USDA

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How the USDA Hacked the Sequester

Tom Vilsack got $55M in new money for meat inspectors

(Newser) - There's no way to get out of the sequester's mandatory budget cuts, right? Wrong—at least for the USDA. Just three weeks after the sequester hit, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack found a way around it, snagging $55 million in new money for meat inspectors—just about the same...

Forget Europe: US May OK Horse Meat Plant

It hasn't been processed here in 6 years

(Newser) - What timing: With Europe trying to rein in a horse meat scandal , the US may give the green light to a horse slaughtering plant in New Mexico. The facility, which would produce horse meat that's safe to eat, could get Agriculture Department approval within the next two months, the...

Are You Eating Horse Meat?
 Are You Eating 
 Horse Meat? 
Feb 23, 2013 2:57 PM CST

Are You Eating Horse Meat?

Officials doubt it, but horse-meat tests are flying off shelves

(Newser) - With Nestle stung by the horse-meat scandal , you may wonder whether unwanted cheval has reached your dinner table. Federal US regulators say it's unlikely, because domestic suppliers don't slaughter horses and Washington doesn't allow imported beef from European countries affected by the scandal, reports NBC News . That...

Sorry, USDA Employees: No More Deep-Fried Lunch

Cafeterias will adhere more closely to USDA's dietary guidelines

(Newser) - For years, the USDA has been giving Americans dietary guidelines—and now USDA workers will have to start living by those guidelines, at least during lunchtime. The cafeterias at the Agriculture Department's DC headquarters have gotten a makeover, and the most headline-worthy change is that the deep fryers have...

Animal Cruelty Found at Harvard Labs

Monkeys, mice, die thanks to inhumane, careless treatment

(Newser) - The USDA has issued an official citation against the Harvard Medical School for repeated incidents of cruelty to its lab animals. Four of the school's monkeys have died in less than two years, including one that was still in its cage when it was put through a mechanical washer,...

Beef Plant in Abuse Video Supplied In-N-Out, Schools

Burger chain cancels contract with Calif. slaughterhouse

(Newser) - The California slaughterhouse closed down for alleged animal abuse counted the In-N-Out burger chain among its biggest customers, reports ABC . The Central Valley Meat plant provided between 20% and 30% of the beef used in the chain's burgers, according to an In-N-Out spokesman, who says the chain canceled its...

Feds Shut Calif. Slaughterhouse After Abuse Video

Dairy cows shocked, kicked, shot repeatedly before slaughter

(Newser) - Federal officials have shut down a California slaughterhouse after receiving an undercover video showing dairy cows, some unable to walk, being repeatedly shocked, kicked and shot, according to authorities. Investigators, sent to the Central Valley Meat company after officials viewed the heartbreaking footage, found evidence of "egregious inhumane handling...

Half of US Counties Now Disaster Areas

Drought has ravaged much of the nation

(Newser) - The worst drought in decades has officially ravaged more than half the counties in America. The USDA declared 218 counties across a dozen states natural disaster areas yesterday, bringing the total number of counties bearing that distinction to 1,584, the AP reports. The disaster designation makes farmers and ranchers...

USDA Plugs Meatless Mondays, Outrage Ensues

Storm of criticism follows suggestion to employees

(Newser) - Who knew an interoffice newsletter could create such drama? The USDA gave "Meatless Monday" a shout-out in its newsletter this week, encouraging its employees to help the planet out by joining the effort to go vegetarian on Monday "while dining at our cafeterias." This did not go...

Drought Now Worst Since 1956
 Drought Now Worst Since 1956 
Jul 17, 2012 7:52 AM CDT

Drought Now Worst Since 1956

More than half of continental US affected

(Newser) - The US is in the grip of the worst drought in more than 50 years, with almost 80% of the country either in drought or in abnormally dry conditions. The NOAA's latest report finds that 56% of the continental US is in drought, the sixth-highest percentage on record and...

USDA Declares Biggest Disaster Ever

One-third of America's counties now natural-disaster areas

(Newser) - It's a confirmation of just how brutal this season has been: The US Department of Agriculture yesterday declared the biggest disaster in its history, identifying 1,016 counties in 26 states as natural-disaster areas. That covers about a third of America's counties, notes Bloomberg . The apocalyptic-sounding declaration brings...

NYC to Gas 700 Geese Over Plane Fears

Avian collisions a major problem for LaGuardia, JFK

(Newser) - Yesterday was a dark day for NYC's Canada geese. Some 700 of them were rounded up and sent on a final journey to a poultry plant in upstate New York as part of an effort to curb the dangerous collisions between the birds and passenger jets leaving from area...

Mad Cow Disease Shows Up in California

Authorities say food chain is safe

(Newser) - For the first time since 2006, US officials have confirmed a new case of mad cow disease, this time in California. The dairy cow's illness was detected during routine testing at a rendering plant by the USDA. None of the affected cow's meat got into human food, the...

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch

Preschooler ends up eating chicken nuggets instead of home-packed meal

(Newser) - A North Carolina preschooler arrived at school with a lunch packed by her mom, but ended up eating just three chicken nuggets from the school cafeteria because a state agent didn't think her packed lunch was nutritious enough. Pre-kindergarten programs are required to serve lunches that meet USDA guidelines—...

It&#39;s Time to Regulate Sugar

 It's Time to 
 Regulate Sugar 
opinion
Feb 4, 2012 2:45 PM CST

It's Time to Regulate Sugar

Fructose must be limited with taxes, age limits: UC profs

(Newser) - Tobacco, alcohol, and ... sugar? Yes, according to professors at UC San Francisco, sugar should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol in order to cut down on ailments like heart disease, high blood pressure, and fatty liver disease, the Los Angeles Times reports. “For both alcohol and tobacco, there is...

McDonald's Stops Using 'Pink Slime'

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver spearheaded drive against controversial beef

(Newser) - Jamie Oliver's gastric juices must be bubbling with joy. The food activist and celebrity chef has fought for months against so-called "pink slime," and lo and behold, McDonald's announced last week it has stopped using the controversial beef, CBS News reports. The chain was "taking...

Farmers Fret as USDA Shuts Hundreds of Offices

Critics worry move will compromise public safety

(Newser) - The US Department of Agriculture announced plans to close 259 offices, labs, and other facilities yesterday, in a move that will save the agency $150 million per year. But the announcement has some farmers and food safety experts worried, the AP reports. "They wiped out the entire Midwest,"...

Horse Slaughterhouses Could Soon Rise Again

Congress lifts ban on funding horse meat inspections

(Newser) - When Congress passed a spending bill earlier this month to keep the government from shutting down, it quietly lifted a funding ban on horse meat inspections—meaning horses can once again be butchered in the US for human consumption, and slaughterhouses could open within 30 to 90 days. The US...

Congress Declares Pizza a Vegetable

In school lunches, at least

(Newser) - Thanks to Congress, pizza is still considered a vegetable—at least where school lunches are concerned. Proposed new school lunch standards from the USDA would have limited potatoes in school lunches (think French fries) and stopped counting less than a half-cup of tomato sauce as a vegetable (think pizza), but...

Scientists Hunt for New Chocolate Flavors

American and Peruvian researchers scour the Amazon for wild cacao trees

(Newser) - In 2008 and 2009, American and Peruvian scientists joined forces on a hunt for sweet treasure—new kinds of chocolate. They explored the Amazon Basin, searching for wild cacao trees—which produce the beans that go into chocolate—and discovered 342 specimens from 12 watersheds, reports NPR . Each new cacao...

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