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'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up
 'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up 
Oct 5, 2009 12:18 PM CDT

'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up

USDA says small farms are becoming more popular even as large farms grow

(Newser) - Most evenings, Gary Mithoefer can be found at the end of a long gravel driveway off a busy highway, tending two garden plots filled with white sweet potatoes, squash, cabbages, and a dozen other vegetables still thriving in early fall. The 62-year-old, who gardens after his workday ends at his...

Ground Beef Rife With E. Coli Risk
 Ground Beef Rife 
 With E. Coli Risk 
INVESTIGATION
Oct 4, 2009 8:19 AM CDT

Ground Beef Rife With E. Coli Risk

NYT investigation shows industry practices that leave lots to be desired

(Newser) - A nausea-inducing feature in the New York Times tells you more than you wanted to know about what's actually in commercially produced hamburger, and why it's especially vulnerable, despite FDA regulation and several fatal outbreaks in recent years, to E. coli contamination. The Times follows the case of a 22-year-old...

'Organic' Foods May Not Be as Pure as You Think

USDA's label increasingly meaningless as agri-business pushes in

(Newser) - Demand for organic food has boomed into a $23 billion-a-year industry, but consumers who often pay twice as much for food with the coveted label aren't always getting what they expect. The criteria for obtaining a "USDA Organic" certification have been relaxed in recent years, with ostensibly organic products...

Virus-Wary Egypt to Destroy All 300K Pigs

USDA says American pork is safe; Russia, China ban imports

(Newser) - The Egyptian government says it will immediately slaughter the country’s entire population of 300,000 pigs to protect against the swine flu, the AP reports. Egypt has stressed that it has no reported cases of the virus, though two infections have been confirmed in neighboring Israel. The move comes...

USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat
 USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat 
Apr 27, 2009 1:17 PM CDT

USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat

(Newser) - Fear of swine flu is a good reason to wash your hands, but not to take pork off the menu. Federal health officials say the virus that has triggered fears of a flu pandemic is not transmitted by food, and that all food-borne germs are killed when pork is cooked...

Peanut Corp. Banned From Federal Work

Salmonella outbreak shows lack of integrity, honesty: USDA

(Newser) - The Peanut Corporation of America was barred today from government contracts for a year as the criminal investigation into a deadly salmonella outbreak sourced to its Georgia plant gathers steam, Reuters reports. “The company lacks business integrity and business honesty,” steamed a Department of Agriculture spokesman. The PCA’...

Amish Blast ID Cow Chips as 'Mark of the Beast'

Farmers sue USDA over Michigan's mandatory tag program

(Newser) - A group of Amish farmers has launched a federal lawsuit against the USDA claiming that electronic ID tags on cattle are the mark of Satan himself, not merely of the Michigan Animal Identification System, Wired reports. The farmers say the mandatory program, aimed at tracking livestock diseases, violates the "...

Heart Disease, Diabetes Linked to Everyday BPA

Chemical common in plastic containers used by US adults, children

(Newser) - A chemical found in many containers commonly used by Americans is linked to heart disease and diabetes in a new study, the Chicago Tribune reports. The first large-scale human study of Bisphenol A follows a government advisory on using the chemical near food, and a report connecting it to ill...

Beware the Word 'Natural.' It Means Nothing
Beware the
Word 'Natural.' 
It Means Nothing
Opinion
Aug 23, 2008 7:50 AM CDT

Beware the Word 'Natural.' It Means Nothing

The FDA won't define it, so it can be, and is, slapped on anything

(Newser) - "Is that natural artificial yellow coloring?" asks Barry Estabrook in Gourmet. Absurd as the question sounds, it's not, given that the Food and Drug Administration "can't be bothered to define the term at all." Eager to get on the "natural" bandwagon, manufacturers are "shamelessly slapping...

Record Food Price Hikes Loom
 Record Food Price Hikes Loom
Aug 21, 2008 7:59 AM CDT

Record Food Price Hikes Loom

Biggest increases for 20 years forecast

(Newser) - Americans should get ready for pain at the supermarket checkout, reports Reuters—and squash any hopes of food prices getting better next year. A revised USDA forecast predicts a 5% to 6% leap in food prices this year—the biggest increase in 20 years—and USDA officials fear 2009 could...

USDA to Ban 'Downer' Cattle
 USDA to Ban 'Downer' Cattle 
May 21, 2008 2:49 AM CDT

USDA to Ban 'Downer' Cattle

Bid to boost confidence in beef

(Newser) - The USDA plans to ban all so-called "downer" cattle from the food supply to safeguard consumers from illnesses such as mad cow disease. Such animals are too weak or injured to walk, which can often be an indication of illness. Disturbing video of workers in a California slaughterhouse using...

US Predicts Bumper Crops Will Ease Food Crisis

Record-breaking grain harvests worldwide expected to bring prices back down

(Newser) - Farmers worldwide will reap record-breaking harvests of wheat and rice this year, the US projects, and the news is expected to ease some of the worldwide concern about food prices. The USDA says good weather will bring bumper crops that will replenish depleted stocks, Reuters reports. Analysts warned, however, that...

Behind Organic Labels Lurk Megacorporations

The nation's top 30 food processors have quietly cornered the green market

(Newser) - Yes, your probiotic flaxseed Kashi cereal is still organic, but shoppers looking to stick it to the man by going green be advised: the nation's top 30 corporate food processors—think Pepsi, Kellogg, Kraft, General Mills—have been quietly buying up vast swaths of the organic aisle of your supermarket,...

New Methods Help Make Beef Jerky Safer

Longer drying, higher temps kill off more E. coli, salmonella

(Newser) - Good news for meat lovers in a time of massive beef recalls: Researchers at Kansas State have found a way to make beef jerky safer from E. coli and salmonella, LiveScience reports. They found that a longer drying time would eliminate the pathogens in contaminated beef samples, offering a low-cost...

Cost of Bringing Up Baby: $204K
 Cost of Bringing Up Baby: $204K 
Mar 25, 2008 9:27 AM CDT

Cost of Bringing Up Baby: $204K

And that doesn't include college

(Newser) - Raising that little bundle of joy will come with a not-so-cute $204,060 price tag for middle-income families, according to a new government study. Factoring in inflation, the parents of a child born in 2007 can expect to spend $269,040 by the time that baby turns 18. Actual costs...

Meat Company Chief Admits Sick Cows Were Slaughtered

He backtracks after watching second video

(Newser) - The president of the California slaughterhouse caught up in a scandal over the abuse of cattle admitted to Congress today that sick cows from his plant entered the food supply, the Los Angeles Times reports. He backtracked from an earlier denial after a House panel made him watch a second...

Cattle Horror Worker: Just 'Following Orders'

Ag secretary insists meat supply is safe

(Newser) - A worker shown in a shocking undercover video jabbing apparently sick cows to their feet for slaughter was following orders from management, his lawyer said yesterday. The attorney made the accusation as he negotiated with federal investigators to work out a plea deal for his client, reports the Wall Street ...

Disgraced Meatpacker to Close Doors
Disgraced Meatpacker to Close Doors
Feb 23, 2008 12:34 PM CST

Disgraced Meatpacker to Close Doors

Hallmark/Westland sees no hope of recovery after biggest recall ever

(Newser) - The biggest meat recall in history will put a fork in Hallmark/Westland, the meatpacker’s general manager told the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t see any way we could reopen,” he said. The USDA has said the California company could reopen under the right conditions, but demands...

Meat Industry Pushes for Recall Cutback

School lunch programs received big chunk of problematic beef

(Newser) - The meat industry is trying to convince the USDA to ease up on the largest meat recall in the country's history, the Wall Street Journal reports. Government officials entertained the possibility of exempting products made up only partly of the recalled beef but apparently decided against relaxing the action. “...

USDA Recalls 143M Lbs of Beef
USDA Recalls 143M Lbs of Beef
Feb 17, 2008 3:27 PM CST

USDA Recalls 143M Lbs of Beef

SoCal slaughterhouse involved under investigation for animal cruelty

(Newser) - The USDA today issued its biggest recall ever, recalling 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a slaughterhouse in Southern California that is currently being investigated for animal cruelty. The recall affects meat dating to Feb. 1 that originated in Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. The company distributes beef to major fast-food...

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