November 4th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
I’m serving a special five-course meal to the intellectually challenged members of Congress who support Big Agribusiness and predatory insurance companies over the health and safety of the American people.
Let’s review the menu:
First Course: Double Cheeseburger
Sourced from: San Diego Meat Co. On Oct. 13, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared a Class I recall on 925 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli.
As a refresher, dear legislators, a Class I recall is defined as “a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
Cases of ground beef patties and bulk ground beef were shipped to restaurants and caterers in San Diego. Fly to SoCal, and eat up, guys! You can barf later on Shamu.
Second Course: Beef Tongue
Sourced from: Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., Milwaukee. The affected 5,522 pounds, recalled Oct. 17, may include tonsils, which means the company failed to comply with USDA regulations. Tongue tissue may be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease).
No worries, guys. It’s a Class II recall, which means there’s a “remote probability of adverse consequences.” You like to gamble with people’s lives, so dig in!
Third Course: Chicken & Apple Sausage
Sourced from: Vatran’s Fine Foods, Inc., Tracy, Calif. Approximately 11,500 pounds of assorted meat and poultry products were recalled on Oct. 16 because they were produced without the benefit of federal inspection. It’s another high-risk Class I recall, affecting pork, chicken, turkey and lamb sausages, as well as veal frankfurters and other products. Chow down, wieners!
Fourth Course: Beef Butt Steak
Sourced from: Crocetti’s Oakdale Packing Co. (doing business as South Shore Meats, Inc.), Brockton, MA. Some 1,039 pounds of fresh ground beef patties derived from bench trim, as well as mechanically tenderized beef cuts, may be contaminated with E. coli. The USDA declared a Class I recall on Oct. 26. Hope that nice slab of butt is extra juicy!
Fifth Course: Meatballs
Sourced from: Fairbank Farms, Ashville, NY. This is a biggie: a Class I recall Oct. 31 of 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef products. This one aggravates me even more because it includes Trader Joe’s Butcher Shop Fine Quality Meats and the Wild Harvest Natural brand. So far, 28 people have been sickened, and at least one person has died.
Diner Rules
You’re expected to clean your plates. Luckily, you have great health insurance—you know, the kind of coverage you refuse to provide to your constituents.
Tags: beef, E. coli, farming, food safety, mad cow disease, meat, Organic Food, recalls, USDA
Posted in Health, Organic Food | 2 Comments »
October 19th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
As we reported on Saturday, pigs on display at the Minnesota State Fair were undergoing confirmatory tests to determine whether they were infected with H1N1 (swine flu).
Earlier today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack revealed the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus was present in samples collected at the fair. Additional samples are being tested.
At press time, the USDA believes the Minnesota case “does not suggest infection of commercial herds because show pigs and commercially raised pigs are in separate segments of the swine industry that do not typically interchange personnel or animal stock.”
Vilsack once again is reassuring Americans that eating pork does not pose any infection dangers.
We’ll continue to monitor the story for you.
Tags: H1N1, pigs, pork, swine flu, USDA
Posted in Health | 3 Comments »
October 17th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is testing some Minnesota pigs to confirm whether they are infected with the H1N1 virus (swine flu).
If so, this would be the first U.S. case of H1N1 in a swine population.
According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, pigs at the Minnesota State Fair were routinely tested between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1. Preliminary results revealed some of the pigs were infected, even though they showed no signs of illness and seemed healthy.
“Like people, swine routinely get sick or contract influenza viruses,” Vilsack says. “We currently are testing the Minnesota samples to determine if this is 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza. We are working in partnership with CDC, as well as our animal and public health colleagues, and will continue to provide information as it becomes available.”
The results may be in within the next few days.
The pork industry is already freaking out about the PR implications, and Vilsack is working with them to remind Americans that “they cannot get this flu from eating pork or pork products.”
While there was an outbreak of H1N1 in a group of children housed in a state-fair dormitory—at the same time samples were collected from the pigs—the USDA says there’s no direct link. The children, however, may have infected the pigs.
Meanwhile, the USDA is reminding pig producers to heed hygiene standards to prevent the introduction and spread of flu. The agency also urges them to participate in its swine influenza virus surveillance program, which monitors pig populations in an effort to detect illness and develop new vaccines.
Tags: H1N1, pigs, pork, swine flu, USDA
Posted in Health | 3 Comments »
October 12th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
Leanne Skelton, chief of the Fresh Products Branch of the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service, is working with the FDA to help develop new food safety rules.
Through this coordinated effort, the FDA will gather information and feedback from the fresh produce industry—including small and organic farmers—on the impact food safety rules have on their businesses.
“President Obama, like most Americans, wants immediate improvements in our food safety system,” says Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “As such, we are pulling together all our best resources—state and federal—to improve the safety of our foods and to work with growers to protect and promote the health of our nation.”
“The USDA and the FDA have joined together on listening sessions and farm tours, and are eager to develop a system of regulation that will work for American families and the growers,” adds the USDA’s Rayne Pegg.
In media statements, the Feds are emphasizing that they want to speak with local growers across the country to hear their ideas, concerns and experiences.
Time will tell whether local and organic farmers get the attention they deserve.
Tags: agriculture, family farms, farming, FDA, organic farming, Organic Food, USDA
Posted in Organic Food | No Comments »
October 5th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
During yesterday’s successful concert, Farm Aid leaders asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support measures that help family farmers thrive.
In the 1990s, broken farm policies and consolidated corporate food production forced nearly 80% of hog farmers out of business. According to Farm Aid, similar circumstances are causing dairy farmers to be paid less than half of what it costs to produce milk, and the United States risks losing thousands of dairy farmers this year alone.
At yesterday’s concert, Farm Aid representatives reiterated their request for the USDA to set a price for milk that covers the cost of production, which would guarantee dairy farmers a fair price that keeps them on their land. Farm Aid also asked the USDA to stop using taxpayer dollars to fund new and larger factory farms.
“Family farmers are the first rung of the economic ladder in this country,” said Farm Aid Founder and President Willie Nelson. “Against all odds, they have persevered and found ways to stay on their land, growing good food for all of us and creating strong communities. It’s time now for policy to rise to meet their needs with fair prices and support for their innovations.”
“We invite all Americans to join us in pressing for food production that protects our environment, our health and our economy,” added Executive Director Carolyn Mugar. “We are encouraged by the opportunity the new administration in Washington offers us all for making the needed changes.”
At the concert, USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan joined farmers and food advocates in a conversation about the many ways family farmers are rebuilding local and regional food systems and reenergizing the economy.
“Farmers face overwhelming challenges as they work each day to put food on our tables, and Farm Aid’s ongoing efforts on behalf of family farmers have helped put a human face on this vocation,” she said. “At the same time, there is a bright future for small- and mid-sized producers because there is an agricultural renaissance taking place in America. More and more consumers are wanting to better connect with their producers, and USDA’s new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative helps to accomplish that goal.”
For Your Organic Bookshelf: Farm Aid: A Song for America
Photo: Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve Inc. 2009
Tags: activism, events, factory farms, family farms, Farm Aid, farms, music, Organic Food, USDA
Posted in Organic Living, Political Action | No Comments »
September 28th, 2009 - Laura Klein
 We don’t need yet another seal when it comes to food safety – we need real change in the production process that creates a safe food system, (especially when it comes to contamination-causing manure!) not another seal to trick consumers. The so-called Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement doesn’t guarantee safer food for consumers. Worse, it could actually harm small and medium size vegetable growers.
The proposed marketing agreement would allow corporate leafy green handlers to attach a USDA-backed “food safety seal” to lettuce, spinach, cabbage and other vegetables while prohibiting organic and local farmers at farmers markets, CSAs and roadside stands, and those selling directly to retailers, from using the same seal.
The California Certified Organic Farmers (COOF) and The Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy group, are just two organizations that have expressed concerns about the agreement’s transparency and validity.
Clearly, consumers who see a USDA-seal on some veggies and not another’s will assume the first is safer, when in fact, most likely the very opposite is true! In fact, in an ironic twist, one of the signatories to the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Industry, Ippolito International, recalled 1,715 cartons of spinach due to salmonella contamination just the other day.
“This proposed food safety agreement will do nothing to tackle the root cause of the food safety problem, which is, in most cases, manure from confined animal feeding operations that is tainted with disease causing pathogenic bacteria,” said Will Fantle, of the Wisconsin-based farm policy group, The Cornucopia Institute.
I’m passionate about poor animal conditions and its impact on food quality and safety. Clearly, the focus should be on the cause of most food contamination outbreaks: improper handling of mountains of manure containing pathogenic E. coli and salmonella that are generated on livestock factory farms that contaminate our surface water, groundwater and farm fields.
Growers Outraged
“I am concerned that organic, and small and medium sized local growers like myself, will become marketplace ‘second-class citizens’ in the eyes of some consumers, by implying that my produce is less safe – when the very opposite is likely to be true,” said Tom Willey, a certified organic vegetable grower from Madera, CA.
Growers and consumers are being encouraged to show up at one of a series of hearing sessions in September and October across the country – the USDA isn’t accepting comments in writing. Read the entire Leafy Greens Marketing Proposal for yourself, and stay tuned to OA.com for updates.
Tags: contaminants, food safety, food seals, organic farming, USDA
Posted in Health, Organic, Organic Food, green cleaning | 7 Comments »
August 28th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
Farm Aid is sponsoring a petition that calls on the U.S. government to suspend taxpayer funding of factory farms.
As the petition states:
Factory farms pose a real danger to our communities, our natural resources and the livelihood of hardworking family farmers. A current USDA program is funneling taxpayer money to fund new and bigger factory farm operations that lead to the gross overproduction of hogs and poultry. So much livestock is being churned out that it has caused a long-term depression of producer prices, forcing family farmers out of business.
The longer the USDA continues this misguided policy, the greater the threat to small farmers who are already being squeezed in this economy.
By signing the petition, you’ll add your name to a letter that will be sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. It urges the USDA “to suspend all direct or guaranteed farm ownership or operating loans for the construction or expansion of specialized hog or poultry production facilities.”
In other Farm Aid news, there’s still time to order tickets to the Oct. 4 concert in St. Louis, where performers like Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews, Neil Young and Willie Nelson will rock the house. And if you’re a photography buff, consider entering the Farm Fresh Pics photo contest; the winner will receive an expenses-paid trip and two front-row concert tickets.
Tags: activism, factory farming, factory farms, family farms, Farm Aid, farms, petitions, USDA
Posted in Organic Living, Political Action | 6 Comments »
August 16th, 2009 - Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
 What a bad year for food screw ups. There’s been a bunch of meat recalls, peanut butter laced with salmonella and even cookie dough went bad!
So it shouldn’t be a surprise the U.S. government is hell-bent on reforming food safety—organic food too.
The audit will investigate whether the National Organic Program—a branch of the U.S. Agriculture Department—is adhering to the rules for accrediting and overseeing federal organic standards.
There are almost 100 private certifiers who can grant “organic” status. So the audit will look into their activities. The review will begin in October and will be conducted by a division of the Commerce Department. It should take several months to complete.
Organic farmers, certifiers and other groups petitioned President Obama and requested for the audit. A spokesperson for the petitioners said, “Our hope is this will bring about consistency in the standards and with the way they deal with certifiers.”
Results will be released to the public. Now, I’m not a historian, but I can’t remember any non-organic, mass food producer actually asking for an audit, can you?
Via The Washington Post.
Tags: National Organic Program, USDA
Posted in Organic, Organic Food, Political Action | No Comments »
April 23rd, 2009 - Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
 Organic foods are great, especially fruits and vegetables, but let’s face it. Buying them is more expensive. Just go to the supermarket, you’ll see. More often than not organics are pricier than the normal produce.
You can guess why. Maybe organic farms aren’t as big as conventional farms, so that drives cost up. I don’t know.
A new study in the Agronomy Journal aims to figure out if organic farming techniques can actually be as profitable as conventional agriculture practices:
“In our study we found that diversified systems were more profitable than monocropping,” explains Joshua Posner, University of Wisconsin.
With feed grade premiums the organic systems were more profitable than the Midwestern standards of continuous corn, no-till corn and soybeans, and intensively managed alfalfa.
Rotational grazing of dairy heifers was as profitable as the organic systems. And to our surprise, including risk premiums into the evaluation did not change the ranking of the systems. This study indicates that governmental policy that supports mono-culture systems is outdated and support should be shifted to programs that promote crop rotations and organic farming practices.
In related news, other reports have claimed current organic food standards may put people at risk and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture pre-sliced organic fruits and veggies cannot be given to school children because they are considered processed foods.
Via ScienceDaily.
Tags: fruits, USDA, vegetables
Posted in Organic, Organic Food | No Comments »
March 17th, 2009 - Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
 I don’t eat meat. So this doesn’t matter to me, but what would you do if someone served you a hamburger and said the beef came from cows too weak or sick to stand. Hopefully you’d be too grossed out to eat it.
These animals are called “downer” cows and many health experts insist keeping these cows in the food system heightens the risk of mad cow disease.
As a result, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has banned downer cows from our food supply. Vilsack calls the move an advance in food safety and the humane treatment of animals.
During last week’s presidential address President Obama called the current U.S. food inspection system a hazard to public health, citing the recent salmonella-peanut butter outbreak responsible for hundreds of illnesses and nine deaths.
Last year a partial ban on downer cows was put in affect, but surprise-surprise, there was a loophole. If a cow collapsed after passing government food inspection it was allowed into the food supply. This move was initiated after the U.S.’s first case of mad cow disease in 2003.
In 2006 the Bush administration dramatically cut back testing for mad cow disease, despite mad cow outbreaks in Texas in 2005 and Alabama in 2006.
Via the Associated Press.
Tags: beef, mad cow, USDA
Posted in Health, Organic Food | 1 Comment »
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