USDA
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Critical List: Republicans plan to defund the environment; no one likes the EPA
House Republicans want to defund all kinds of environmental activity -- the EPA, the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service. You know, just anything having to do with the outside.
And the USDA thinks that bioengineered bluegrass doesn't fall within its regulatory sphere, which means companies could grow the stuff without any regulation.
Exposing mice to air pollution makes them dumber and more depressed.
So it's probably good for everyone that the EPA is putting new regulations on coal-fired power plants that should reduced emissions of sulfur dioxide by 73 percent and nitrogen oxides by 54 percent from 2005 levels. Should Republicans succeed in cutting the agency’s budget yet again, this action could be little more than an empty gesture, though. -
GOP votes against food safety — again
The House voted to kill the USDA's Microbiological Data Program, which tests produce for pathogens like E. coli.
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There's a Foxx guarding the ag-policy henhouse
Rep. Virginia Foxx recently sponsored an amendment to shut down the USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative.
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House Republicans aim pitchfork at food-system reform
U.S. ag policy isn't totally geared to Big Ag -- but it will be if the House gets its way, writes Tom Philpott.
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GOP's tiny cuts wound small farmers
A $2 million cut to the USDA's budget by the GOP-controlled House makes little difference to the nation's bottom line. But it brings big hurt to small farmers by undercutting efforts to reform the meatpacking industry.
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USDA rejects GOP demand to undo new school meal guidelines
The USDA won't back away from proposed guidelines for healthier school food, despite demands from Republican lawmakers that the agency eliminate cost increases.
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Poison apples bad for consumers, Snow White
Environmental Working Group sifts through USDA data to figure out which Dirty Dozen fruits and veggies deliver the most pesticides. This year's winner: apples
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What’s wrong with the USDA’s new MyPlate graphic? Plenty
The collective wisdom in press reports last week was that the USDA’s new “easy to understand” ChooseMyPlate image is “better” than the old pyramid. Well, that’s not saying much. But it’s also completely beside the point. Sure, it’s easy to poke fun at how bad the pyramid image was (and I had a ball doing […]
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FDA admits supermarket chickens test positive for arsenic
Why is Big Ag playing chicken with our health?Back in March, Tom Philpott wrote about the “insane” practice of feeding factory-farmed chickens arsenic: The idea is that it makes them grow faster — fast growth being the supreme goal of factory animal farming — and helps control a common intestinal disease called coccidiosis. The industry […]