meat industry
In absence of federal law, states take up country of origin labeling
Several states are considering country of origin labeling (COOL) proposals, which would require that beef products be labeled as imported or domestic products. The state proposals follow several years of attempts by rancher groups to revive federal law that would require country of origin labeling for beef.
Cattle group asks USDA to set label rules for lab-grown meat
The U.S. Cattlemen's Association petitioned the USDA to establish label requirements for laboratory-grown meat and alternative proteins, said the weekly Tri-State Livestock News, of Belle Fourche, S.D. "We look forward to working with the agency to rectify the misleading labeling of 'beef' products that are made with plant or insect protein or grown in a Petri dish," said USCA president Kenny Graner.
USDA chief scientist slams WHO antibiotic recommendations
The USDA’s acting chief scientist, Chavonda Jacobs-Young, has publicly criticized the World Health Organization’s updated recommendations for curbing antibiotic use on farms, citing poor science.
Federal report urges more scrutiny of conditions at meat plants
The Government Accountability Office urged federal regulators, in the words of Harvest Public Media, "to better protect meatpacking workers, who are often exposed to dangerous chemicals, not allowed bathroom breaks and refused medical treatment." The GAO report said workers sometimes decide not to report problems for fear of retaliation, making it harder for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to get a clear picture of conditions.
Big Canada meat distributor buys Field Roast, a U.S. vegan meat producer
Maple Leaf Foods, Canada's largest distributor of packaged meats, says it will buy Field Roast Grain Meat Co. in an expansion of its role in the North American market for alternative proteins. Based in Seattle, Field Roast produces grain-based "meat" and vegan cheese products, such as plant-based roasts, sausages, burgers and sliced cheese. It also makes a frozen vegan mac-and-cheese.
Cargill, a meatpacker, invests in California ‘clean meat’ company
Memphis Meats, a San Francisco Bay–area company that is developing technology to grow meat from self-reproducing cells, raised $17 million in funding from investors that included Cargill, one of the largest U.S. meatpackers. “Cargill’s investment is the first by a traditional meat company in to the ‘clean meat’ sector,” said Drovers CattleNetwork.
Antitrust group decries ‘scandalous job swapping’ as JBS hires USDA official
The world's largest meat company, JBS, entwined in a corruption scandal in its home country of Brazil, hired as its global food security Al Almanza, who just retired as head of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The Organization for Competitive Markets, which focuses on agricultural antitrust issues, called the hiring "the latest of the scandalous job swapping between government and the meat industry."
Report: farms and feedlots should make wider use of food-safety ‘interventions.’
The United States needs a comprehensive approach to red meat and poultry safety that begins at the farm levels, says a report released today by Pew Charitable Trusts. Titled, "Food safety from farm to fork," the report says on-the-farm "interventions," such as using vaccines and other treatments, "can significantly reduce the risk" of harmful bacteria.
Shareholders, activists pressure restaurants on antibiotic use in meat
Activism around the contentious issue of giving antibiotics to meat animals is moving from the farm to the plate by putting pressure on restaurant chains. Last week, a coalition of 30 consumer and environmental groups pressed the cult California burger chain In-N-Out to change its antibiotics-related buying policy. At the same time, a shareholder group pushed McDonald’s to increase its antibiotic-free buying — and while the measure did not pass, 30 percent of shareholders voted for it.
Batista brothers, owners of meatpacking giant JBS, resign from senior posts
JBS chairman Joesley Batista and chief executive Wesley Batista resigned from senior posts "in a corruption scandal that threatens to topple Brazil's president Michel Temer," said Reuters. The brothers, who own the world's largest meat producer, which has operations in the United States, admitted to paying $150 million, mostly in bribes, to nearly 2,000 politicians in Brazil, including its past three presidents, said the Wall Street Journal.
Brazil meatpacker JBS accused of violating rainforest protections
Brazil's environmental regulator says that meatpacking giant JBS "for years knowingly bought cattle that were raised on illegally deforested land," says Reuters. JBS denied the allegation, which comes at the same time the Brazilian meat industry is reeling from a meat-inspection scandal.
Tyson Foods’ venture-capital fund will look at meat and non-meat products
The giant U.S. food processor Tyson Foods launched a $150-million venture-capital fund "to invest in high-tech products and services that could refresh its stable of products, which include chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers," reports the Wall Street Journal. One focus of the fund will be alternative forms of protein, a field that includes plant-based foods, insect-based protein products, meat grown from self-reproducing cells and meat from 3-D printers.
Canada will continue funding for WHO cancer agency
Five weeks after the Canadian meat industry suggested the government should withdraw support from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the Health Ministry has its answer: No, thank you. As iPolitics reports: "No adjustments to their support would be necessary at this time," said a spokesman for Minister Jean Philpott.
Clinton dominates on food and ag campaign donations
"Big Food and Ag" has donated more heavily, by almost a 2-1 margin, to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton than Republican nominee Donald Trump, says Mother Jones, although Trump began catching up in August when his electoral prospects brightened.
Time is short for USDA to flex its antitrust muscle with meat industry
In the closing months of his tenure as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack is making one last stab at being a trustbuster. Late last week, the USDA quietly moved forward with an effort to strengthen its antitrust authority over the handful of companies that dominate America’s meat system. The action raised hopes for advocates who have pushed for years to toughen antitrust laws, and it already has met resistance from meat companies and their lobbyists. What’s less clear is whether the action will have any meaningful impact.
USDA addresses unfair treatment of livestock producers
At the same time it sent three fair-play rules to the White House for review, the USDA said it will accept public comment on the most consequential of its proposals: an interim final rule on how to judge a producer's complaint of abuse by meat packers. The rule "clarifies that farmers need only prove they were treated unfairly by a company to secure legal remedy," a much easier standard to meet than now in use, says a small-farm advocacy group.
The strange future of lab-grown meat
In FERN's latest story, published with Fast Company, reporter Joe Fassler explains how Vow, an Australian startup, is reinventing lab-grown meat by ignoring chicken and beef and focusing on what CEO George Peppou calls "weird meat." <strong>(No paywall)</strong>