Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
by CHASE PURDY Increased line speeds and fewer federal inspectors are a cause for concern at three Hormel pork processing plants participating in a USDA inspection pilot project, says the Government Accountability Project. Four USDA inspectors have come forward to complain about conditions in those plants. “We went from having seven inspectors assigned to the […]
By CAREY GILLAM Processing lines at some U.S. hog slaughterhouses are moving too fast for inspectors to adequately address contamination and food safety concerns, according to an advocacy group that says it has obtained affidavits from four government meat inspectors. In the affidavits, released Friday by the Government Accountability Project, a “whistle-blower protection” organization, the […]
By LEAH GARCES Last month, something unprecedented happened that rocked the chicken industry’s world. Perdue contract farmer Craig Watts decided he’d had enough. Together with my organization, Compassion in World Farming, he released a video that gave the public a unique view into the secretive world of the chicken industry. He revealed what the National Chicken Council […]
By CHASE PURDY The 15 lawmakers who quizzed the USDA over the effectiveness of its New Poultry Inspection System forgot a few questions, says the Food Integrity Campaign. For example, the whistleblower protection group wants to know: “What does the agency have to say about concerns regarding general spraying of chemicals on all poultry rather […]
Director of the Food Integrity Campaign, Amanda Hitt, appeared in this PBS piece (at minute 2:00) discussing the concerns of poultry inspectors in light of USDA’s problematic inspection rule. “What’s been consistent is a culture where the meat inspectors themselves aren’t heard and they’re not listened to and they’re frequently disregarded, and that comes at […]
By WILLY BLACKMORE If you’re a USDA meat inspector or a researcher at a biotech firm, Googling “whistle-blower rights” from a company computer is probably not in your best interest. That’s why the people behind the Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign have been thinking a lot about smart phones. The group’s newly redesigned website, […]
By CHASE PURDY Now that the USDA has released its final rule on poultry inspection modernization, the Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign is remaking itself to take on a broader array of interests. The campaign’s director, Amanda Hitt, says the group’s next step is to take on slaughter speeds in the pork and beef […]
The Government Accountability Project runs a campaign aimed at protecting and empowering employees to speak out against waste, fraud, abuse and violations of the law along the food supply chain. Some of the work of the group’s Food Integrity Campaign (FIC) includes fighting state anti-whistleblower “ag-gag” laws, shaming the poultry industry’s heavy use of chemicals, […]
By BILL KNIGHT As recently reported, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea killed millions of piglets in 27 states this year. Possibly originating in China, Iowa farmers were hurt the worst. But if something like that happened to be uncovered by Iowa whistleblowers, the whistleblowers could be prosecuted. In some states, E coli, salmonella and a whole host […]
BY BILL KNIGHT As recently reported, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea killed millions of piglets in 27 states this year. Possibly originating in China, Iowa farmers were hurt the worst. But if something like that happened to be uncovered by Iowa whistleblowers, the whistleblowers could be prosecuted. In some states, E coli, salmonella and a whole host […]