Examiner.com Seattle Pet Laws Examiner: Jean-Pierre Ruiz In testimony before the US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Dr. Dean Wyatt testified as to how the agency supports unhealthy practices at the national slaughterhouses and endangers the nation's meat food supply. Dr. Wyatt, a public health supervisory veterinarian with the USDA's Food and Safety Inspection Services ("FSIS"; www.fsis.usda.gov/), testified to numerous instances where FSIS executives overruled his and other inspectors' citations of slaughterhouses' abuses endangering the safety of the nation's meat supply. For example, Dr. Wyatt recounted such abuses and acts of cruelty as:

Posted in Media/News

Wall Street Journal By Lauren Etter ARROW ROCK, Mo. -- This tiny historic town has emerged as a battleground over rules that agricultural groups say have hog-tied big pig farms. In 2007, residents of the town of 79 filed a lawsuit to stop a farmer who wanted to build a farm with 4,800 pigs on the outskirts of town. They not only won the case but a ruling that appeared to keep any future applicants at least two miles away from town. "We were elated," said Julie Fisher, a landowner in Arrow Rock. Then, last year, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster appealed the decision in state court, vowing to roll back a thicket of local obstacles to big farms that largely began in "The Show Me State" and rippled across the Farm Belt in recent years.

Posted in Media/News

News of the North . net MADISON – Gov. Jim Doyle announced that Wisconsin is second in the nation in the number of organic farms, according to numbers released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural (USDA) Statistics Service. "Farming is the heritage and the future of Wisconsin, and we've worked hard to strengthen and diversify agriculture across the state," Doyle said. "Organic farming is one of the areas that Wisconsin is leading the way, and I am proud to support these efforts." According to the USDA's survey, Wisconsin has 1,222 organic farms, the second highest in the nation, behind California.

Posted in Media/News

The Detroit News Jennifer Youssef After using conventional farming techniques for years, Jim Koan of Almar Orchards in Flushing wanted to try growing his apples and animals in a more natural way. He eliminated synthetic sprays and drugs and began incorporating natural methods to control pests, fertilize plants and treat sick animals. "Everything we use is made by God," he said. Koan is among the increasing number of Michigan growers who have switched from conventional to organic farming in the past decade for environmental, health and marketing reasons.

Posted in Media/News

The Center for Food Safety Resulting contamination of non-GE and organic alfalfa hay and seed would devastate livelihoods and organic industry The National Organic Coalition (NOC) today announced that more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) critiquing the substance and conclusions of its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on Genetically Engineered (GE) Alfalfa. Groups, including NOC, Center for Food Safety (CFS), Organic Consumers Association, Food & Water Watch, CREDO Action and Food Democracy Now, mobilized their communities to help generate the unprecedented number of comments. In addition, more than 300 public interest organizations, farmers, dairies, retailers and organic food producers from the U.S. and Canada delivered a strongly worded letter to USDA, calling upon it to deny approval of Monsanto's genetically engineered, Roundup Ready alfalfa (GE alfalfa). The letter cites the inevitable contamination of organic and non-GE alfalfa hay and seeds and threats to the viability of organic dairies, livestock, and meat and dairy producers as reasons for urging the denial. NOC, Organic Valley, Whole Foods, National Cooperative Grocers Association, CFS and others agree that it would be irresponsible government policy to approve GE alfalfa in the absence of legal requirements holding companies accountable for GE contamination, as is currently the case.

Posted in Media/News