Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
December 10, 2020 — USDA releases a watered-down, single rule, the only one remaining from the original 2010 Farmer Fair Practice Rules that the Trump Administration did not discard. This rule has been widely criticized for being too weak to ensure enforcement of the PSA, and failing to address farmer and rancher concerns that have been voiced for decades.
In 2017, at the same time the Farmer Fair Practice Rules are permanently discarded, GIPSA gets a demotion. The new Trump Administration moves oversight of the powerful meat and chicken companies from having a self-standing agency within USDA, to being buried within the Agricultural Marketing Service. Essentially, GIPSA was moved to a branch of USDA that normally collaborates with companies, and does not normally conduct oversight of companies. This move signals a retreat from the decades-long effort to ensure that farmers and ranchers are justly protected by the PSA.
COVID- 19 Outbreaks in NC: Symptoms of a Sick System By Sally Lee Tyson Foods recently disclosed that 570 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at their Wilkesboro chicken processing plant. In this unprecedented time, we must take care to not be divided by the meat industry’s all-too familiar blame shifting tactics. The Trump administration’s official response to this crisis in meat plants has been to simultaneously declare […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 8, 2020 Food Integrity Campaign Petition to Protect Meat Inspectors During COVID-19 Garners Thousands of Signatures Petition Launch Follows Thousands of COVID-19 cases in Meat Industry WASHINGTON – This week, the Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign launched a petition to expand and strengthen protections for essential workers employed within the meat industry. Meat industry […]
Note: this article, featuring Government Accountability Project and the Food Integrity Campaign, was originally published here. Kentucky Slaughterhouses Battle the Coronavirus’s Spread Amid Fears of Meat Shortage Major meat processors across the country have continued to battle coronavirus hotspots in their plants — including in Kentucky. Two Western Kentucky poultry plants, each the largest employer […]
Note: this article, featuring Government Accountability Project and the Food Integrity Campaign, was originally published here. USDA Sued For Increasing Slaughterhouse Kill Speeds to 175 Chickens per Minute A coalition of animal welfare groups has filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for increasing the killing ‘speed limit’ in chickens slaughterhouses […]
Note: this article, featuring Government Accountability Project and the Food Integrity Campaign, was originally published here. Federal Pork Inspectors Are Sounding the Alarm Over USDA’s Plan to Give Industry More Control After 20 years of studying the issue through four administrations, USDA is moving forward to give industry a bigger say in food safety operations. […]
Note: this article, featuring Government Accountability Project and the Food Integrity Campaign, was originally published here. Amid Widespread Disease Transmission Concerns Linked to Meat Consumption, USDA Approves Slaughterhouses to Kill Birds 25% Faster In light of the Coronavirus, we are seeing first hand how wildlife trade and meat consumption are related to infectious diseases and the deadly risk it poses to public health. It […]
Note: this article, featuring our clients Jill Mauer and Anthony Vallone, was originally published here. Mystery Pork: Food Inspectors Warn New FDA Rules Can Make Meat Less Safe New quality-control rollbacks backed by the Trump administration will drastically reduce the number of trained inspectors at pork production plants across the country. Two veteran food inspectors have […]
Three Things We’re Thankful for at the Food Integrity Campaign As we prepare to gather around our tables with family and friends this Thanksgiving, we at the Food Integrity Campaign would like to express our gratitude for 10 years of working together to empower food system whistleblowers. Food sits at the center of our lives, […]