President Donald J. Trump wants to consolidate federal food safety under a single agency housed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
President Barack Obama also wanted to consolidate food safety, only he preferred housing it in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Food and Drug Administration.
Obama failed because Congress…
Before it wrapped up its meetings this week in Washington D.C., the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) agreed to priorities for the 2018 farm bill.
If that seems a little pre-mature, it’s not. Congressional leaders plan to get to work on the 2018 farm bill later this year. And food safety, specifically…
Food safety in 2017 will be dependent on our “complicated bureaucracies” that exist to get through transitions and times of change. Both USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are sure to be taking many “business as usual” actions in January.
Confucius taught the Ancient Chinese bureaucracies…
This article has been updated to reflect additional information and include a post-publication interview with Edward Cooney, Executive Director of the Congressional Hunger Center. The American Medical Association, along with a coalition of 18 mayors, came out against the eligibility for sugary drinks to be purchased under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known…
As 2012 came to a close, I decided to set what I believed to be an achievable goal for my New Year’s Resolution: to complete one personal “challenge” each month in 2013. For February (yes—the shortest month), I took on the “food stamp challenge,” for two reasons:
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The oppotunity to cut from the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program could put the Farm Bill on the agenda of the lame duck Congress, some agricultural interests say. The 2008 Farm Bill expired Oct. 1, and Congress recessed for the elections without agreement on the 2012 update. Congressional leaders need to decide pretty quickly whether…
Healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive. That’s the message of a new guide to eating well on a budget released by the Environmental Working Group today. The guide – “Good Food on a Tight Budget” – is designed to debunk the popular belief that low-income families can’t afford to eat healthily. While…
As expected, the House version of the 2012 Farm Bill contains deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps). With its $16 billion proposed cut in this critical safety net, the House leadership is about three times as cruel as the Senate, which already approved a $4.5 billion reduction over…
If the USDA wants us to “eat healthy” by filling up half of our plates with fruits and vegetables, then why does the Senate’s proposed version of the 2012 Farm Bill continue to pour so many taxpayer dollars into programs that benefit farms that grow the crops so widely used in processed foods that some…
The “Dakota Queen,” piloted by George McGovern, had been hit hard by enemy fire while over the Skoda works at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia – a facility that produced arms for the Nazis. One engine had fallen off and the other was in flames. The plane was going down. McGovern quickly launched his bombs, turned the plane…
