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La Vida Locavore is the blog for anyone whose crazy life includes planting, growing, weeding, fertilizing, raising, picking, harvesting, processing, cooking, baking, making, serving, buying, selling, distributing, transporting, composting, organizing around, lobbying about, writing about, thinking about, talking about, playing with, and eating food!

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USDA

Senate

Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
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- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
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- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
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- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)

Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Senate Hunger Caucus

House

Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
*=House Organic Caucus member
B=Blue Dog Democrat

Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA)
*=House Organic Caucus member

P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC)
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

House Organic Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus

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Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Tyson) and Chinese Chicken

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 04:56:28 AM PDT

Back in May, I wrote about Chinese chicken. Meatpackers want to be allowed to import processed Chinese chicken. A broad coalition of other groups oppose it. Currently, it's illegal. America does not import processed Chinese chicken. The fight is over whether or not to legalize it. And... it looks like Sen. Mark Pryor (predictably, the Senator from Arkansas, the same state as Tyson) might try to make processed Chinese chicken legal again.

Over on the House side, I believe Rep. Rosa DeLauro is more or less in charge of this decision, as she chairs the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee. She passed a bill leaving the ban in place. Pryor's attempting to put language in the Senate bill that would:

...ease the ban by allowing the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service to develop and implement regulations for importing cooked poultry products from China. The measure would require on-site inspections at Chinese facilities in addition to reinspections at ports of entry.

In other words, he wants to legalize it. With additional inspections, to make sure it's safe. What's really at stake here is our meat export market to China. China doesn't want American chicken unless America will accept Chinese chicken. China is our largest export market for poultry, and they account for 12 percent of Tyson's international sales. In other words, this move to legalize Chinese chicken has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with helping Tyson.

Personally, I have a problem with exporting factory farmed meat. It's such a destructive industry, both for the environment and also for rural economies, that I think we get a crummy deal when we export it. America gets left with the manure, the stench, the decreased property values around the smelly factory farm, the antibiotic resistant bacteria, and (often) the impoverished factory farmer; Tyson gets the money; and the foreign country gets cheap meat. I think if they want cheap meat, then they should also have to deal with the consequences of cheap meat, instead of shifting those onto us while Tyson or another multinational corporation pockets the profits.

The question now, if the Senate passes the bill with Pryor's language included, is what will happen when the bill goes to conference.

Jill Richardson :: Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Tyson) and Chinese Chicken

Tags: China, Poultry, chicken, Mark Pryor, (All Tags)

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Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Tyson) and Chinese Chicken | 8 comments

Shenanigans afoot? (4.00 / 2)

From Food and Water Watch letter, May 11 2006

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service recently approved the import of processed poultry products from the People's Republic of China (see 71 FR 20867-20871). While the rule adopted by FSIS would prohibit the PRC from using its own domestic poultry for processing (the rule states that only poultry from the United States or from a country that is already approved to ship poultry to the United States can be processed in the PRC), there are no guarantees that this is going to occur. USDA should be concerned that the PRC has had numerous outbreaks of H5N1 among its poultry flocks. And while the rule prohibits the PRC from using its own domestic poultry for processing, USDA inspectors will not be permanently stationed in exporting facilities to ensure that this condition is met and that poultry is being cooked at the proper temperatures at all times, which is necessary to kill the H5N1 virus or other food borne pathogens.

Your May essay quotes from a more recent letter:

It should be noted that the PRC never certified any plants to export processed poultry products to the United States under the April 24, 2006 rule. Instead, the PRC government renewed its effort to be able to export processed poultry of domestic Chinese origin.

Note that it was the PRC that didn't certify. I wonder why?

Your idea that Tyson wants to preserve export business makes sense, certainly, but I wonder if that's all there is to it. Does Tyson want to establish massive growing operations in China? Lord knows they would love to escape the increasing scrutiny, pesky regulators, and contract grower relations problems they encounter here.

Tyson has facilities in many locations. Purdue, a Maryland company, does also. So, I wonder how much support Pryor will get from legislators from Virginia, Maryland, etc.

by: count @ Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 08:32:22 AM CDT

by: you @ soon

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Correction (4.00 / 2)

Food and Water Watch was only one of the signers of the May 11 2006 letter.

Sorry.

by: count @ Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 08:35:29 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

For some reason, (4.00 / 3)

I think Tyson is already established there. It's been a bit since I followed the Chinese chicken goings on . . .

by: nycstray @ Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 14:58:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Do you know (4.00 / 2)

who would be on the conference committee?

by: count @ Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 08:50:30 AM CDT

by: you @ soon

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No idea (4.00 / 2)

but I'd bet DeLauro will be. I can find out what she's gonna do about this.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 09:06:18 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Chinese chicken is already coming here (4.00 / 3)

in the form of pet food/treats. I would read your labels if you feed your pets chicken treats. Also, some of the product carries the irradiation symbol on the package.

by: nycstray @ Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 15:00:24 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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I know there's more to the situation (4.00 / 3)

then just my simplistic first thoughts about it but if China doesn't want to accept imports unless they can export it as well...if they have so much chicken to export in the first place then why do they need the imports. Same with the US side of the coin. I know it has to do with types and the processing of the chicken but it just seems stupid in every regards except of course the corporate bottom line and 'adding value'.

Reminds of sitting in a basic economics class and the prof trying to explain how in theory it's better 'economically' for exports of Canadian shortbread crossing the ocean to Britain and passing by the ship full of shortbread coming to Canada. The class was puzzled because to our uneconomically formed minds little of what he was saying made sense. The prof actually agreed with most of the questioning the class had but just shrugged. That's the theory, that's the way the system is set up to measure economic activity, that's just the way it works right now and in the end that's what counts. Learn it cause it will be on the test. LOL

by: elizajade @ Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 16:15:25 PM CDT

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my thoughts exactly (4.00 / 1)

i wonder, do the chinese and american chicken's pass one another as they cross in the air, en route to one another's countries?

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 18:05:34 PM CDT

[ Parent ]