Blog Posts: Milk

By Royelen Lee Boykie

As “pink slime” makes its way across social media — inspiring a collective heave along its slippery path — there are even more recent disgusting revelations.

This week we released our analysis from a pilot project of poultry slaughter plants and found that during an eight-month period of 2011, company employees missed 64 percent of feathers, lungs, oil glands, trachea and bile that remained on chicken carcasses and 87 percent that remained on turkey carcasses. Not only that, but 90 percent of the violations written up by USDA inspectors in these plants were for fecal contamination that company employees missed. Read the full article…

By Rich Bindell

Right now, some members of Congress are pushing hard for “regulatory reform” that would make it next to impossible for the federal government to create any new regulations. Their anti-regulatory battle plan attacks on two fronts: the REINS Act and the Regulatory Time-Out Act. While their rhetoric conveniently claims these bills would address issues of money, jobs and inefficiency in government, their main goal is to kill all regulations, even those regulations that are tantamount to public safety.

The “reforms” that some members of Congress are trying to pass could strip federal agencies of their ability to update meat and poultry inspection, safe drinking water standards and even fair competition in the marketplace among food producers —basic functions of government that shouldn’t be tied into the political dysfunction of the past several years.

Remember the Food Safety Modernization Act that became law early this year? This recalibration of the FDA’s food safety program should enable federal regulators to catch up to modern challenges in food production, including provisions that protect against pathogens like Listeria and Salmonella in produce and processed food. We’ve had recent outbreaks of both, complete with massive product recalls. The Regulatory Time-Out Act would push these critical regulations off for another year.

Imagine, for a moment, that your drinking water wasn’t monitored or that food processors were no longer properly inspected for safety. Life without these protections in place would be very different, indeed. While the public would go unprotected, the powerful corporations would get to operate as they please, with no one reigning in practices that could damage the environment or public health. No matter what folks think about the budget deficit or job creation, most would agree that there are basic functions best performed by the government – and protecting common resources like food and water are pretty high on that list.

The claims made about creating jobs and saving money by deregulating powerful industries are rhetoric, not reality. We need regulations to safeguard our food, water and natural resources. These are basic protections that ensure public health and safety, not a source for savings.

By Rich Bindell

You know Jillian Michaels as the now-famous inspirational trainer (and former overweight consumer) from The Biggest Loser. Did you know that the main reason she has been able to maintain her healthy body is from eating organic foods and staying FAR AWAY from processed food products? It sounds like Jillian is well aware of the problems that burden our corporate-controlled food system, run by giants like Monsanto, Cargill, Tyson and Nestlé. If only the show could focus on that part of a better health strategy, it could really teach people about the critical importance of the Farm Bill in improving our food and our health as a nation.

Wait a minute… that gives us an idea!

America has already opened its collective consciousness to the lessons of The Biggest Loser. The show’s contestants are close to our hearts for good reason: they’ve allowed us to examine ourselves and how we view our own health. But, now it’s time to welcome a new group into the fold and follow them as they head down a path toward self-improvement and healing. Only this time, the contestants aren’t playing for themselves, but for everyone who depends upon a healthy food system.

Welcome to the Biggest FARM BILL Loser. Read the full article…

By Rich Bindell

The USDA has once again failed to protect independent farmers from the companies that control our broken food system. They have sent part of the much-debated GIPSA rule over to the White House for final approval – without critical parts of the proposed rule that are needed to equalize competition for independent cattle and hog producers in the livestock marketplace. While there may be some positive changes in the rule for the poultry industry (see more detail in the statement from Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter), it is clear that those companies who have solid control over the livestock market also have a lobbying arm that exerts solid control over the current administration.

In 1921, the U.S. government came to the conclusion that something needed to be done about the lack of competition in the meatpacking industry that was allowing a few companies to dominate the market. Congress passed a law called the Packers & Stockyards Act and the USDA created the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA) rule to address the problem. The problem is that they have never enforced the law. What good is a seatbelt if you don’t use it? Read the full article…

So… you think you’re a foodie, do ya? Well, why not test yourself? We invite you to take our Fair Farm Quiz and determine your Fair Food IQ.

What is a farm exactly? Is it that picturesque locale on the label of a supermarket brand of cheese or is it more like an industrial production scene, complete with conveyor belts and widgets?

Did you know? Read the full article…

By Alex Beauchamp

Those who want to know what is (or isn’t) in their milk won a huge victory last week! After years of fighting in court, the state of Ohio has finally agreed to drop this issue and let consumers know that their milk is rBGH-Free. This is great news for all of us who don’t want artificial hormones in our milk.

With this victory, farmers who don’t use artificial hormones can label that their milk as rBGH-free. None of this happened without a lot of hard work from Food & Water Watch, and our allies and activists across the state. This win is the culmination of a long campaign that spread across the country. We’ve successfully defended farmers’ right to label and consumers’ right to know in every state the industry targeted—a lot of effort just for the opportunity to know what’s in your milk. Read the full article…

From across the country, stories and pictures have been pouring in. Typically, the cow suits get all the attention, but our organizers are meeting fascinating people who are accomplishing amazing feats in the world of food. Their stories are truly inspiring. Find out what’s happening along the Fair Farm Bill campaign trail. These are just a sample of the conversations we’re having as we continue to cover 20 states in 34 days. Keep checking back with us, and be sure to visit our event page on Facebook and check out our gallery photos.

Read the full article…

By Rich Bindell

Gallup released the results of a poll about Americans’ eating habits this year compared to last, and the results aren’t so great. According to the poll, “Adults’ health habits have been worse in each of the past three months compared with the same months in 2010.” With the healthy food movement getting stronger each year, it seems surprising that we fell 1.4 points in our index score. But, the problem doesn’t lie simply in percentages of people who make healthy food choices. In his blog on Salon.com, David Sirota describes the reason our nation is food challenged. While he does a great job of breaking down a giant portion of the problem, he misses a great opportunity to suggest steps we can take toward a solution. Read the full article…

By Rich Bindell

This week we focus on our campaign for fair food by calling on President Obama to enact a rule on livestock marketing that would let USDA finally use authority given to them back when Woodrow Wilson was President. The “GIPSA rule” (named for the USDA branch that governs livestock marketing) would even out the playing field in the meat industry and allow small-to-medium-sized independent farmers to fairly compete with large-scale factory farms. Of course, industry is pushing back, using delay tactics to put off implementing the rule. Which is why Sunday’s Washington Post article was so timely.

The article, “With executive pay, rich pull away from rest of America,” could be the answer to the question: when industrial food giants squeeze out farmers and small processing plants and consolidate the industry, where do their savings go? It sounds like a good deal of it may go to upper echelon executives.

The article is mostly about the abuses that result from decades of deregulation and unchecked corporate consolidation as it relates to the salaries of American business executives in the last five or six decades, but it focuses on one company in particular: Dean Foods. It describes two chief executives who led the company at different times: Kenneth J. Douglas, who held the reigns during the 1970s and Gregg L. Engels, who is the current CEO. The article claims that Engels makes the equivalent of about 10 times as much in compensation as Douglas did. If you’re familiar with the consolidation of power that exists in the food industry, this should come as no surprise. Read the full article…

Not all battles are fought on a battlefield. In fact, in our line of work, we often have to attend workshops and hearings, which comes across as much less glamorous for some reason. This time we head to the halls of the University of Wisconsin – Madison on June 25 to take a stand against factory farms and corporate consolidation in the dairy industry. Read the full article…