerous provision snuck into the budget bill passed last week in Congress upends that system. Continue reading →
Posted in Big Food, Food Policy, Industry Tactics | Tagged: agriculture policy, GMOs, law, Obama, USDA | View/Add Comments (8) |
Posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2012 by Michele Simon
The battle in California over Proposition 37, which would require labeling of foods containing GMOs, is really heating up. Millions of dollars are already being poured into the opposition campaign, with much of it going to former Big Tobacco shills. Over at GMO HQ, Monsanto recently posted this missive called “Taking a Stand: Proposition 37, The California Labeling Proposal,” in which the biotech giant explains why it is opposing the measure (to the tune of $4.2 million so far).
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Posted in Big Food | Tagged: American Public Health Association, California Prop 37, GMO labeling, Monsanto, USDA | View/Add Comments (16) |
Posted on Monday, August 20th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Rarely does the mainstream media bother to connect the dots when it comes to our broken food safety system. Consider these two recent headlines:
• Foodborne Outbreaks Falling Short of U.S. Reduction Goals
• USDA to purchase $170 million worth of meat to help farmers struggling with drought
The latter story celebrating government action to “help farmers” — prompted by this U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) press release — was trumpeted by major media outlets across the nation without any questions raised. Of course American farmers need help during times of drought and that effort is well worth supporting, but is the indiscriminate buying up of meat really the best and only idea the feds can come up with? Read rest at Center for Food Safety…
Postscript: Since writing this article, the federal government reported that two people have died and 141 were made sick by salmonella in yet another cantaloupe outbreak, this one in 20 states.
Posted in Big Food, Public Health | Tagged: E.coli, Food Safety Modernization Act, foodborne illness, listeria, Microbiological Data Program, USDA | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 by Michele Simon
You probably heard by now that the U.S. Department of Agriculture got firmly put in its place last week by the National Cattleman’s Beef Association when a poor employee had the gall to suggest in an internal employee newsletter that coworkers consider taking up Meatless Mondays. Big Beef screamed and the feds jumped. (I was told it took less than 30 minutes for USDA to capitulate.) If you missed the coverage, check out Mark Bittman’s take, along with his attempt to ask a few questions of USDA. I tried myself and have yet to receive even the courtesy of a reply. Here is the message I sent Press Secretary Courtney Rowe in USDA’s Office of Communications last Thursday:
Hi Courtney,
I am writing about this matter for my blog. Can you please clarify the extent of USDA’s retraction?
Some are saying USDA’s action does not go far enough. See:
http://agwired.com/2012/07/25/usda-meatless-mondays-uproar/
My questions:
1) I understand the newsletter is no longer available online, but how was it distributed to employees in the first place?
2) Does USDA also retract the message contained within the newsletter regarding adopting Meatless Mondays?
3) Does USDA plan a more formal retraction in another issue of the newsletter, as AgWired suggests?
4) Has any action been taken with the employee who put it in the newsletter, also as AgWired suggests?
Many thanks for your help,
Michele
I guess I flummoxed them. Unlike the beef industry, whose message was received loud and clear.
Posted in Big Food | Tagged: National Cattleman's Beef Association, USDA | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Wednesday, June 20th, 2012 by Michele Simon
Last Tuesday, I released a report, Food Stamps, Follow the Money: Are Corporations Profiting From Hungry Americans? I am grateful to each of these media outlets for their coverage.
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Posted in Big Food | Tagged: Big Food, Eat Drink Politics, farm bill, food stamps, SNAP, USDA, Walmart | View/Add Comments (0) |
Posted on Thursday, June 14th, 2012 by Michele Simon
On Tuesday, I published a report about how food companies and banks benefit from the $72 billion food stamp program. For those intimidated by 20 pages (it’s a good read), here is the visual short cut.
Posted in Big Food | Tagged: Big Food, Congress, Eat Drink Politics, farm bill, food stamps, J.P. Morgan Chase, SNAP, USDA, Walmart | View/Add Comments (2) |
Posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2012 by Michele Simon
As Congress proposes cuts to hungry families, my new report raises questions about how much food makers, retailers, and big banks profit from food stamps.
With the debate over the 2012 Farm Bill currently underway in the Senate, most of the media’s attention has been focused on how direct payments—subsidies doled out regardless of actual farming—are being replaced with crop insurance, in a classic shell game that Big Ag’s powerful lobby is likely to pull off.
Meanwhile, the Senate may hurt the less powerful by cutting $4.5 billion from the largest piece of the farm bill pie: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps). Reducing this lifeline for 46 million struggling Americans (more than 1 in 7—nearly half of them children) has become a sideshow in the farm bill circus, even though SNAP spending grew to $78 billion in 2011, and is projected to go higher if the economy does not improve.
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Posted in Big Food, Food Policy | Tagged: Big Food, Eat Drink Politics, farm bill, food stamps, J.P. Morgan Chase, SNAP, USDA, Walmart | View/Add Comments (22) |
