The Humane Society of the United States is announcing that the California anti-whistleblower "ag gag" legislation, AB 343, that was backed by the California Cattlemen's Association, was pulled by the bill's author. Assembly member Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) pulled the bill after widespread opposition by food safety, environmental, and animal rights organizations. Labor unions and first amendment organizations also opposed the bill. Jennifer Fearing, California state director for the HSUS said, "We are pleased to see the bill shelved. The problem isn't the rate at which animal cruelty is disclosed to authorities - but with the rampant cruelty itself. Industrial farming operations should be run so well that videos could never capture anything they wouldn't want their customers to … [Read more...]
Hawaii Senate Rejects GMO Labeling Bill
The Hawaii Senate committees on Agriculture, Commerce and Consumer Protection and Health deferred House Bill 174, after hearing the proposal. The bill has had a rocky ride in that state. On March 19, 2013, the Senate Agriculture Committee voted to not even hear the proposal after it passed the House by a 50 to 1 margin. Then on March 20, Democrats held a caucus and said that the bill would be heard. The public hearing was held on March 21, and then the three committees deferred the bill. Some members of the Senate said they want to see a study of the issue and will call for it via a concurrent resolution. Those who spoke against the bill included Monsanto employees. They said that GMO foods are safe and that labeling would impose costs on the industry. Advocates of labeling say the … [Read more...]
Monsanto Rider Passes Senate
The Monsanto Rider, Sec. 735, passed the Senate on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. It was included in the Continuing Resolution (CR) that will fund the government through September of this year. The House is expected to pass the bill. The Center for Food Safety is condemning the inclusion of this rider, which they call a "corporate earmark" in the CR. No hearings were held on the biotech rider and many Democrats on the committee that approved the CR didn't know it was included in the bill. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee did not bring the rider in front of the Agriculture or Judiciary Committees, as they usually would. Andrew Kimbrell, who is the Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety, said in a statement, "in this hidden … [Read more...]
Advocates Disappointed in Senate ADUFA Update
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee just released an update of the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA). This Act is supposed to require drug companies to report details about antibiotic sales, but the provision that would have increased the FDA's reporting of antibiotic sales used in food animals is missing. The Pew Charitable Trusts expressed disappointment with the update. Laura Rogers, a project director at that agency, said in a statement, "we are extremely disappointed that the Senate committee charged with protecting our health has neglected its mission. The nation's public health leaders urged the committee to allow the FDA to collect more detailed information about the sale of antibiotics for food animal production. Without greater transparency, the … [Read more...]
Senators Try to Strike Monsanto Rider
Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) has introduced amendment #74 to the Senate that would strike the so-called "Monsanto Rider" that would prevent the courts from protecting farmers from GMO crops. Senator Mikulski (D-MD) is sponsoring the rider that opponents such as the Center for Food Safety say is "giving a blank check to Monsanto and other corporations to plant illegal genetically engineered crops." The Monsanto Rider (Sec. 735), which was slipped into the Senate Continuing Resolution spending bill, will let industry continue to plant GMO and GE crops even if a court of law found the seeds were illegally approved. It undermines the USDA's oversight of genetically modified and engineered crops, interferes with the U.S. judicial review process, and could be unconstitutional. It also forces the … [Read more...]
Raw Milk Bills Fail in Iowa and Arkansas
Bills that would have legalized the sale of raw milk have failed in both Iowa and Arkansas. In Iowa, the bills were killed by the cutoff deadline, which means the committees did not vote on the bills so they were not passed out into the legislative body. A coalition worked against all three bills in Iowa The Iowa bills were HSB 131 in the House, and Senate Files 61 and 77. SF 77 stated, "Except as expressly authorized in subtitle 4, the department shall not regulate any of the following: a. Producing, processing, labeling, or marketing of milk, if the milk is produced by a person operating a dairy farm in compliance with section 192.45. b. Manufacturing, labeling, or marketing of a milk product or dairy product, if the milk product or dairy product is manufactured by a person operating … [Read more...]
Wisconsin Safe Milk Association Opposes Raw Milk Bill
A coalition called the Wisconsin Safe Milk Coalition has written a letter to lawmakers, asking them to oppose a bill that would legalize the sale of raw milk in that state. The groups include Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, American Academy of Pediatrics, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, the Wisconsin Public Health Association, and the Wisconsin Medical Society. State Senator Grothman (R-West Bend) is planning to introduce a bill to the legislature sometime this year that would legalize the sales of raw milk, with "appropriate safeguards". Grothman sponsored a failed bill to legalize unpasteurized milk sales in 2010. An article on his web page about this issue contains statements such as "I love raw beef. I'm sure someone got sick once." and "while occasionally people get sick … [Read more...]
Congress Acts to Stop Seafood Fraud
Oceana, an advocacy group that works to protect the world's oceans, announced that Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced the Safety and Fraud Enforcement for Seafood (SAFE) Act to address the growing problem of seafood fraud. Oceana released a study last month that showed 33% of seafood sold in the United States is mislabeled; some of the mislabeling can lead to serious health consequences. Oceana campaign director Beth Lowell said in a statement, "Seafood fraud is a national problem that requires federal attention. Rep. Markey should be applauded for his swift action to stop seafood fraud in the U.S. Seafood fraud not only cheats consumers, but it also hurts honest fishermen and seafood businesses along the supply chain. Oceana is calling on Congress to pass the SAFE Seafood … [Read more...]
Indiana Rejects Raw Milk After Raw Milk Study
The state of Indiana has rejected Senate Bill 513 and Senate Bill 610, which would have permitted raw milk sales in that state, after a report was commissioned by the Indiana Board of Animal Health. Both bills were allowed to die in committee. That report, titled "Indiana State Board of Animal Health Report on the Issue of Selling Unpasteurized Milk to Consumer"s, published on 11/1/2012, runs to 205 pages. In the opening statement, it reads, "there is a significant risk that raw milk may contain pathogens. Pasteurization has worked well for many years to reduce substantially the risk of human illness from pathogens that may contaminate milk. The FDA, CDC, and many other members of the public health community support required pasteurization of milk. BOAH believes taht pasteurization is a … [Read more...]
Waxman and Slaughter Introduce Antibiotics Bill
Congresspersons Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) have introduced a bill into Congress to better monitor antibiotic use in animals. The bill, H.R. 820, the Delivering Antimicrobial Transparency in Animals (DATA) Act, will provide information on the amount of and use of antibiotics given to animals raised for human consumption. Rep. Waxman said in a statement, "the widespread use of antibiotics in animals is a vital public health issue. We need to learn more about how these drugs are being used. With this information, scientists will be able to better pinpoint the relationship between the routine use of antibiotics in humans and the development of dangerous resistant bugs that can harm humans. This knowledge will inform scientists and Congress and start us down the path to … [Read more...]
