Physician, Heal ThySelf

Delaware’s Bombay Hook Lacks Required Environmental Review and Justification
A lawsuit filed today in federal court against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service seeks to compel the Service to uproot genetically engineered (GE) crops from its Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. As many as 80 other national wildlife refuges across the country now [...]

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan wasn’t joking when she said a few weeks ago that she wanted to “play the role of matchmaker during this administration” and link existing USDA programs with local and regional food initiatives. Today, in an exciting moment for school lunch, she announced that the USDA will form Farm-to-School Tactical Teams to [...]

Excuse our gas.

Where I live in Vermont, the occasional whiff of manure is considered a minor inconvenience, one worth putting up with to live in this bucolic state, like mud in April, blackflies in May, mosquitoes in June, frost in September, leaf-peeping tourists in October, and snow for much of the rest of the year.
Don’t [...]

A new era of antitrust enforcement in agriculture? …And how it figures in to Let’s Move!Friday’s first-ever joint USDA/Department of Justice workshop on competition and regulatory issues in agriculture had a huge turnout, with about 700 farmers and agribusiness representatives flying in from states around the US to participate. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, US [...]

At a hearing on March 10, members of the House Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee had high praise for the FDA’s stepped-up food safety enforcement efforts during Commissioner Margaret Hamburg’s tenure.  Inspection efforts will undoubtedly increase even further if Congress moves forward with pending food safety legislation.   Hamburg thanked the House members for their passage of food [...]

Victims of foodborne illness gathered in the nation’s capital last week to speak to Senators about the need to move food safety legislation forward. Senate bill 510 (S510, the Food Safety Modernization Act) passed unanimously out of committee in November, but has yet to come to the floor of the Senate for a vote.
"I think [...]

By Krista Beckley
There have been several reports recently about genetic material from GMO corn making its way into soil, animals and insects. (The study these reports refer to appeared in the Journal of Chemical Ecology in July – Hart et. al 2009) The concept of how these genes enter into other organisms and food [...]

Resulting contamination of non-GE and organic alfalfa hay and seed would devastate livelihoods and organic industry
The National Organic Coalition (NOC) today announced that more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) critiquing the substance and conclusions of its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on Genetically Engineered (GE) Alfalfa. Groups, [...]

More of the same this week: corn dogs, chicken nuggets and nachos.
Monday, in Pocatello, ID:
- Corn Dog or Chicken Nuggets
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Baby Carrots
- Sliced Pears
- Applesauce
Tuesday, in Lawton, TX:
- Chicken Taco OR Cheeseburger OR Nachos OR Ham and Cheese Sub OR Noodle Oodle Salad
- Corn
- Lettuce with Dressing
- Fresh Vegetables
- Canned and Fresh [...]

Would you like an order of chips with this?

News this week that the United States had come out in support of giving endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna protection under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was hailed as a major victory by environmental groups. “The Obama administration’s decision to support [...]