Agriculture News
CA: New Senate Bill would make water and milk default drinks for children's meals
ABC News | Posted on August 16, 2018A new Senate Bill is trying to make water and milk the default options for children's meals.
Senate Bill 1192 is wanting to make restaurants that serve kids meals to make water, sparkling water, flavored water, unflavored milk, or non-dairy milk the default drink. This bill would not prohibit a person to request an alternative drink but restaurants who do not follow this law would be subject to fines of $250 for the second violation and $500 for the third.Because this bill would impose additional duties on enforcement agencies the bill would create a state-mandated local program. Government agencies and schools would be given reimbursement with any costs accrued.
The process FDA is undertaking for reviewing and modernizing the agency’s standards of identity for dairy products
FDA | Posted on August 16, 2018One area that needs greater clarity – and which has been the subject of much discussion of late – is the wide variety of plant-based foods that are being positioned in the marketplace as substitutes for standardized dairy products. Many of these plant-based foods use traditional dairy terms (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese) in the name of the product. For instance, we’ve seen a proliferation of products made from soy, almond or rice calling themselves milk. However, these alternative products are not the food that has been standardized under the name “milk” and which has been known to the American public as “milk” long before the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) was established. In addition, some of these products can vary widely in their nutritional content – for instance in relation to inherent protein or in added vitamin content – when compared to traditional milk. We intend to look at these differences in relation to potential public health consequences. There are reports that indicate this issue needs examination. For example, case reports show that feeding rice-based beverages to young children resulted in a disease called kwashiorkor, a form of severe protein malnutrition. There has also been a case report of a toddler being diagnosed with rickets, a disease caused by vitamin D deficiency, after parents used a soy-based alternative to cow’s milk. Because these dairy alternative products are often popularly referred to as ‘‘milk,’’ we intend to look at whether parents may erroneously assume that plant-based beverages’ nutritional contents are similar to those of cow’s milk, despite the fact that some of these products contain only a fraction of the protein or other nutrients found in cow’s milk.
New Mexico state engineer denies water speculator bid
Santa Fe New Mexican | Posted on August 16, 2018In a move hailed by environmentalists and nearby landowners, New Mexico’s top water-rights official has dismissed as speculative a company’s application to tap billions of gallons of groundwater from a closed basin deep beneath the Plains of San Agustin in western New Mexico.The denial is the latest twist in the 11-year quest by Augustin Plains Ranch LLC to siphon off 54,000 acre-feet, or 17.6 billion gallons, of water annually and pipe it to as-yet-undetermined communities in Central and Northern New Mexico.Douglas Meiklejohn, executive director of the Santa Fe-based New Mexico Environmental Law Center and a pro-bono lead attorney for those opposing what they see as a speculative and potentially harmful project that includes international investors, says it is “by far the largest” groundwater-rights request in state history, though a spokeswoman for the Office of the State Engineer could not confirm that.By comparison, Albuquerque-area residents use about 30 billion gallons a year.In his denial of the application, a hearing examiner in State Engineer Tom Blaine’s office denounced the “striking absence of information” in the applicants’ description of the water’s end use, citing New Mexico law that prohibits water speculation and requires water rights be put to a beneficial use.No municipalities in the seven counties listed as potential customers have signed contracts to purchase the water rights, and only one, the city of Rio Rancho, has indicated an interest in potentially striking a deal.“All (the ranch) has established is that it wants to appropriate and convey water to uncommitted municipalities or entities in unknown quantities,” the decision reads.
Employees Reveal Internal HSUS Problems
Humane Watch | Posted on August 16, 2018Charity evaluators have knocked HSUS for its practices—and they’re not the only ones. Anonymous reviews posted to employer review site Glassdoor by current and former HSUS staff reveal an insider’s look at HSUS. And it’s rough. One recent review from an employee who has worked at HSUS for more than a decade calls the organization “toxic” and littered with “incompetent managers” who have undue influence in the organization. This review also states that HSUS is wracked with problems such as “rampant corruption” and “harassment”—a noteworthy allegation after former HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle stepped down once people started coming forward claiming he had sexually abused a number of women.That’s not just a disgruntled employee with an axe to grind—other reviews corroborate the account.A different review reveals that HSUS is a “bloated organization” and is “wasteful with donor dollars.” This review also states that harassment is “rampant” and calls for more transparency in the organization. We couldn’t agree more—HSUS should tear down the facade showcasing cute puppies and let donors know what they actually do with their money, including adding to $50 million stowed away in an offshore bank account.
Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin Grants
| Posted on August 16, 2018Launched in 2008, the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) competitive grant program is designed to strengthen Wisconsin’s agricultural and food industries by working to reduce the marketing, distribution, and processing hurdles that impede the expansion of sales of Wisconsin’s food products to local purchasers. Managed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), the grants can help farms and business more efficiently process, market and distribute food in local markets including stores, schools and institutions. Keeping food dollars in Wisconsin communities supports local businesses, improves farm incomes, and creates jobs.A total of $200,000 is available in grant funding each year through the program; the maximum award for each project is $50,000, and grant applicants must provide a cash or in-kind match of at least 50 percent of the total project budget. Generally, qualified applicants include individuals, groups or businesses involved in Wisconsin production agriculture, food processing, food distribution, food warehousing, retail food establishments or agricultural tourism operations. Proposals can include individual projects, collaborations or partnerships.
Some Beatty residents say burro herd is causing problems
Capital Press | Posted on August 16, 2018Some residents of a southern Nevada town that has long embraced a local herd of burros want the federal government to do more to control the wild donkey population. Residents of Beatty are complaining that the burros are causing disruptions by knocking down fences, trampling sensitive habitat and damaging property, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported .The town has celebrated the animals as symbols of the community’s roots, growing from the early 20th-century mining camp. But residents now have mixed feelings.“They are an element of local color and history, somewhat entertaining and fun to show to visitors,” resident Richard Stephens said. “They are also a nuisance.”
Idaho wolves kill six cows in one week
Capital Press | Posted on August 16, 2018ascade, Idaho, rancher Phil Davis said wolves killed three of his cows in early August. Separately, three other cows were killed nearby. “We lost three cows to wolves this last week, three days in a row,” said Davis, who for decades has studied Idaho wolf issues and has been outspoken about wolves’ impacts on livestock. The kills were Aug. 2-4 on Davis Cattle Co. property.USDA Wildlife Services confirmed the three cows were killed by wolves, as well as three other cattle on property close by, Public Affairs Specialist Tanya Espinosa said. In necropsies to determine the cause of death, the agency found bite marks and associated hemorrhaging, she said.The Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission recently reported wolf-involved depredation cases set a record high for the fiscal year ended June 30 and are continuing at a strong pace.
Sempra Has to Turn to Cow Dung to Make Up for California Gas Leak
Bloomberg | Posted on August 16, 2018Reparations for the worst-ever U.S. natural gas leak will involve cow-dung duty. That’s the takeaway from Sempra Energy’s $119.5 million settlement with Los Angeles and California agencies over the leak almost three years ago at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility owned by the company’s Southern California Gas utility. Almost a quarter of the money will go to fund a program to capture methane from dairy farms that can be processed into something called renewable natural gas. This RNG can be substituted molecule for molecule for the fossil fuel version and injected into the vast U.S. pipeline network.
New $425M dairy processing facility expected to create 259 Michigan jobs
Click on Detroit | Posted on August 16, 2018Michigan's dairy industry is getting a huge boost. Two investments totaling $510 million are expected to create nearly 300 jobs with the building of a new dairy processing facility in St. Johns, Michigan. Glanbia has partnered with Select Milk Producers Inc. and Dairy Farmers of America to form Spartan Michigan LLC, which will develop a new $425 million, 146-acre dairy processing facility in St. Johns, which is expected to create 259 new jobs. The facility will process more than 8-million pounds of milk per day. Proliant Dairy Michigan is investing up to $85 million in an adjoining facility, which will manufacture whey permeate powder and employ 30 to 38 new workers.
New Water Restrictions to Leave California Farmers High and Dry
Growing Produce | Posted on August 16, 2018Following nine years of research and extensive public outreach, the State Water Resources Control Board today released a final draft plan to increase water flows through the Lower San Joaquin River and its tributaries—the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers—to prevent an ecological crisis, including the total collapse of fisheries. By limiting water sent to cities and farms and keeping more for fish, the proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board's staff likely will ignite a round of lawsuits and political squabbles. Critics immediately pounced on the plan, saying it will take some of the nation's most fertile farmland out of production and harm the Central Valley economy.But the state board said more water must be devoted to fish to prevent environmental disaster. Several major species of fish are nearing extinction, and increasing river flows will help them survive, the board said."We've simply taken too much water out of the system for the natural ecosystem to survive," said board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus in a conference call with reporters. She said the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the hub of the state's elaborate water-delivery network, "is on the verge of collapse."