Department of Agriculture

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USDA Chief: We're Nixing 'Loopholes' for Food Stamps

New proposal from Trump administration could kick 3.1M people out of SNAP program

(Newser) - A new proposal from the Trump administration Tuesday could cut more than 3 million people from the food stamps program. Per Reuters , the Department of Agriculture says a tightening of who qualifies for SNAP, aka the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, would save the federal government about $2.5 billion annually;...

Watchdog: USDA Carried Out 'Cannibal Cat' Experiments

Lawmakers want experiments—including dog remains being fed to cats—to end

(Newser) - Government scientists have fed dog remains to cats, injected cat remains into mice, and conducted other experiments on animals that one member of Congress says "need to end now." The White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit watchdog, drew the information from USDA publications for a report it plans...

Trump Administration May Get Its Food Stamps Wish After All

USDA proposal would tighten waiver eligibility on work requirements

(Newser) - It may soon be more difficult to get food stamps if you're jobless. The Washington Post reports the USDA has a new proposal that would tighten eligibility for food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and it's tied to unemployment. Under the current system, most adults who...

Trump Launches 2nd Round of Payments to Farmers

He cites 'unjustified trade retaliation'

(Newser) - President Trump has authorized the Agriculture Department to launch the second and final round of $11 billion in trade mitigation payments to farmers hard hit by tariffs. In a tweet on Monday, Trump said he is fulfilling a promise to protect farmers against "unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations....

228K Pounds of Spam Recalled After Oral Injuries

At least 4 consumers found metal objects in food

(Newser) - The US Department of Agriculture is recalling more than 228,000 pounds of Spam and another product made by Minnesota-based Hormel after four consumers complained about metal objects in the food. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says the canned chicken and pork in question was produced in...

USDA Has Bad News for Happy Livestock

It walks away from stricter Obama-era animal welfare regulations for organic livestock

(Newser) - New rules, decades in the making, that would have required organic meat and egg producers to abide by stricter animal welfare standards were withdrawn by the feds on Monday, reports the AP , frustrating organic farmers and animal welfare groups but leaving some traditional farm groups rejoicing. The US Department of...

US Forest Service Chief Retires Amid Sex Misconduct Claims

Tony Tooke says it's best to 'make way for a new leader' after PBS investigation

(Newser) - After just six months on the job, the head of the US Forest Service is stepping down after a PBS probe revealed not only claims of sexual harassment and assault throughout the agency in general, but also accusations of misconduct against Tony Tooke himself, PBS reports. Tooke's retirement, which...

Trump's Plan: Deliver Food Boxes Instead of Food Stamps

But critics say the idea of an 'America's Harvest Box' is 'prone to failure'

(Newser) - Trump administration members are hailing their newest idea as a "bold" approach that would save the government billions and feed more than 38 million people in low-income households, but critics are calling it an approach that's "prone to failure." President Trump's 2019 budget plan was...

Mueller Investigation Sinks a Trump Nominee

Sam Clovis, a climate change skeptic, pulls name from consideration for science post

(Newser) - A former Trump campaign official linked to the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller has withdrawn his nomination for an agriculture post. Sam Clovis, a former Trump campaign national co-chairman and chief policy adviser, wrote in a letter to President Trump dated Thursday that he does "not want...

Florida Has a Beef With Creamery's 'Skim Milk'

Court rules skim milk is still skim milk without added vitamins

(Newser) - A small, all-natural dairy isn't being deceptive when it calls its skim milk "skim milk," a federal appeals court ruled Monday in a victory for the creamery that's fighting the state's demand to label the product "imitation" because vitamins aren't added to it,...

The 10 'Dirtiest' Fruits and Veggies

Strawberries top EWG's controversial list

(Newser) - The Environmental Working Group is out with its annual "dirty dozen" list of fruits and veggies it says have the highest amounts of pesticide residues. But take note: Protecting Your Pocket reports that the list, based on US Department of Agriculture data, has been called misleading since 99% of...

Your Ground Beef May Now Include Heart
Your Ground Beef
May Now Include Heart
in case you missed it
Feb 5, 2017 5:45 PM CST

Your Ground Beef May Now Include Heart

Feds change guidelines

(Newser) - Ground beef heart might sound a little less appetizing than ground beef—but it might also be what you're actually eating, reports Consumerist . A 1981 policy under the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (page 24 here ) decrees that meat from a cow's heart,...

GMO Spuds Could Fend Off Another Irish Potato Famine

USDA OKs JR Simplot varieties that include resistance to late blight

(Newser) - Two potato varieties genetically engineered to withstand the bacteria that caused the Irish potato famine could soon be heading to dinner tables. The Department of Agriculture has approved planting of JR Simplot's Ranger Russet and Atlantic varieties of Innate potatoes, reports the AP . The potatoes—which have only potato...

Uncle Sam Has a Plan for 11M Pounds of Excess Cheese

USDA to spend $20M to scoop up surplus, distribute to food banks and pantries

(Newser) - "Get rid of the gouda" isn't something you'd expect from a government directive, but that's the gist of what the Department of Agriculture is doing to ease the country's cheese crisis. By "crisis," we mean there's more cheese stockpiled and languishing in...

Petco Drops Small-Animal Supplier After PETA Video

PETA went undercover, documented what it says is evidence of awful conditions

(Newser) - Petco, one of the biggest pet retailers in the country, severed its relationship with a Pennsylvania small-animal dealer amid a federal investigation into conditions at the facility where it keeps thousands of hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, and other species. Petco said in a statement Tuesday that Holmes Chinchilla Ranch and...

Report: Raising Today's Child Tops $245K

Agriculture Dept: Costs are up 1.8% over previous year

(Newser) - A child born in 2013 will cost a middle-income American family an average of $245,340 until he or she becomes an adult, with families living in the Northeast taking on a greater burden, according to a report out today. Those costs—food, housing, childcare, and education—rose 1.8%...

This Year's Craziest Restaurant Meal: 3.5K Calories

Watchdog group lists diet-annihilating dishes from US chains

(Newser) - Nearly 3,550 calories for a burger, fries, and shake sounds about right—if it's one of the meals called out on a watchdog group's annual list of fatty, sugary, calorie-heavy foods served at US chain restaurants. The Center for Science in the Public Interest pored over nutritional...

Experts: USDA Plan Will Boil More Birds Alive
More Birds Will Be Boiled Alive After USDA Change
experts say
Oct 30, 2013 6:03 AM CDT

More Birds Will Be Boiled Alive After USDA Change

Factories to be able to process 175 a minute, up from 140

(Newser) - An Agriculture Department plan to speed up poultry processing will result in more chickens and turkeys dying painful deaths, experts warn. Almost a million birds are already boiled alive every year when they are improperly shackled to the processing line, meaning they elude the automatic blade and are still alive...

Fecal Matter on Meat at Plants Using New USDA System

3 of 5 pork plants in pilot program have terrible safety records

(Newser) - A disturbing, extensive Washington Post piece today reveals that the USDA hopes to implement a program nationwide that allows pork plants to process meat in less time while using fewer USDA safety inspectors—despite the fact that three of the five plants that have used the new meat inspection approach...

Feds Demand Magician Submit Rabbit 'Disaster Plan'

USDA backtracks on rule after case publicized

(Newser) - Marty the Magician is no stranger to red tape—the Department of Agriculture has long required him to have a license for the rabbit he uses in his act—but even he was surprised when the government ordered him to pull a rabbit disaster plan out of his hat. Under...

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