On Capitol Hill, tentative agreement for a ‘status quo’ farm bill
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With congressional leaders calling the shots on forestry language, and with an incendiary Republican proposal for strict SNAP work requirements apparently off the table, negotiators reached a tentative agreement Wednesday on a farm bill that is evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
Senators, USDA nominee agree labels should say if it’s animal or cell-based meat
When cell-based meat appears in grocery stores, it should be labeled so that consumers know it came from a lab and not from livestock, two cattle-state senators told the Trump administration’s nominee to run the USDA’s food safety unit on Wednesday.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Animal welfare a growing concern (YouGov): According to a new poll, 77 percent of Americans say they consider animal rights when purchasing meat products.
Food makers want cheaper aluminum (S&P Global): Representatives from the beer and dairy industries joined other manufacturers in urging Congress and the Trump administration to remove steel and aluminum import tariffs.
A record of discrimination (New Food Economy): Naomi Earp, a longtime federal employee and President Trump’s nominee to head civil rights at the USDA, has cost the government nearly half a million dollars as a result of racial discrimination complaints against her and employees under her supervision.
Wisconsin tariff payment: $2,145 per farmer (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel):The state’s farmers will get about $10 million in Trump tariff payments, or an average of $2,145 per farmer, but because aid is based on production volume, 11 farms will get more than $50,000 apiece.
Cox beats Valadao in California (Los Angeles Times): In the last undecided House race in the nation, Democrat T.J. Cox defeated three-term Rep. David Valadao, a Republican member of the House Appropriations subcommittee in charge of USDA and FDA spending, in a district in California’s heavily agricultural Central Valley.
Getting flooded twice (Waterkeeper Alliance): Eighteen industrial hog and poultry farms flooded or isolated by Hurricane Florence this year in North Carolina were also flooded by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, said two environmental groups in urging “smarter regulation.”
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