After widening her lead in the final round of ballot counting Wednesday, Rep. Louise Slaughter now has the votes she needs to retain her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for New York’s 25th congressional district for a 15th term. After an additional 2,800 ballots were tallied Wednesday, Slaughter’s
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Berkeley Puts First Soda Tax on the Books
The city of Berkeley, CA became the first municipality in the country to approve a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages Tuesday. Measure D, a proposal to levy a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks and syrups, passed easily, with 75 percent of voters approving it. Only a 50 percent majority was
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Assini-Slaughter Race Still Too Close to Call
The official winner of New York’s 25th congressional district is still unknown but incumbent Democrat Louise Slaughter leads Republican challenger Mark Assini by 651 votes and has declared victory. Slaughter, a microbiologist who gives great weight to food safety issues and is an avid defender of medically important antibiotics, has
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Mixed Results For Food Issues in Midterm Elections
The national headline of Tuesday’s elections is that Republicans have taken control of the U.S. Senate. This shift means that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will take over as Majority Leader for the 114th Congress and that Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), who won a hotly contested race, will become Senate Agriculture
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How Much Do Voters Care About Food Safety Issues?
Food issues have the potential to be a deciding factor in how Americans vote in the midterm elections this November. According to polling by Food Policy Action (FPA), messages about voting against politicians who want to cut food stamps for veterans, slash funding for food safety, support subsidies for corporate
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There is More for Food Voters to Chew Over Than Just Proposition 37
Voters in 38 states Tuesday will decide upon 174 statewide ballot measures, and perhaps luckily, none are specifically about food safety. But like California’s highly touted Proposition 37 to require labeling of food made from genetically modified crops, several states are deciding on ballot measures that at least kick around
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Romney and Obama Take Questions on Food Policy
While food and agriculture policy often take a back seat during presidential elections, the United Fresh Produce Association got both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on the record regarding some key food issues this week. The association on Thursday released both campaigns’ responses to its policy questionnaire, which focused on
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Food Safety Not Targeted in Republican National Platform
How would President Romney approach food safety? Until it was released after adoption by the Republican National Convention in Tampa, the 2012 National GOP Platform was a better kept secret than many a national defense document. The 62-page Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan platform was released Tuesday by convention officials. Before then
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California GMO Labeling Law Named Prop. 37
California’s Office of the Secretary of State announced on Monday that the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, also known as the GMO labeling initiative, will appear on voter ballots as Proposition 37 for the November 6 elections. If passed, Prop. 37 would make California the first state
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2012 Election: Where Do GOP Candidates Stand on Food Safety?
Though food regulatory issues tend to fall behind top-of-mind policy concerns — such as the overall health of the economy, unemployment, ongoing war in the Middle East, and the price of gas — on the campaign trail, the GOP presidential candidates have given hints about where they stand.
As this
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