Opponents, supporters weigh in on genetically modified food labels [Bakersfield Californian]
Proponents and opponents of Proposition 37, a ballot initiative that would require some genetically modified foods to be labeled as such, are working feverishly to win support for their positions ahead of the Nov. 6 election. In making their respective cases before voters and influential newspaper editorial boards, only one thing is clear: The issue is far more nuanced than it might appear at first glance….Genetically-engineered foods were approved for sale in the United States years ago, so consumers are already eating them. The measure's supporters say that's not because the food is safe, but because many of the regulators in key decision-making roles are former executives from the pesticide industry, which stands to profit mightily from the use of genetically engineered seeds and has contributed millions of dollars to the effort to defeat Proposition 37….Producers of genetically engineered food worry that labels will needlessly scare shoppers who don't understand what, exactly, is done to the foods to make them grow faster or bigger or resist pests, weeds and disease. Moreover, they say, the initiative is far more than a simple matter of informing consumers, pointing out that Prop 37 backers include trial lawyers anxious to cash in on lawsuits against food producers who label food improperly.
Tulare County Sheriff's Department operation targets copper thieves [Visalia Times-Delta]
A three-week investigation into a recent spike of copper wire thefts in south Tulare County farms netted 25 arrests, including 15 on recent charges, the Sheriff’s Department announced Monday. The details also resulted in five citations issued, nine vehicles towed and 20 recycling centers being contacted. During the detail, which included law enforcement personnel from Kern and Kings counties, five recycling centers were cited for violating the buildings and professional code violations….Sheriff Bill Wittman said the detail was started after his department recorded an increase in copper wire thefts at farm operations within the area of Avenue 96 and Avenue 200 and from Road 192 to the Kings County line. As many as 30 water pumps, which contain copper wire, were hit from June to August, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Two Nipomo men arrested in connection with fuel thefts from ranches and farms [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
Two Nipomo men were arrested last week in connection with a rash of rural fuel thefts in the Santa Maria Valley. Martin Uvias Jacobo, 28, and Leandro Diaz Perez, 49, were arrested by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office rural crime unit and charged with burglary, grand theft, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, filing a false police report and petty theft. Since June, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies had been investigating some 17 cases of fuel thefts from numerous ranches and farms in the Santa Maria Valley totaling more than $5,600, according to a news release. Approximately 350 gallons of stolen fuel was located on one of the suspect’s ranches in Nipomo.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/09/11/2221983/two-nipomo-men-arrested-in-connection.html
USDA buying meat again from Calif. slaughterhouse [Associated Press]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is buying meat again from a Central California slaughterhouse that's been at the center of an animal cruelty investigation. A statement the USDA issued Monday says that Central Valley Meat Co.'s improved oversight for animal welfare prompted the government to reinstate purchases for federal feeding programs. Officials with the Food Safety and Inspection Service concluded last week that there was no evidence of sick cattle entering the food supply after an undercover video showed workers kicking and shocking downed cattle in an attempt to herd them to slaughter.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/10/4806894/usda-buying-meat-again-from-calif.html#storylink=misearch
Interim dean named to UC Davis agriculture school [Sacramento Bee]
UC Davis named an interim dean of its agriculture school Monday, temporarily filling the seat left vacant by last month's resignation of longtime dean Neal Van Alfen. Mary Delany, an expert in avian genetics and a former chairwoman of the university's Department of Animal Science, will serve as interim dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences until a permanent replacement is found….In a statement Monday, University of California, Davis, provost and executive vice chancellor Ralph Hexter called Delany "a distinguished researcher" whose appointment and long university tenure "ensure stability and continuity" at the agricultural school. That stability was shaken with the sudden resignations in August of Van Alfen and his executive associate dean, James MacDonald, from one of the nation's elite agricultural colleges.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/11/4807516/interim-dean-named-to-uc-davis.html#storylink=misearch
Productive 2011 for Yolo County farmers [Woodland Daily Democrat]
It was a bumper crop for Yolo County's farmers last year, with a nearly 24 percent increase in production over the previous year according to the newly released 2011 Agricultural Crop Report.…Yolo supervisors are scheduled to get a briefing on the report during their meeting today….Despite 2011's record-breaking numbers, the Yolo County Farm Bureau noted in its recent "Agri-News" bulletin that those are gross earnings, not net earnings - and higher production costs are cutting into farmers' profits. "Some people believe farmers must be getting rich!" the Farm Bureau wrote. However, "These past years growers and ranchers have seen extraordinary increases in the costs of production." Rising fuel costs were cited as one example.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_21511074/productive-2011-yolo-county-farmers
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