Opinion
I would prefer to be contacted simply for “reporting without bias,” but Katie Cooper, the national radio producer actually said she was contacting me because I was about the only “dispassionate” reporter she could find covering the so-called “ag-gag” proposals being considered by 10 or 11 states this legislative season. Okay, call me Joe Friday,… Continue Reading
Opinion
Thanks to increased trade in food and farm products, and the growth of Muslim communities in traditionally non-Muslim regions like northern Europe and the US, many non-Muslims are now aware of halal as a distinct food category, with its own dietary rules. Some have recognized the potential of halal as a market opportunity. This interest… Continue Reading
Food safety was never at risk at Central Valley Meat, which was shut down for a week for inhumane treatment of animals. But USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has concluded that no downer cows entered the food supply, meaning incidents of inhumane treatment did not result in any food safety violations. The Hanford,… Continue Reading
The livestock industry’s top expert on animal behavior is teaming up with the North American Meat Association to put more eyes on high-risk animals and their handlers. Temple Grandin, the world renowned animal science professor at Colorado State University, is partnering with NAMA, the organization formed by the July 1 merger of the National Meat… Continue Reading
A bipartisan group of senators is hoping to add what would be the first federal standards for livestock housing and welfare to the Farm Bill, which the upper chamber is set to begin debating today. With Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) leading the charge, a dozen senators have backed the standards measure, which would mandate the… Continue Reading
Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and a bipartisan group of seven other senators introduced a bill late last week to set federal housing standards for egg-laying hens, again sparking protest from both pork and beef producers, as well as other animal rights activists who are now calling it the “rotten egg bill.” The measure, which mirrors… Continue Reading
In two separate events, Safeway this week promised to phase out the use of sow gestation crates, while a new undercover video surfaced in Wyoming pointing to animal cruelty by a pork supplier. Employees at Wyoming Premium Farms — a supplier to Tyson, albeit a small one — were seen on the videotape and in… Continue Reading
There’s growing pressure for animal agriculture to change its practices, whether it be utilizing gestation crates or feeding antibiotics, but a new paper cautions that these changes may negatively impact food safety. The discussion paper released by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology — a research group that includes the Farm Bureau and the… Continue Reading
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is appropriately handling industry appeals of its humane handling enforcement actions, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Inspector General (OIG). The audit — which was requested by the Office of Food Safety to “ensure that FSIS was appropriately enforcing federal… Continue Reading
The animal agriculture industry is facing another round of unflattering headlines. The Humane Society of the United States on Thursday released video and photographs of alleged abuse and insanitary conditions at a large egg farm that supplies the mid-Atlantic region. HSUS, an animal rights group loathed by the livestock sector, last year struck a historic… Continue Reading
Visceral lesions, or visible signs of infection or organ damage, can help predict Salmonella contamination on pig carcasses, according to new research published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research this month. Researchers at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine found that Salmonella contamination was 90 percent more likely to occur in carcasses with… Continue Reading