Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
What seemed like a basic information request seems to have been too much for factory farms that prefer to keep things under wraps. The EPA originally planned to issue a final rule this month that would require the owners of CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) to report certain data, such as the amount of waste […]
Water contamination from factory farm waste and agricultural pesticides is a growing problem and usually lacks a media spotlight. This week, however, two separate studies illustrating how big of a problem we face received decent attention. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report paints a bleak picture of the billions of dollars spent around […]
The Utah Senate passed the state’s “Ag Gag” bill yesterday with a 24-5 vote in a move to prevent undercover videotaping of abuse at livestock and poultry facilities. Following in Iowa’s footsteps, lawmakers changed some language to penalize individuals who apply for a job at an agricultural operation under false pretenses. According to Sen. Dave […]
Earlier this year, FIC celebrated the fact that major fast food chains pulled BPI’s ammoniated beef trimmings from their menus, vindicating the actions of GAP client and whistleblower Kit Foshee. However, news has come that the USDA is still planning to purchase the controversial product for school lunches, according to The Daily. Last year, 6.5 […]
Despite efforts to prevent Iowa’s “Ag Gag” legislation, including a FIC op-ed that appeared in the Cedar Rapids Gazette last week, Gov. Terry Branstad signed the bill into law on Friday. This is disconcerting news, however unsurprising (as the Associated Press points out) given Branstad’s “strong ties to the state’s agricultural industry.” Iowa is a […]
Update (2/29/12, 9:15 AM ET): Last night, the Iowa House agreed to the Senate language on this Ag Gag legislation. The bill has now been sent to the Governor for approval. Although legislators removed the language that specifically restricts the recording of undercover video, the bill is clearly aimed at whistleblowers who use such, as […]
A recent study shows that chemical exposure – including that from food products – may cause child IQ reduction that rivals the impacts of major medical conditions. The finding reveals that the effect on society of widespread lead, organophosphate pesticides and methylmercury exposure “may be more severe than what previous studies of individual risk would […]
It doesn’t seem like the Jimmy John’s sandwich chain can escape negative publicity this week. Once again, its raw sprouts have been linked to a foodborne illness outbreak (despite switching from alfalfa to clover sprouts after a Salmonella outbreak a year ago), sickening 12 people in five states with E. coli this time. On top […]
Great news! Yesterday it was announced that Trader Joe’s has, at last, signed an agreement with the Florida-based farmworker organization – the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) – to support the group’s Fair Food Program and demand better labor standards from the store’s Florida tomato suppliers. The agreement involves an increase in tomato farmworkers’ wages […]
Monsanto, a self-proclaimed solver of global agriculture problems, has really just brought more and more chemicals into our food supply. GAP coalition partner, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), gave the company a failing grade yesterday in documenting eight ways Monsanto has taken agriculture in the wrong direction. In addition to suppressing independent research on […]