USDA says individuals and groups may need license if buying…

A Washington Post investigation showing that buyers affiliated with 86 rescue and dog-advocacy groups and shelters nationwide have spent $2.68 million buying dogs at auctions has ignited fierce debate - and late Tuesday the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a bulletin stating that such individuals and nonprofits may need to be licensed under the federal Animal Welfare Act. "Our job is to ensure the humane treatment of the animals we regulate," Deputy Administrator Bernadette Juarez, who leads the department's animal care program, said in the bulletin, which cited "dog acquisitions from an auction for resale as pets" as a reason that individuals or groups may require federal regulation.

Fear of competition – not consumer protection – is behind…

A desire to protect its members, not consumers, is the primary motivation behind the US Cattlemen's Association petition to restrict use of the terms 'beef' and 'meat' to products from animals "born, raised, and harvested in the traditional manner" claim leading plant-based and cultured meat companies. In a comment a a to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service urging it to reject the USCA petition, the Good Food Institute, Tofurky, Lightlife Foods, Field Roast Grain Meat Co, Impossible Foods, Finless Foods, Sweet Earth Foods, and Hungry Planet, argue that USDA is authorized to regulate meat labels to protect the health and welfare of consumers.

Trump touts effect of his call with China’s Xi on U.S. beef exports

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he thinks a conversation he had with China's President Xi Jinping has had an impact on U.S. beef exports to China, where American exporters are now selling "a lot" of beef. U.S. President Donald Trump departs after giving remarks during an event in the White House Rose Garden in Washington, U.S., April 12, 2018.

Drug testing plan considered for some food stamp recipients

The Trump administration is considering a plan that would allow states to require certain food stamp recipients to undergo drug testing, handing a win to conservatives who've long sought ways to curb the safety net program. The proposal under review would be narrowly targeted, applying mostly to people who are able-bodied, without dependents and applying for some specialized jobs, according to an administration official briefed on the plan.

Stopping Cruel High-Speed Pig Slaughter

USDA's proposed " Modernization of Swine Slaughter Inspection " rule would expand a failed and unlawful pilot program, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based Inspection Models Project , to pig slaughterhouses nationwide, creating the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System. While the largest meat companies stand to profit from this privatized, speeded-up pig slaughter, animals, consumers, and slaughterhouse workers will pay a steep price.

Nat’l Cotton Council: Tariffs Would Undermine U.S. Trade With China

NAT'L COTTON COUNCIL: TARIFFS WOULD UNDERMINE U.S. TRADE WITH CHINA Apr. 5, 2018 Source: Nat'l Cotton Council news release The National Cotton Council is concerned that China's announcement of significantly higher proposed tariffs on U.S. raw cotton shipped to that country would significantly harm the economic health of the U.S. cotton industry. For the current 2017 crop year, China stands as the second largest export market with purchases of approximately 2.5 million bales of U.S. cotton.

USDA: Participation And Expenditures For SNAP Continue To Fall

USDA: PARTICIPATION AND EXPENDITURES FOR SNAP CONTINUE TO FALL Apr. 5, 2018 Source: USDA news release Fiscal 2017 marked the fourth consecutive year that participation in USDA's largest food and nutrition assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , decreased. On average, 42.2 million people-or about 13 percent of the Nation's population-participated in the program each month in fiscal 2017.

Urban gardens need to be given more consideration

With a greater frequency of extreme weather events occurring around the world, Secure Your Food program director Derek Melting Tallow says it is time for cities like Lethbridge to begin thinking about emergency management in a different way. "Extreme weather events are occurring at such a frequency and intensity that it is affecting food production worldwide," he says.

Perdue: On the road again, to visit Mastronardi in Michigan

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, , visits with Lef Farms President Henry Huntington at the greenhouse company in Loudon, N.H., in early September during a "Back to Our Roots" RV tour. Perdue and USDA staff are again traveling in an RV this week, with plans to visit Mastronardi Produce in Coldwater, Mich.

Five Questions USDA Secretary Perdue Should Ask Before Lunch at the…

Secretary to visit hog slaughter facility piloting controversial privatized inspection model; documents obtained by Food & Water Watch raise serious questions about facility. , new documents obtained by Food & Water Watch raise serious questions about safety at a new "state of the art" hog slaughter plant in Michigan that is seeking to partially privatize its inspections process.

Companies Very Positive About USDA Deregulating Plant Development Technology

COMPANIES VERY POSITIVE ABOUT USDA DEREGULATING PLANT DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY Apr. 2, 2018 Wired.com reports: FOR YEARS NOW, the US Department of Agriculture has been flirting with the latest and greatest DNA manipulation technologies. Since 2016, it has given free passes to at least a dozen gene-edited crops, ruling that they fall outside its regulatory purview.

USDA recalls thousands of pounds of ‘high-risk’ beef

PFP Enterprises is recalling approximately 7,146 pounds of raw beef products that were produced and packaged without the benefit of federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Saturday. The frozen and fresh beef items were produced on March 23-24, 2018.