Department of Agriculture

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White House Backs Off Christmas Tree 'Tax'

Whatever term you use, it's not happening

(Newser) - So much for that new Christmas tree tax . After a storm of criticism on the right, the Agriculture Department has temporarily scrapped plans for the 15-cent fee, reports the Hill . Under the original plan, big producers and importers of trees would have paid 15 cents per tree, and the money...

Senate Digs In Over Potatoes in School Lunches

Thwarts Obama's attempts to limit them for childrens' health

(Newser) - The Senate yesterday subtly thwarted an Obama administration proposal to limit the amount of potatoes and other starchy vegetables school children scarf down, inserting an amendment into an Agriculture Department spending bill prohibiting the Department from setting “any maximum limits on the serving of vegetables in school meal programs....

Bachmann Slams Funds to Black Farmers

Money should go to flood victims instead, candidate says

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann says money being used to compensate black farmers who charged the federal government with grant and loan discrimination would be better spent helping US flood victims. The candidate, after touring flooded areas along the Missouri River with Republican Rep. Steve King yesterday, pointed to the multi-billion-dollar Pigford settlement...

Why US Would Be Screwed if E. Coli Hit Our Crops

Also, new details emerge about strain that 'glues' itself to intestines

(Newser) - If the new E. coli strain rampaging through Europe ever found its way into US crops, Americans would be pretty screwed—because it would be totally legal to distribute the contaminated veggies. Farmers and processors aren’t required to test their produce for emerging pathogens like this one, the Washington ...

Shirley Sherrod Back at USDA
 Shirley Sherrod Back at USDA 
May 14, 2011 3:05 PM CDT

Shirley Sherrod Back at USDA

But rather than return to old position, she will work on civil rights

(Newser) - Ten months after being forced out of the USDA, Shirley Sherrod is back. But Sherrod, who rejected an offer to return shortly after the Andrew Breitbart brouhaha, will have a new position as a contract employee, Politico reports. She will lead one of three field programs meant to improve the...

Organic Egg Farm Accused of Factory Farm Conditions

Petaluma Egg Farm is a top producer for Organic Valley label

(Newser) - Organic eggs: The phrase brings to mind chickens roaming in a pasture, foraging for food, and scratching the ground. But at California's Petaluma Egg Farm, which provides eggs under the Organic Valley label, hens are confined to screened porches with a roof and a floor. Technically, the eggs meet...

USDA Sinks $60M Into Trio of Climate Change Studies

3 projects seek adaptable agriculture for specific regions

(Newser) - The USDA is sinking $60 million into a trio of studies that will investigate how climate change affects crops and forests. The three studies will focus on specific crops in specific regions—Midwestern corn, Northwestern wheat, and pine forests in the South—and aim to help farmers and foresters continue...

Dear America, Eat Less. Sincerely, Feds

New federal guidelines urge limits on salt, saturated fat

(Newser) - Not only are the feds picking on how many Twinkies vs. how many carrots you eat, but the New York Times reports that now they're picking on how much you eat, period. The newest federal nutrition guidelines, revised every five years, predictably admonish Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables...

US Hunger Remains at Record High
US Hunger Remains at Record High
Nov 16, 2010 11:49 AM CST

US Hunger Remains at Record High

Roughly 15% of Americans are 'food insecure'

(Newser) - The number of Americans dealing with hunger remained at a record high last year, according to a new USDA report, with 14.7% of US households considered “food insecure.” That’s a hair above the 14.6% that battled hunger in 2008, and the highest level seen in...

US Pushes Cheese While Warning About Fat

NYT: USDA sends decidedly mixed messages

(Newser) - The New York Times cries foul on the Department of Agriculture for being two-faced on cheese. On the one hand, the department warns people to cut down on saturated fats, like those found in dairy products. On the other, one of the department's very own marketing arms, called Dairy Management,...

Emails Prove Sherrod Axing Too Hasty

Panicked officials didn't wait to get full story

(Newser) - Obama administration officials didn't bother to get all the facts before forcing Shirley Sherrod out of her Agriculture Department job, internal emails obtained by the Los Angeles Times show. After learning that a video that painted her as a racist had surfaced, officials moved swiftly to can Sherrod in time...

Shirley Sherrod to USDA: No, Thanks

Ousted official declines return to Ag Dept

(Newser) - Just a month after she was unceremoniously hustled out the revolving doors at the Agriculture Department, Shirley Sherrod has declined an invitation back in. Sherrod met this morning with Tom Vilsack, who offered her a position aimed at improving the USDA's civil rights record. Sherrod said that while she was...

More Egg Recalls Coming, FDA Warns

As Congress questions what it knew about DeCoster

(Newser) - Even more eggs are likely to be recalled in the days ahead, the FDA announced today, enlarging an already massive recall that has affected half a billion eggs. "You have to wonder where the USDA and FDA inspectors were," say one attorney, telling MSNBC he's been retained by...

Sherrod's Father Killed by White Farmer

Shooter was never prosecuted; Shirley became civil rights activist at 17

(Newser) - Shirley Sherrod's commitment to fighting injustice was sparked by the fatal shooting of her father, a black farmer, by a white farmer in 1965, in what was described as a spat over some cows. Sherrod was 17 when her father died—and an all-white grand jury declined to charge...

Sherrod 'Needs to Think' About New Job Offer

She's not sure how serious they are about civil rights at USDA

(Newser) - Shirley Sherrod has been offered a new job by the USDA, but says she needs to think about it. “I’m not so sure that going back to the department is the thing to do,” she told CNN . She said the job was “something in civil rights...

Farmer's Wife: Fired USDA Official Saved Us

Supposed racism victim defends her

(Newser) - The wife of the white farmer at the heart of the Shirley Sherrod controversy has come forward, saying she considers Sherrod her “friend for life.” Backstory: Sherrod lost her job over a video clip in which she said she hadn’t done all she could to help the...

USDA Employee Resigns Over 'Racist' Video

Sherrod says she didn't do all she could to help white farmer

(Newser) - An Agriculture Department employee has been forced to resign over an old video in which she says she didn’t do all she could to help a white farmer, because he was white. In the video, which first appeared on Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government , Shirley Sherrod, the director of...

Smokey Bear's Fire Still Burning at 65

But some criticize his simple message

(Newser) - He turns 65 this year, but Smokey Bear’s nowhere near extinguished, the Los Angeles Times reports. The mascot remains as fiercely beloved by baby boomers as he is fiercely protected by the government: Federal law keeps his image from unauthorized use, which can result in a $150,000 fine....

'Organic' Foods May Not Be as Pure as You Think

USDA's label increasingly meaningless as agri-business pushes in

(Newser) - Demand for organic food has boomed into a $23 billion-a-year industry, but consumers who often pay twice as much for food with the coveted label aren't always getting what they expect. The criteria for obtaining a "USDA Organic" certification have been relaxed in recent years, with ostensibly organic products...

Virus-Wary Egypt to Destroy All 300K Pigs

USDA says American pork is safe; Russia, China ban imports

(Newser) - The Egyptian government says it will immediately slaughter the country’s entire population of 300,000 pigs to protect against the swine flu, the AP reports. Egypt has stressed that it has no reported cases of the virus, though two infections have been confirmed in neighboring Israel. The move comes...

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