AgClips
Recent AgClips
FDA to Hold Four Public Meetings to Discuss Draft Produce Safety Rule Guidance
FDA | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Federal NewsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it will hold four one-day public meetings to discuss the recently published draft guidance created to help farmers meet the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule. The draft guidance, entitled “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption: Draft Guidance for Industry,” is a compliance and implementation guide that gives information and examples to demonstrate how farmers can meet the rule’s requirements in various ways.
California Voters May Force Meat And Egg Producers Across The Country To Go Cage-Free
NPR | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsCalifornia voters will soon decide whether to ban the sale of meat and eggs from farm animals raised in cages. A November ballot measure, Proposition 12, would require more spacious digs for pigs, veal calves and egg-laying hens. It applies to animals in California and to those raised elsewhere for products sold in the Golden State. If you're experiencing a bit of déjà vu right now, it makes sense.Back in 2008, voters overwhelmingly passed a strikingly similar animal welfare law.
Reckoning with Opioids in Farm Country
Civil Eats | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Rural NewsRampant drug abuse has long been perceived as an urban plight. But when it comes to opioid painkillers—including oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and heroin—rural communities are on the frontlines. Five of the states with the highest rates of drug overdose deaths—Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania—are predominantly rural. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that rates of overdose death in rural areas have been rising higher than they have in urban areas since 2006.
Animal species becoming extinct in Haiti as deforestation nearly complete
Science Daily | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Rural NewsSpecies of reptiles, amphibians and other vertebrates are becoming extinct in Haiti as deforestation has claimed more than 99 percent of the country's original wooded areas.
FDA moves toward clearer, faster biotech regulatory action
Agri-Pulse | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Federal NewsThe Food and Drug Administration announced plans Tuesday to clarify and speed up the regulatory path for new gene-edited traits in both plants and animals.
NJ Lawmakers seek stronger protections for animals
New Jersey Spotlight | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in SARL Members and Alumni News
CVM, along with representatives from FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), will host a live-cast webinar on Dec. 3, 2018 to discuss FDA’s flexible, risk-based regulatory approach and current scientific evidence and regulatory science
Fortune | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Federal NewsThe Chinese government announced on Oct. 29 that it would modify its total ban on the trade of rhinoceros and tiger parts, allowing rhino horns and tiger bones from animals raised on farms in China to be used on a limited basis by accredited doctors in Chinese hospitals. An outright ban on trading has been in effect since 1993. The use of these animal parts, often ground into a powder, have a long history in traditional Chinese medicine, along with genitalia from bulls, deer, and snakes and elephant tusks.
FDA Announces Plant and Animal Biotechnology Innovation Action Plan
FDA | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Agriculture, Federal NewsToday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the Plant and Animal Biotechnology Innovation Action Plan to outline the key priorities the agency will pursue to support innovation in plant and animal biotechnology while advancing the agency’s public health mission.
Oregon hemp farming sees "explosive growth"
Oregon Business | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Agriculture, Rural NewsThe Oregon hemp industry is like a raging river, restrained by a dam that might soon break and allow products to flood an array of new markets. A provision in the 2018 Farm Bill before Congress would strike cannabidiol from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of Schedule 1 drugs, those the agency deems to have the highest potential for abuse. Nationally, hemp sales topped $820 million in 2017. The market is expected to reach $1 billion in 2018.In the roller-coaster cannabis industry, hemp enjoys a smoother ride than recreational marijuana.
Dolphins are simplifying their calls to make themselves heard over noisy humans
The Quartz | Posted onNovember 1, 2018 in Rural NewsIt’s a real sea of noise in the oceans these days. On top of the normal sounds of singing cetaceans, cracking shrimp, and surprisingly rowdy fish, humans have unloaded a veritable cacophony into the water: noises from boats large and small, the sounds of great honking container ships, the dull roar of seafloor mining, and the jackhammering of oil and gas exploration. And because sound travels fast, and far, through water, the noise pollution is magnified, spreading this high-decibel ambient sound all over the seas. So, what are dolphins to do, if they want to be heard over all that clamor?