Six big US school districts specify antibiotic-free chicken
The Urban School Food Alliance, composed of six of the largest U.S. school districts, announced its members want antibiotic-free chicken to serve in their cafeterias.
Des Moines Water Works board votes to sue over farm runoff
Trustees of the Des Moines Water Works "affirmed the utility's intent to sue three northwestern Iowa counties over high nitrate levels in the Raccoon River," which supplies water to the state capital, says the Des Moines Register.
Incoming House Ag chair calls for vigorous USDA oversight
Texas Republican Mike Conaway, the incoming chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said he expects "vigorous oversight" of federal programs from crop insurance and food stamps to farm subsidies and the futures markets in the new session of Congress. Conaway redrew the jurisdiction of the Agriculture subcommittees and said, "All six subcommittees will be expected to carry out vigorous oversight of their mission areas." At present, there are five subcommittees.
House Ag panelist says three terms is enough
New York state Republican Chris Gibson, part of the opening-day rebellion against House Speaker John Boehner, says he will not run for re-election in 2016 so he can consider running for statewide office in 2018.
Omnibus bill relaxes whole grain, salt rules for school food
Congress would relax rules that call for schools to use more whole grains and to reduce salt in meals provided to students, according to provisions of a government-wide funding bill. Unveiled on Tuesday night, the bill also calls for USDA to study the nutritional content of vegetables available in the so-called WIC program before removing any of them from the program - a response to complaints that white potatoes were being singled out unfairly.
Winter storms not wet enough to dent California drought
Precipitation in late December and early January in California "did not provide enough moisture to dent long-term drought," says the weekly Drought Monitor.
Vermont GMO labeling contest comes to national stage
Assistant House Majority Leader Kate Webb, a sponsor of Vermont's GMO food labeling law, is scheduled to testify at a House subcommittee hearing on federal regulation of the foods on Wednesday.
Eight new Republicans on House Agriculture Committee
There will be eight new Republican members of the House Agriculture Committee when Congress opens its new session in January, said Mike Conaway, Texas Republican, the incoming chairman.
Coffee, sugar, salt, meat, environment – five diet issues
The upcoming edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, due later this year, could propose "real limits on sugar," says an Associated Press story that lists "five things to watch for as the government begins writing the new guidelines."
Big US shift to soybeans in 2015, says farmer survey
Growers plan "a massive shift into soybeans" and away from corn in 2015, according to an email survey of 1,650 farmers by Farm Futures that concluded a few days ago.
Nearly a decade before new animal disease lab is ready
"It will be nearly another decade" before the mammoth National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas goes into operation, says Drovers CattleNetwork, reporting on a presentation at a veterinarians' conference.
House to vote on one-year revival of tax incentives
The House could vote as early as Wednesday on a one-year retroactive renewal of tax breaks that expired at the start of this year, says Politico. The four dozen incentives include the $1 a gallon biodiesel tax credit, a wind power credit and the $500,000 business deduction for new equipment.
Baa, baa, black sheep, seldom seen anywhere
There are about 1,500 Black Welsh Mountain sheep, a small and completely black sheep breed, in the United States and possibly 10,000 worldwide, says a story at Harvest Public Media.
US-EU trade pact could lower pesticide rules-Report
The Center for International Environmental Law says the proposed U.S.-EU trade agreement "would reduce protection compared to the more stringent pesticide standards already in place in the EU and in individual U.S. states," says the Guardian.
Smaller amounts of omega-3 acid in farmed salmon
Farmed salmon "may contain as little as half the amount of omega-3s than it did a decade ago," says a Civil Eats story that also appears at Time.
House to vote on first Feed the Future authorization
The first-ever authorization bill for the Feed the Future initiative was scheduled for a votein the House today. Sponsors expect it to pass easily.
Is that a red light on your candy bar?
To help people choose healthier meals, some cafeterias are using "traffic light" labels on their food, writes Tove Danovich at Civil Eats. At Massachusetts General Hospital, which adopted the approach in 2009, sales of sodas and other beverages marked "red" fell significantly in two years.
Federal court hearing is first day of long GMO fight
Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell says a federal court hearing was just the first day of a long legal battle over the state's law that requires, from July 1, 2016, special labels on foods made with genetically modified organisms.
NFU proposes no beef checkoff money to groups that lobby
The second-largest U.S. farm group called for "a major course correction" of the beef checkoff program. The National Farmers Union spelled out five principles "to turn the checkoff into an effective tool," including a referendum every five years on...
High stakes in Vermont GMO labeling lawsuit
Oral arguments are tentatively set for early January in U.S. District Court in Vermont on the state's law that requires, from July 1, 2016, special labels on food made with genetically modified organisms, says the Burlington (VT) Free Press.