Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
To the Editor: Re “Open the Slaughterhouses” (Op-Ed, April 9): Advocates for the meat industry are fundamentally incorrect in their assertion that ag-gag bills offer protection to whistle-blowers. To suggest that 48-hour grace periods for bringing video evidence of animal abuse to the authorities without threat of prosecution benefits whistle-blowers is misleading. Mandatory reporting is […]
by Alastair Bland For years, undercover videos documenting animal cruelty at farms and slaughterhouses have cast the nation’s meat and dairy farmers in a grim light. In response, the livestock industry supported legislative efforts in multiple states designed to keep cameras from recording without permission in livestock plants. The Salt reported on these efforts, which […]
by Aviva Shen A new food inspection rule proposed by the US Department of Agriculture would let poultry plants conduct their own inspections, removing federal food inspectors from the assembly line. At a House appropriations oversight hearing on Wednesday, Food Safety and Inspection Service administrators argued the move would save taxpayers money and allow the […]
by Dan Noyes The ABC7 I-Team took an inside look at a common meat industry practice that has activists and the meat industry squaring off. It’s a battle that is bringing up new questions about how much you get to know about the meat you eat. First we told you about meat glue, now, we’re […]
by Mike McGraw Two kids seriously injured in the Joplin tornado in May 2011 showed up at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City suffering from antibiotic-resistant infections from dirt and debris blown into their wounds. Physicians tried different drugs, but at first nothing seemed to work. Blame the overuse of antibiotics in livestock, according to […]
by Matthew Hay Brown Federal workers’ unions and food safety groups have joined to oppose new rules proposed by the Department of Agriculture to streamline federal poultry inspections. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says the rules would “modernize” inspections of young chickens and turkeys, saving money for businesses and taxpayers while allowing inspectors […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to “withhold agency data regarding the sale of antibiotics for use in food animals” is unlawful, according to a lawsuit filed by the Government Accountability Project (GAP) Wednesday. Drug companies are required to report basic information about antibiotic sales to the FDA under the Animal Drug User […]
by Jon K. Brent Washington, D.C. – A food watchdog group is claiming that the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to withhold agency data regarding the sale of antibiotics for use in food animals is unlawful. The group knows as the Government Accountability Project or GAP filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Federal Court. GAP notes […]
A new bill on its way to President Obama’s desk for approval aims to improve protections for whistleblowers working in the federal government, including those in food-related areas such as veterinarians, U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors and U.S. Food and Drug Administration employees. On Tuesday, Congress passed the Whislteblower Protection Enhancement Act to help ensure […]
by Grant Schulte NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. — Beef Products Inc. sued ABC News, Inc. for defamation Thursday over its coverage of a meat product that critics dub “pink slime,” claiming the network damaged the company by misleading consumers into believing it is unhealthy and unsafe. The Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based meat processor is seeking $1.2 […]