Christopher Doering

Reading Time: < 1 minute Nutritional labels will be mandatory on 40 popular cuts of meat and poultry products beginning in 2012, a measure the U.S. Agriculture Department says will make it easier for consumers to understand the content of the foods they buy. USDA said the nutritional information will be required for major cuts of raw, single-ingredient meat and […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes “I don’t think anyone can see this footage and feel good about this production system.” WAYNE PACELLE PRESIDENT OF THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE U.S. An undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States of major U.S. egg producers showed “rampant abuse” of hens, which the animal rights group said April 7 could […] Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute The U.S. Agriculture Department on Dec. 14 said it determined there would be no significant environmental harm to deregulating genetically modified alfalfa, but said it will open its preliminary finding to public comment before issuing a final decision. USDA first deregulated two types of Roundup Ready alfalfa in 2005. A federal judge in California ruled […] Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute The U.S. Agriculture Department on Dec. 14 said it determined there would be no significant environmental harm to deregulating genetically modified alfalfa, but said it will open its preliminary finding to public comment before issuing a final decision. USDA first deregulated two types of Roundup Ready alfalfa in 2005. A federal judge in California ruled […] Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute Despite industry claims of higher yields from biotech corn and soybeans, much of the increase can be tied to other improvements, according to a study released April 14. The Union of Concerned Scientists said its review found genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant soybeans and corn did not increase yields compared with conventional methods. Still, farmers embraced the […] Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute The U. S. Agriculture Department will buy turkey, pork, lamb and walnuts for domestic food assistance programs as part of several measures announced on March 31 to help farmers struggling with low prices, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The U. S. will buy $60 million of turkey, $25 million of pork, $2 million of lamb […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes A bill that would ban the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in animals would hurt the health of livestock and poultry while compromising efforts to protect the safety of the country’s food supply, the leader of the largest U. S. farm group said March 24. Bob Stallman, president of the 6 million-member American Farm Bureau Federation, […] Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute There are nearly 76,000 more U. S. farms than a few years ago but new operations tend to be smaller, more diversified and have lower sales than the average farm, according to Agriculture Department data released on Feb. 4. A USDA census taken every five years found four per cent more farms in 2007 than […] Read more