Another win for hog farm neighbors (Charlotte Observer): A jury ruled in favor of eight North Carolina residents who sued Smithfield Foods’ subsidiary Murphy-Brown over its management of hog waste on farms in the state.
Animal welfare group charges chicken mistreatment (Bloomberg): The Humane Society contends that the majority of chickens raised by Pilgrim’s Pride are raised in cruel and unsanitary conditions, counter to the public image the company is attempting to cultivate.
Taking on Big Cracker (MarketWatch): A class-action lawsuit alleging that whole-grain Cheez-Its are not actually made of whole grains will move ahead after a court decision.
McGovern to leave House ag panel (FERN’s Ag Insider): The foremost House proponent of food stamps, Democrat Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, will leave the Agriculture Committee in January when he becomes chairman of the Rules Committee.
Trump selects new CFTC chairman (White House): Heath Tarbert, an assistant secretary of the Treasury, is President Trump’s choice to be chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for a five-year term beginning in April 2019.