Funny thing about the federal courts. When enough of them get involved in an issue, they can end up showing how something can be done legally that previously was on shaky ground and subject to dispute when it all began. And we are not just talking about the Trump travel ban.
Six years ago in…
Gov. Asa Hutchinson Thursday signed Arkansas House Bill 1665, adding a civil cause of action to the state’s code that permits individuals to sue over the unauthorized access to non-public areas of commercial property.
Although not a criminal statute, Nathan Runkle, president of Mercy for Animals, calls the measure an “ag-gag” law.
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Food safety experts usually don’t see shelf life or expiration dates as big issues, but survey results consistently show that the public worries about those use-by and best-buy dates. It only stands to reason, then, that those who smoke or munch on marijuana would have similar concerns. Stepping up to help those worried about possibly…
Problems with food preparation, hand-washing and food-safety training were cited as the cause of two large, multi-serotype Salmonella outbreaks at Arkansas prisons in August of 2012, according to a new study released in last week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 
Investigators from the Arkansas Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control…
Raw milk bills have already passed in the lower houses of the Montana and Arkansas legislatures, and now appear to be headed for up-or-down votes on final passage in the Senate of each of those states. Overall, though, legislative attempts to loosen raw milk regulation are not getting far this legislative season. In Montana, the…
Bills to protect animal agriculture facilities from outsiders seeking to document what goes on in these establishments were killed by legislatures in New Hampshire, Wyoming and New Mexico, but remain very much alive in a half dozen other states. By about this time last year, Iowa, Utah and Missouri had voted to turn these so-called…
Nebraska, Arkansas, and Tennessee today are holding legislative hearings on bills that supporters say protect farms and opponents say prevent people from being effective whistleblowers when collecting evidence of animal abuse. Abuse is a food safety concern because studies have shown that animals that are stressed or treated cruelly are more likely to be susceptible…
The introductions of new bills in Arkansas and Indiana bring the number of states where legislatures will be considering measures about interference with livestock and poultry operations to five. A national spokeswoman for animal agriculture says such legislative proposals should be labeled as “farm protection” measures, not “ag-gag” bills as opponents call them. “Nothing gets…
Norovirus sickened more than 300 students at an Arkansas middle school last week, causing the school to shut its doors Friday. At least a third of the 900 children who attend Hellstern Middle School in Springdale and several staff either stayed home or fell ill at school Thursday, complaining of gastrointestinal symptoms, reported NWA.…
The Salmonella outbreak at Arkansas Prison’s 96-year-old Tucker Unit was more complex than most, according to health officials. The outbreak, involving almost 600 prisoners and staff, was due to at least 6 different serotypes of Salmonella, including S. Anatum, S. Cerro, S. Newport, S. Mbandaka, S. Heidelberg and S. Braenderup. In addition, the Anatum, Newport…
