The folks who write POLITICO’S Agriculture Tip Sheet were celebrating an anniversary Tuesday. Not their own, but the one-year anniversary of USDA’s proposed organic aquaculture standards being hung up in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House. 
Letter From the Editor: Legacy or Not, FSMA Funds Needed Now
Last week, former Food Safety News Washington, D.C., correspondent Helena Bottemiller Evich reached a bold conclusion — namely that the Obama administration has missed out on the opportunity to include food safety in any legacy it can claim. Writing now for POLITICO Pro Agriculture, Helena turned out a “must-read” piece entitled, “Why President Obama and …
Groups Jockey for Position Ahead of Final WTO Decision on COOL
As the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) final decision regarding country of origin labeling (COOL) looms, industry is asking Congress to prepare for a judgment against the U.S. “With little potential for quick Congressional action after a WTO final adjudication, we request that Congress authorize and direct the Secretary of Agriculture to suspend indefinitely the revised…
Letter From the Editor: Two ‘Thumbsuckers’ Worth Reading
Journalists have long used the term “thumbsucker” to describe a piece that was usually fairly long and obvious yet still pulled together some story that was worth telling but didn’t have to be told today. “Schedule that thumbsucker from Davis to top the B section on Sunday,” I was ordered by my first managing editor.…