Mad cow discovery reignites debate: Are U.S. food-safety laws too lax? [San Jose Mercury News]
America's beef industry and federal agriculture officials spent much of the past week reassuring the public that the nation's meat supply is safe, after the announcement that a California dairy cow tested positive for mad cow disease. But even as investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture continue to comb through the herd and the records at a Tulare County farm where the animal came from, the fourth case of mad cow disease detected in the U.S. since 2003 is sparking new debate about whether food-safety laws are adequate to protect public health. Consumer groups argue that many of America's key meat safety standards are weaker than rules in Europe, Japan and other countries -- and that attempts to strengthen them have been blocked by the meat and ranching industries. The groups say:
Cattle ID plan revived amid Valley mad cow case [Fresno Bee]
The discovery of mad cow disease in a Tulare County dairy cow has renewed the call for creating a mandatory livestock identification program to trace the path of a cow from birth to death. Federal investigators have spent the past several days in the central San Joaquin Valley trying to piece together the puzzle of where this 10-year-old cow was born and whether it had offspring or traveled anywhere else before it ended up on a Tulare County dairy. Those are all critical details that, some say, are lacking because the United States does not have a national tracking system for livestock.
Genetically modified crops' results raise concern [San Francisco Chronicle]
Biotechnology's promise to feed the world did not anticipate "Trojan corn," "super weeds" and the disappearance of monarch butterflies….Some farm groups have joined environmentalists in an attempt to slow down approvals of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, as a newly engineered corn, resistant to another potent herbicide, stands on the brink of approval. In November, Californians are likely to vote on a ballot initiative to require labeling of genetically engineered foods, which backers of the measure say would give consumers a voice over the technology that they lack now….The stakes on labeling such foods are huge. The crops are so widespread that an estimated 70 percent of U.S. processed foods contain engineered genes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved more than 80 genetically engineered crops while denying none.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2012/04/30/MN1O1O5SS0.DTL
Immigration stalls as opportunities wane on U.S.-Mexican border [Bloomberg]
As the economy boomed in the mid- 2000s, many immigrants in southern California’s border country spurned field work in favor of construction and food-service jobs. Then they stopped coming to U.S. farms altogether. So Larry Cox, who farms lettuce, cantaloupes and onions on 3,500 acres in Imperial County, California, shifted more production south of the border, where the Mexicali Valley offers a plentiful agricultural workforce, Cox, 53, said in an interview….Without new immigrants, agricultural operations from the desert region straddling the border to the slaughterhouses of High Plains states such as Nebraska and Iowa face labor shortages. Farmers got some relief when the real-estate crash drove out-of-work roofers, builders and contractors back to lower-paying jobs as field hands, Cox and others say. An uptick in construction could again leave them shorthanded….Growers from the south to Washington state are bracing for labor shortages, said Paul Schlegel, director of energy and environment for the Washington-based American Farm Bureau Federation, the largest U.S. grower group.
Obama criticized in reversal on child farm-labor regulations [Washington Post]
The Obama administration’s move to scrap a plan that would prevent some children from working in dangerous farm jobs drew sharp rebukes Friday from child-welfare advocates who claim the president caved in to election-year pressure from farmers and Republicans. The Labor Department spent more than a year working on the proposal to ban children younger than 16 from using power-driven farm equipment — including tractors — and prevent those under 18 from working in grain silos, feed lots and stockyards. Labor officials tried to avoid controversy by specifically excluding children who worked on their parents’ farms. But the proposal became a popular political target for Republicans who called it an impractical, heavy-handed regulation that ignored the reality of small farms.
Editorial: Good to see move toward common ground on water [Fresno Bee]
…Competing measures -- one by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the other by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia -- will have difficulty getting support in both the Senate and the House. That could lead to a compromise if negotiations are successful….Moving water around California -- either for farming or to quench the thirst of Southern California residents -- has always been controversial. The battle usually pits environmentalists against farmers and others wanting additional water. We urge a balanced approach that takes into account the water needs of the entire state. That includes offering Valley farmers more certainty in their supply of water.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/04/30/2819253/editorial-good-to-see-move-toward.html
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