Covid-19 cases appear to be slowing at meat plants. But companies aren’t releasing test results. After many months of surging cases, the number of new Covid-19 infections reported at meatpacking plants appears to have slowed. Yet with limited information from the major meatpackers on new cases at their facilities, advocates… Continue reading

White House cites USDA ‘poison pills’ in threat to veto $260 billion spending bill The White House listed five dozen objections to parts of a $260 billion government funding bill, including bans on implementing two Trump regulations to narrow SNAP eligibility, on Thursday, and threatened a presidential veto. As the… Continue reading

Meatpackers skeptical of broader disclosure of cattle prices and purchases Noting complaints about dwindling competition, the USDA listed several ways to improve price transparency in the cattle market on Wednesday and offered to assist stakeholders and policymakers in exploring options to assure fair prices and level the playing field between… Continue reading

Lax rules, little accountability in Trump food-box giveaway, say House Democrats The Farmers to Families Food Box giveaway program, the Trump administration’s response to hunger during the coronavirus pandemic, went into operation without a formula to assure aid was distributed fairly across the country, said the USDA official overseeing the… Continue reading

Food stamp rolls surge by 6 million people during pandemic Some 43 million people — or more than one in eight Americans — received food stamps in May, an increase of 6.2 million in three months since the coronavirus pandemic swept the country and economic recession threw millions of people… Continue reading

Farm, anti-hunger groups try to squeeze into $1-trillion pandemic bill “Everything’s on the table” as Congress sets to work on a new coronavirus relief bill, and most of it will end up in the wastebasket, said Senate Finance chairman Chuck Grassley. Farm groups are pressing for billions of dollars in… Continue reading

Poultry to account for half of world increase in meat consumption Global meat consumption will grow by 12 percent in the coming decade, with lower-cost poultry accounting for half of the increase, said the OECD and FAO on Thursday. Their jointly produced Agricultural Outlook report also said that aquaculture would… Continue reading

Cut back on sugar and alcohol, recommends U.S. diet panel Americans should halve their consumption of added sugars, and men should limit themselves to one drink a day, said a panel of experts helping the government update its advice on healthful diets. The advisory committee report, published on Wednesday, is… Continue reading

Beef fuels biggest increase in grocery prices in nearly a decade Grocery prices climbed by 5.6 percent, their largest 12-month increase since December 2011, although the U.S. inflation rate is a mild 0.6 percent, said the Labor Department on Tuesday.   Zoetis petitions to make foot-and-mouth vaccine in U.S. The… Continue reading