This article originally appeared on WKMS. The poultry industry is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow faster work speeds at some facilities that slaughter and package chickens. The industry says a new inspection program allows them to process hundreds of birds per minute. But, worker and food safety advocates worry about higher speed […]
The Trump Administration has put the wellbeing of our children at risk. A bilateral trade deal between China and the United States formalized in May permits China to sell cooked poultry—mainly chicken and duck—to the United States. In return, the US beef industry is allowed access to China’s $2.5 billion market. The first delivery of […]
The Honorable Sonny Perdue Secretary of Agriculture United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20250 Dear Secretary Perdue, On behalf of USDA whistlelowers who have reached out to the Government Accountability Project’s (GAP) Food Integrity Campaign to voice dissatisfaction with dangerously fast poultry line speeds, we write you in opposition of […]
President Trump’s Department of Agriculture has a simple new recipe it is eager for you to try. First, generously add as much political influence from a powerful meat industry as the American public can tolerate. Next, stir in a generous amount of animal abuse, environmental damage, and worker exploitation. Lastly, while no one is paying […]
New Law Threatens Whistleblowers Vital to Protecting Worker, Animal Rights WASHINGTON – Yesterday afternoon, the Arkansas state government passed into law HB 1665, a bill designed to discourage whistleblowers from making public disclosures about food, worker, and animal safety at industrial agriculture facilities, under the guise of protecting property. This law severely restricts the rights […]
Last week, a Bloomberg story revealed that an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official boasted to an executive at the agri-giant Monsanto Company about “killing” another investigation into safety concerns over Roundup, a controversial weed-killer. If collusion did in fact take place, Monsanto and the EPA need to be held accountable. FIC and its coalition colleagues […]
The truth demands constant vigilance. And right now, we need all eyes on Arkansas. No rest for the weary, friends, as the lull in Ag-Gag legislation has sadly come to an end. Although GAP’s Food Integrity Campaign fights Ag-Gag every day in courts of law, we were all very much enjoying the break from new […]
GAP’S Food Integrity Campaign Praises USDA for Common-Sense First Steps to Protect Contract Farmers WASHINGTON – Today, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released three highly anticipated Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rules, two interim and one final, which are currently open for public comment. The proposed regulations seek to protect contract farmers […]
(Washington, DC) – Government Accountability Project (GAP) client and contract chicken farmer Eric Hedrick delivered more than 60,000 petition signatures to Capitol Hill yesterday as part of an effort to shed light on the poultry industry’s abusive practices. The largest single-owner producer in West Virginia, Eric has been a contract grower for Pilgrim’s Pride (the […]
The truth is trending in the poultry industry. More and more brave farmers are speaking out and seeking assistance from GAP’s Food Integrity Campaign to expose Big Chicken’s greedy practices. Eric Hedrick, a West Virginia poultry farmer contracted with Pilgrim’s Pride, sought our help after going public with concerns about diseased birds that look like […]