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antibiotics 
Wed Dec 10, 2008 at 18:00:31 PM PST
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(Thanks to LA Locavore for this fantastic diary! - promoted by Jill Richardson)
Barack Obama is inheriting Ag policies and food safety policies that have been the subject of huge debates for years, and the FDA has just pulled off a whopper of a policy reversal to add to the mix. They're following the lead of other Bush regulatory bodies, which are scrambling to codify old policies in the Lame Duck microseconds that remain before Obama takes office, but FDA's stealth reversal stands to permanently alter the US food chain and profoundly endanger public health.
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Tue Nov 25, 2008 at 06:34:59 AM PST
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A person at Daily Kos (OrangeClouds115) suggested I post this here, so here it goes. It was recently found that Tyson Foods injects chickens with antibiotics before they hatch so they can use "Raised without Antibiotics" labels on their products.
Of course Tyson Foods is the second largest chicken producer in the United States. They openly admit engaging in this practice. In response, the USDA told Tyson to stop using the antibiotic-free label. The company has sued over its right to keep using it.
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Sun Nov 23, 2008 at 18:40:24 PM PST
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After reading A Hungry Thanksgiving for Many Americans by OrangeClouds115, I started thinking that in spite of the fact that many will be going hungry on Thanksgiving (like every other day) how may of us who will be eating, will be getting exposed to unsafe food (like every other day) ? We are told we have the safest food supply in the world. Do we really?
I suppose it depends on the comparison. Somalia? Kenya ? In developing countries close to 2 million children die every year from contaminated food and water. So I guess we can say we have a safer food system than theirs, wow! How do we fare compared to other industrialized countries?
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Tue Nov 11, 2008 at 15:51:44 PM PST
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Today I am beginning an occasional series on what George W. Bush will do for corporate interests and major Republican donors during the final weeks of his presidency.
This comes from the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's e-mail newsletter:
EPA Administrator Signs Off on Final CAFO Rule: Last Friday, as a "Halloween trick" for the environment and public health, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson signed a revised Clean Water Act final regulation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permits and effluent limitations. EPA revised the CAFO regulations in response to legal challenges to a 2003 CAFO final regulation, brought in the case Waterkeeper Alliance Inc. v. EPA by both environmental organizations and the CAFO sector.
The revision opens a gaping hole in the 2003 regulation by allowing a CAFO, no matter how large, to self-certify that the CAFO does not "intend" to discharge to the waters of the U.S. EPA ignored the recommendation of the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals to establish a regulatory presumption that large-scale CAFOs discharge pollutants. The presumption would have required that a large-scale CAFO demonstrate to regulatory authorities that it is designed and can be operated to avoid all discharges of regulated pollutants.
EPA also rejected making improvements in technology that reduce harmful bacteria and other pathogens that threaten public health, a problem aggravated by the development of antibiotic resistant pathogens in CAFOs. The revised rule does include one improvement required in Waterkeeper -- that a CAFO nutrient management plan must be included in a Clean Water Act permit for the CAFO and made available for public review and comment.
EPA is expected publish the revised final regulation in the Federal Register before the end of November. In the meantime, a copy of the unofficial version of the revised regulation is posted on the EPA website. You can also register on the website for a November 19 EPA webcast about the revised CAFO regulation.
SAC will be urging the new Administration to revisit this rulemaking on an expedited basis.
Why am I not surprised that industrial ag profits are a higher priority than the environment and public health?
I hope that the Obama administration will put this on the list of actions to be overturned.
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Wed Aug 27, 2008 at 18:22:25 PM PDT
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( - promoted by Jill Richardson)
cross-posted at the EENR progressive blog and Bleeding Heartland
My son just started kindergarten in the Des Moines public system. His school has a wonderful and caring staff, and he is having a great time, as he did in the pre-school program there. Unfortunately, like almost all public schools these days, this school relies on fundraising by the parents' group to pay for essential school supplies.
The parents' group decided years ago not to have our kids sell chocolate or wrapping paper or some other overpriced product to raise money, and I appreciate that.
They have opted this year to participate in the Tyson Project A+ label collection program, which is sponsored by Tyson Foods, Inc.
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