USDA Commits To Promoting Direct To Consumer Meat Sales
In this crazy year, when grocery store shelves were empty, many shoppers turned to local meat purveyors who had product available. But most USDA food safety regulations are geared toward the huge meatpacking companies, making it difficult for smaller regional retailers to sell to direct to consumers. Certain codes have also made it challenging for mobile meat processors to travel among smaller regional farms and ranches, restricting production.
That situation is about to shift, according to a recent USDA report detailing the steps the USDA will take to improve direct access to ranchers and farmers who sell meat. The report says: “We understand the addition of direct-to-consumer options for beef producers, small processors, retailers, and others must be done in a way that does not compromise federal food safety standards…USDA is committed to working with stakeholders to balance food safety with these growing consumer preferences and growing e-commerce platforms.”
1 In 8 Americans Now Relies On Food Stamps
In the first three months of the pandemic, six million Americans were added to the food stamp program, formally known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Prior to the pandemic, this program was under federal scrutiny for possible elimination, but data collected by the New York Times for 42 states shows that caseloads increased in all but one state, bringing the total ratio of Americans currently on food stamps to one in eight. Some of the hardest-hit communities include urban centers such as Detroit and Miami as well as affluent suburbs in cities like Atlanta, Houston, and Florida, which added almost a million people to the program. Economists are concerned that unless Congress extends the $600 weekly unemployment benefit, which currently reaches about 20 million people, millions more Americans will apply for food stamps once the $600 benefit expires at the end of July.
In a recent study by the Urban Institute, 17.7% of adults reported food insecurity, which is much higher than pre-crisis levels. “There’s no question that both food insecurity and hunger have risen,” said Elaine Waxman, a co-author of the study. According to Diane Schanzenbach, an economist at Northwestern University, “SNAP is the universal safety net.” Unlike unemployment compensation benefits, food stamps allow for quick enrollment and relatively fast payments via debit card.
Foie Gras Is Legal Again In California
In 2004, California lawmakers banned the state’s farmers from producing and selling foie gras, the rich delicacy of fattened goose or duck liver. Chicago banned foie gras in 2006, however the rule was repealed two years later. New York City also instituted a ban in 2019, ruling that restaurants and grocery stores are not permitted to sell foie gras beginning in 2022. Since the 2004 California ruling, producers, animal rights activists, restaurateurs, and lawmakers have battled over the decision. Animal rights activists applauded the ban, citing the cruelty of the fattening method, which involves force-feeding the birds a corn-based mixture through a tube in their throats. Foie gras producers, on the other hand, claim that the animals are treated humanely and don’t suffer during the fattening process. Restaurateurs say their customers are clamoring for the delicacy. In the latest court case, out-of-state producers challenged the California ban, claiming that foie gras produced outside of the state does not violate the existing law. Last week, U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson agreed, ruling that foie gras can be legally bought by Californians as long as the product and transaction are made out of state and the product is brought into California by a third-party delivery service.
U.K. Supermarkets Reject Chlorinated Chicken In Blow To U.S. Trade Deal
Top U.K. supermarkets Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, The Co-op, Aldi U.K., and Marks and Spencer have said that they will not sell chlorinated chicken or hormone-injected beef from the U.S. The rejection is meant to uphold UK food standards rather than forego them to close a post-Brexit trade deal. The U.S. President has been firm that American agricultural goods must be a part of any free trade agreement between the U.S. and U.K. Currently, the U.K.’s food standards do not allow importation of chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef. However, last month, the U.K. government dropped its pledge to ban the products in 2021, when Britain will no longer be bound by European Union trade rules. Despite dropping the ban, several top U.K. supermarkets reiterated that they would never stock the products. Multiple U.K. Members of Parliament and a handful of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative party have pushed for Johnson to decline U.S. agricultural imports and uphold the E.U.’s higher food standards. More than one million Europeans have also signed a petition requesting that the U.K. government block food imports that do not meet the U.K.’s standards of animal welfare, environmental protection, and food safety.
Vermont Becomes First State To Ban Food Scraps In Trash
Effective this month, Vermont has banned single-use products, including plastic shopping bags, straws, and stirrers, as well as styrofoam takeout containers. Also, the state no longer permits residents to throw food scraps into the trash. Food such as egg shells and vegetable and fruit trimmings must now be composted, separately binned for collection, or taken to a recycling center. “If we were to compost Vermont’s food waste that’s in the trash right now, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking about 9,000 cars off the road,” said Josh Kelly, the Materials Management Section Chief of Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation. The new law makes Vermont the first state to prohibit throwing food scraps in the trash, according to Fast Company. While law enforcement personnel will not be digging through trash for contraband food, the state has invested about $970,000 in grants to build out its composting infrastructure. And lawmakers trust that most residents will gladly comply on their own. According to a University of Vermont study, 72% of Vermonters were already composting at home or feeding food scraps to livestock, according to a University of Vermont study. Surprisingly, only 55% of the study respondents said they were in favor of banning food waste from landfills. .
China Suspends Poultry Imports From Tyson Plant In Arkansas
Last week, China announced a suspension of poultry imports from an Arkansas Tyson Foods facility linked to hundreds of COVID-19 cases. Among the 3,748 Tyson workers tested at the Springdale, Arkansas plant, 481 or 13% tested positive for the coronavirus, and 95% of them were asymptomatic. While all global and U.S. health organizations agree that there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 via food, China’s General Administration of Customs explained its suspension by saying that the company “recently occurred employees with new pneumonia aggregation infection.”
The suspension comes just 6 months after China lifted its five-year ban on U.S. poultry imports, which had closed off $500 million worth of American poultry products due to avian flu. Tyson was quick to assure the poultry market that its poultry products are safe for human consumption. “At Tyson, our top priority is the health and safety of our team members,” said Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson, “and we work closely with the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to ensure that we produce all of our food in full compliance with government safety requirements.”
U.S. Threatens Tariffs On China To Protect Maine Lobster Industry
President Trump has signed a memorandum directing the Department of Agriculture to provide U.S. lobster fishermen with financial aid to compensate for lost income due to Chinese tariffs. White House trade adviser Pete Navarro says Trump also ordered U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to provide a report on how well China is complying with the $150 million in purchasing commitments Beijing made under the Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal. Depending on the outcome, Trump suggested placing retaliatory tariffs on the Chinese seafood industry. Maine Senator Angus King welcomes the memorandum, saying, “This is definitely good news. The timing is good. This has been a tough summer for our lobstermen.” Maine lawmakers have repeatedly asked for aid in the lobster industry, a trade supporting 4,500 state-licensed lobstermen and an additional 10,000 people, contributing $1.5 billion to the economy each year. Get the full story here at Associated Press, or find more information here at Reuters.
Weedkiller Manufacturer To Pay $10 Billion To Settle Cancer Suits
Bayer AG announced it would pay $10.9 billion in settlements after lawsuits with U.S. plaintiffs alleged that Bayer’s (formerly Monsanto’s) Roundup herbicide causes cancer. The weedkiller is widely used in both industrial and residential farming. An estimated 95,000 cases were filed and the settlement includes $1.25 billion for potential future plaintiffs from Roundup customers that could be diagnosed with the form of cancer known as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. According to two people involved in the negotiations, individuals will receive between $5,000 and $250,000 in payments, depending on their case. The $1.25 billion for future claims will be applied to a class-action suit filed by Judge Vince Chhabria’s U.S. District Court in San Francisco. A portion of the $1.25 billion will fund an independent expert panel to uncover whether glyphosate, the active chemical compound in Roundup, causes cancer; and if so, in what dosage. If glyphosate is found to be a carcinogen, Bayer will not be able to argue in any future cases.
Germany Bans Single Use Plastic And Polystyrene Food Containers
Last week, Germany agreed to ban the sale of single-use plastic straws and polystyrene food containers as a result of a European Union directive intended to reduce unnecessary waste throughout the continent. The ban is part of an effort to move away from “throw-away culture,” according to Germany’s Environment Minister Svenja Schulze. Single-use plastics make up for up to 20% of garbage collected in the country’s public places. Lawmakers agreed to end the sale of plastics, including single-use cutlery, plates, stirring sticks and balloon holders, as well as polystyrene cups and boxes by July 3, 2021.
Border Agents Seize Nearly 10 Tons of Prohibited Meat From China
At California ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency intercepted 19,550 pounds of prohibited meats such as pork, chicken, beef and duck en route from China. According to a CBP statement, 834 cartons of meat were mixed in with boxes of headphones, door locks, kitchenware, LCD tablets and other household products. All of the products lacked the required USDA entry documentation. In the first five months of 2020, the interception of prohibited meats from China at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport has increased by 70% compared to last year. “Our close collaboration with our USDA strategic partners has resulted in an increased number of prohibited food products interceptions in a relatively short period of time,” said CBP director of L.A. field operations, Carlos Martel.
