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News archives

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Thailand Hit By Fresh Bird Flu Outbreak
Thai authorities have uncovered a new bird flu outbreak in the northern city of Chiang Mai at a farm attached to a university, an unidentified official at Thailand's Livestock Department said. The university had notified authorities that several chickens, geese, ducks and other birds have fal... Continued...

Don't Cut the Cheese
One of the world's great sensual experiences, exulted in daily across Europe, is illegal in the United States. That bite you may be about to take into an unctuous and intense young French raw milk cheese oozing off the edges of a chewy chunk of bread is against the law. No raw milk che... Continued...

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Daschle, Johnson Introduce Legislation to Implement Country-of-Origin Labeling
WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) today introduced new legislation that would implement country-of-origin labeling (COOL) by the original September 30, 2004 deadline. The legislation comes as media reports indicate the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed the impo... Continued...

Monday, May 24, 2004

Wal-Mart's U.S. Expansion Has Benefited From More Than $1 Billion In Economic Development Subsidies
Washington, DC, May 24, 2004--Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has benefited from more than $1 billion in economic development subsidies from state and local governments across the United States, according to a new study by Good Jobs First, a Washington, DC-based research grou... Continued...

Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Beef Checkoff Program
Billings, Mont. – Independent cattle producers are looking forward to a final decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on the mandatory beef checkoff program, said the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC), a plaintiff in the beef checkoff case. The Court agreed today to review a lower ... Continued...

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Farmers Contest Report Linking Obesity To Subsidies
Farmers are fighting back against national media reports that blame federal farm subsidies for America's obesity epidemic. More than 800 farmers and "friends of agriculture" have signed a petition seeking some air time during an upcoming national summit on obesity in Williamsburg, Va. ABC-TV a... Continued...

Biotech Crops/Little Benefit For World's Poor
Of all arguments in support of genetically modified crops, perhaps the most compelling is their potential to ease global hunger. In a world where 800 million people are chronically without enough to eat, shouldn't bio-engineered plants be given a chance to make a difference? Shouldn't this life-... Continued...

Friday, May 21, 2004

Ban On Meatpacker Ownership Of Livestock Upheld
A federal appeals court today overturned a lower court ruling that Iowa's ban on meatpackers owning livestock was unconstitutional. The appeals court's decision also sent the legal question about the constitutionality of the Iowa law back to federal court in Iowa's southern district to be re-t... Continued...

Supreme Court rules For Monsanto In Key Battle With Sask. Farmer Over Seed
OTTAWA (CP) - The Supreme Court of Canada sided with the U.S. biotech giant Monsanto on Friday in the firm's lop-sided patent fight against Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser. In what is thought to be the first ruling of its kind anywhere in the world, the court ruled 5-4 that since Monsan... Continued...

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Supreme Court to Decide on May 24 Whether it Will Hear Pork Checkoff Case
WHAT: The U.S. Supreme Court will announce its decision on Monday, May 24 whether it will hear an appeal on the pork checkoff case. Member groups of the Campaign for Family Farms (CFF) and Farmers' Legal Action Group will be issuing a statement immediately following the annou... Continued...

Citrus, Sugar Seek Protection; Industries Want To Be Exempt From Trade Deals With Competing Nations
The citrus and sugar industries Wednesday argued they would not survive unless they are exempt from trade deals with competing nations. The arguments before the House Agriculture Committee were not new, but they came a day after the United States and Australia signed a free trade pact that exclud... Continued...

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Democratic Priorities for Rural America -- Putting the Heartland First
Democrats' 5 Priorities for Rural America: Putting the Heartland First Family - Community - Patriotism - Opportunity - Prosperity - Strength The Democratic Party is the voice of rural America - the voice of the heartland - fighting to provide a strong competitive edge for the 21st Century. ... Continued...

Monday, May 17, 2004

China Throws Out First-Ever Draft Law On Protecting Animal Welfare
China's capital Beijing has thrown out the country's first-ever draft legislation to protect animals, after it was debunked for being impractical and premature in a still-developing nation. The decision to reject the proposal to improve the welfare of animals -- which would have required all anim... Continued...

UN Food Agency Comes Out In Favor Of Biotech Crops, Despite Continued Public Skepticism In Some Countries
A United Nations food agency is coming out in favor of biotech crops, saying genetically modified organisms have already helped small farmers financially, have had some environmental benefits and no ill effects on health. In a major report released Monday, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organizati... Continued...

Friday, May 14, 2004

EU Head Office Says Will End Biotech Moratorium Next Week
The European Union's head office said Friday it would approve a variety of genetically modified corn for human consumption next week, ending a 6-year biotech moratorium that the United States has challenged at the World Trade Organization. But whether the decision would open the market for biotec... Continued...

Wheat Board Won't Be Scrapped
International Trade Minister Jim Peterson said Thursday he won't agree to scrap the Canadian Wheat Board as part of trade liberalization negotiations. "We are prepared to subject our Canadian Wheat Board to all sorts of disciplines to ensure that it isn't trade distorting, but the institution its... Continued...

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Monsanto Halts Plan For Biotech Wheat
Most of Minnesota's wheat farmers are disappointed that Monsanto is shelving plans for genetically modified wheat that would have been grown mostly in this region, Dave Torgerson, president of the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers, said Tuesday. "Within Minnesota, our growers understan... Continued...

Monday, May 10, 2004

Are biobased products the sustainability solution?
The use of agricultural products and wastes for energy and industrial materials is a topic of growing importance throughout the world. A new issue of the prestigious Journal of Industrial Ecology (and available free in full text at http://mitpress.mit.edu/jie/bio-based ) examines the environmental i... Continued...

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

Roper Poll Shows Consumers Trust Family Farms
Organic Valley Family of Farms | May 3, 2004 LAFARGE, Wis. -- For safe, nutritious food, Americans place more trust in smaller scale family farms than in large scale industrial farms, according to a national consumer opinion poll conducted by Roper Public Affairs on behalf of Organic Valley Family... Continued...

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Quebec Government Has Moved To Protect Artisanal Foods
The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec) | By DANIEL DROLET | April 28, 2004 By the time we had sampled the first dozen of the 20 cheeses we tried that evening, our palates - not to mention our stomachs - were getting overloaded. Creamy cheeses, hard cheeses, sharp cheeses, mild cheeses, goat cheeses, bl... Continued...