Learn about the farm bill (Civil Eats): Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Democrat of Oregon, issued a call to action, urging all eaters to educate themselves about the farm bill as the legislation moves forward. (A great place to start is with FERN’s new video!)
Hawaii is first state to ban neurotoxic pesticide (Hawaii Public Radio): Gov. David Ige signed a law that will ban use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos by 2023, beginning with a prohibition, taking effect on Jan. 1, against using the pesticide near schools during regular hours.
FDA expands list of dietary fibers (Politico): As part of updating the Nutrition Facts label, the FDA has decided that inulin and related fiber ingredients belong on its list of dietary fibers with a proven health benefit. A critic said the decision amounted to “health-washing” for junk food.
Farm groups try to dodge the China bullet (DTN/Progressive Farmer): Fearing they will be the target of retaliatory tariffs, U.S. farm groups appealed on social media for #TradeNotTariffs. Today, the White House is expected to announce a list of Chinese targets for $50 billion in U.S. tariffs.
Putnam opposes fracking in Florida (Florida Politics): State agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam, running for the Republican nomination for governor, announced his opposition to fracking for oil and gas in Florida.