Today’s quick hits, March 9, 2023

Canada opposes COOL plan: Canada will firmly oppose “any proposition from the United States to renew a mandatory country-of-origin labeling system for pork and beef,” said the nation’s trade and agriculture ministers in response to a proposed USDA overhaul of the voluntary Product of USA label. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Break up the FDA: Hoping to persuade the White House to split the Food and Drug Administration into two separate agencies, product liability attorney and food safety advocate Bill Marler has launched a “Get the F Out of the FDA” campaign. (Food Safety News)

SNAP test: The USDA selected Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma to test mobile payment methods, such as tapping or scanning a mobile device, as an alternative to using SNAP cards for food purchases. (Food and Nutrition Service)

GMO wheat marketing: Bioceres chief executive Federico Trucco said the company would start marketing its drought-resistant GMO wheat in Argentina this year by working to expand the seed supply rather than by growing the wheat for milling. (Reuters)

‘More ‘city slickers’: As of 2021, nearly 29,000 residents of America’s 50 largest cities had received farm payments. The number of “city slickers,” in the parlance of the Environmental Working Group, was up from 19,832 in 2018. (EWG)