By Gary Peterson (Editor’s note: We thank Gary Peterson, Development and Communications Director with the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), an NSAC member organizations, for reporting on recent developments concerning agriculture and water quality in California’s Salinas Valley and Monterey Bay region. ALBA brings a unique perspective to this issue with its mission to […]
Food Safety
National Public Health Week: April 2-8, 2012
April 2 marks the beginning of National Public Health Week, organized annually by the American Public Health Association to bring attention to current issues in public health. The first day’s “tools and tips” from APHA focus on healthy eating and supporting local food efforts. With alarming trends in overweight and obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related […]
Court Orders FDA to Resume Hearings Examining Antibiotic Use in Animal Feed
On Thursday, March 22, U.S. District Court of Southern New York Judge Theodore H. Katz ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reissue its proposal to examine the use of certain antibiotics in animal feed. According to the Market Forces (UCS), nearly 70 percent of all antibiotics used in this country are given to animals […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: NSAC Releases 2012 Farm Bill Policy Platform
Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its 2012 Farm Bill policy platform, Farming for the Future: A Sustainable Agriculture Agenda for the 2012 Food & Farm Bill. The platform is the culmination of two years of policy work with a broad, diverse coalition of over 90 grassroots organizations from across the country. It […]
House Holds Agriculture Appropriations Hearings
Earlier this month, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee held a series of four hearings on the Obama Administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The hearings precede and are meant to inform the markup of a FY 2013 agriculture appropriations bill. The four hearings covered the President’s budget […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Mayors Outline Farm Bill Priorities in Letter to Congressional Agriculture Committee Leaders
On Tuesday, March 6th, the mayors of ten large cities–including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia–sent a letter to the chairs and ranking members of both Congressional Agriculture Committees regarding the 2012 Farm Bill. This letter emphasized the importance of a 2012 reauthorization and outlined the mayors’ priorities which included food security, public health, economic […]
USDA Solicits Stakeholder Input on Agricultural Research
Last week, over 150 people attended a stakeholder listening session to provide feedback on ways to improve the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) – USDA’s largest competitive grants program that funds agricultural research, education, and extension projects. The session was hosted in Washington, D.C. at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) – […]
Obama’s FY 2013 USDA Budget Request
On Monday, February 13, President Obama submitted his budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. For sustainable agriculture interests, the budget proposal is a mixed bag, with big cuts to working lands conservation programs, and both cuts and increases to discretionary spending accounts for sustainable agriculture programs. As far as the upcoming 2012 […]
Update: Agriculture & Animal Welfare
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down California Law on Downed Animals Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case National Meat Association v. Harris that strikes down a California law with requirements for how slaughterhouses handle pigs that cannot walk, referred to in the law as “nonambulatory.” The California law requires slaughterhouses […]
USDA Paves Way for Widespread Use of Toxic, Systemic Pesticide
USDA is closing out 2011 in much the same way it started the year — approving the use of genetically modified (GM) crops designed to withstand pesticide applications. On Tuesday, December 27, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) approved the use of two more GM crops and announced the availability of assessments for […]
FSIS Proposed Rule for Generic Labels
USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a proposed rule to change its generic label approval process. This new rule would allow food processing establishments to use new labels or to modify labels on a broader set of products without first submitting the labels to FSIS for approval. FSIS will still verify that labels comply […]
USDA Awards Grants to Universities to Improve Food Safety
On Wednesday, December 7, Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced 17 grants to universities in 13 states to improve the safety of our food supply through research, education, and extension in a number of areas. A total of $10.4 million was awarded by USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through the National Integrated […]
Healthy Food Financing Initiative Re-Introduced in Congress
On Wednesday, November 30, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-PA-13) introduced identical bills (S.1926/H.R. 3525) in the Senate and House, respectively, to establish a Healthy Food and Financing Initiative (HFFI) within the USDA. Five Representatives and 10 Senators joined as original cosponsors. The initiative would authorize a $125 million program providing one-time […]
The Farm Bill is Dead! Long Live the Farm Bill! – Part Two
In part one of this post, we discuss what might be next for the ongoing congressional budget debate and in turn for the new farm bill. In part two we turn to details about what was in the short-lived and now dead 2011 Farm Bill deal. What We Know About the Farm Bill that Did […]
FDA Rejects Petitions to Ban Certain Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture
On Monday, November 7, much to the dismay of the sustainable agriculture community, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied two citizen petitions that asked the Agency to ban certain uses of antibiotics in food animals. The petitions, filed in 1999 and 2005, urge the FDA to withdraw the approvals for antibiotics given to […]
Local and Regional Farm and Food Bill Introduced in Congress
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition For Immediate Release November 1, 2011 Contact: Helen Dombalis, Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 Local and Regional Farm and Food Bill Introduced in Congress Washington, D.C. November 1, 2011 – Today Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine and 35 original co-sponsors introduced the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs […]
Local and Regional Food Bill Prepared for Inclusion in New Farm Bill
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition For Immediate Release October 27, 2011 Contact: Helen Dombalis, Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 Local and Regional Food Bill Prepared for Inclusion in New Farm Bill Washington, D.C. October 27, 2011 – Today Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine announced that next week they will introduce the Local […]
NSAC Submits Comments to FDA on Co-Management
The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) was enacted into law at the beginning of this year, and the rulemaking process for the legislation is currently underway, with the proposed rule expected to be submitted for public comment near the start of next year. The FSMA includes several provisions that are related to wildlife and […]
2011 Specialty Crop Block Grants Announced
On Wednesday, October 5, USDA Deputy Secretary Merrigan announced the 2011 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program awards, the sixth year of awards for this program. In total, 55 grants are being awarded for 740 initiatives totaling about $55 million. On a press call announcing the awards, Merrigan noted that “this year, similar to last year, […]
October is National Farm to School Month!
October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the connections that are happening around the country between schools and local food! NSAC is among the partners for the inaugural event. In November 2010, Congress approved a resolution introduced by Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) to officially designate October as National Farm to School […]
FDA Announces Traceback Pilot Projects
by Steve Warshawer The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve methods for tracing products in the food system, especially for high risk foods. Prior to developing rules and regulations on traceback, Congress is requiring FDA to conduct pilot projects on these traceback methods. FDA has chosen to […]
USDA and FDA Data on Antibiotic Resistance Is Deficient
Industrialized livestock and poultry operations are the major users of antibiotics and related drugs in the U.S. A Food & Drug Administration (FDA) assessment estimated that in 2009, 29 million pounds of antibiotics were given to food-producing animals. These drugs are routinely used at low doses in overcrowded Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to […]
2011 Healthy Food Financing Initiative Awards Announced
On Wednesday, September 14, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced the award of $25 million in grants through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) to a variety of organizations serving “food deserts” throughout the United States. A total of 12 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in nine states will receive funding. These […]
USDA Proposes New Animal ID and Tracing Regulation
On Thursday, August 11, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a proposed rule with national official identification and documentation requirements for the traceability of livestock moving interstate. Animals covered by the proposed rule include cattle, bison, sheep, goats, swine, horses and other equines, captive cervids and poultry. USDA’s stated purpose for implementing the […]