livestock
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Ranchers struggle against giant meatpackers and economic troubles
All cattle, no hats.Photo: Rob CrowA sea of cream-colored cowboy hats, the kind ranchers wear on their days off, fills a sterile conference room at the Fort Collins Marriott. Banners from groups like the Ranchers-Cattlemen Legal Action Fund and the Western Organization of Resource Councils add bright slashes of color, and warn that JBS, the […]
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Oprah discovers slaughterhouses are more sanitary when sanitized
Oprah sent an “investigative” reporter into a Cargill slaughterhouse, and the resulting video is, frankly, amazing. If you’re the least curious about how cows make the journey from feedlot to your plate, it’s worth watching the whole thing. But why would ag giant Cargill, a company with a record nearly as tainted as the nearly […]
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The FDA finally reveals how many antibiotics factory farms use — and it's a shitload
After years of avoiding the issue, the FDA has finally disclosed exactly how many tons of drugs industrial livestock operations routinely dose their animals with each year.
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House Ag Committee to USDA: Take your livestock reform and shove it
The USDA tries to level the playing field for small poultry producers, but the House Ag Committee plays block and tackle on industry's behalf.
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Being prepared — to grow your own meat
(Steph Larsen photos)Everyone knows the Boy Scouts’ motto: Be Prepared. While my immediate inclination is to ask “For what?”, it’s as good a command as any to live by. One at which I failed miserably last week. I came home from work and went out to the sheep paddocks to make sure they looked healthy […]
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If you can’t beat ’em, cheat ’em
Photo: Kat… via FlickrConsider the weasel: so unassuming, even sweet — on the outside. But put them near their prey and watch out! I’ve got weasels on my mind, of course, thanks to Ohio Issue 2, which goes before voters tomorrow. Issue 2 is the Ohio livestock industry’s attempt to head off restrictions on their […]
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Can the USDA really keep our food safe?
Having read and listened to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s attempts at ground beef-related damage control in the wake of the recent food safety revelations, I’m left to wonder if the USDA simply needs to get out of the food safety business entirely. Vilsack himself — in a Minnesota NPR radio interview where he defended the […]
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Boss Hog’s attempted regulatory coup in North Carolina
For the past two years, the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission has been crafting new rules to require water monitoring at factory hog farms, a significant source of pollution in the state. But last week, even with concerns growing over the environmental impacts of hog farms, the North Carolina Senate unanimously passed a bill that […]
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Factory farms get the ultimate handout
Since the beginning of climate change legislation this session in Congress it has been clear that big agriculture would not be a part of a cap and trade program. Yet, while the Waxman Markey bill has been making its way through Congress, the EPA has also been pushing forward its own agenda of climate related […]
