Some consumers okay with higher prices if Prop 12 is the reason
While price is the key concern for grocery shoppers at the meat case, a Purdue survey indicates that consumers are more willing to accept higher pork prices if they are the result of meeting animal welfare standards such as California’s Proposition 12, which requires farmers to give breeding sows more room to stand up, lie down, and turn around.
Don’t water down climate funding, says Stabenow
Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow curtly rejected on Thursday a suggestion to divert climate change funding for agriculture to more generalized soil and water conservation work. “I know that there is a broad coalition of support standing with me,” she said.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Open for business: Senators voted, 91-7, on Thursday to open debate on a package of government funding bills, including the USDA-FDA appropriations bill, and then paused while leaders hashed out the rules for amending the package. (U.S. Senate)
Move to block organic rule: Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall proposed an amendment to the Senate package of appropriations bills that would prohibit the USDA from implementing an animal welfare rule for organic farmers. (Organic Trade Association)
Fish in hot water: The rising temperature of the oceans threatens the open-water habitat of large fish, including tuna, swordfish, and sharks, and could drive them from most of the sea, say researchers. (Associated Press)
Hurricane diverts flamingos: More than 150 flamingos have been spotted in seven states as far north as Pennsylvania — far outside their normal range — in recent weeks, and experts say the large birds were probably blown north by Hurricane Idalia. (Washington Post)
