USDA urges new user fees to boost meat inspections In the wake of several high-profile food recalls, the White House on Monday proposed two new user fees that would provide $96 million to help pay for additional meat inspections. The Bush administration proposed in its fiscal 2009 budget one plan that would generate $92 million through a licensing fee that all meat plants would pay based on production levels. An additional $4 million would be collected from plants that require additional testing, have recalls or inspections linked to an outbreak of food-borne illnesses. "Every other facility in this country that can impact your health or any other person that can impact your health ... has to have a license," said Agriculture Undersecretary Richard Raymond. Meat plants "bear some responsibility to pay for part of their inspection fee." The White House said the proposal, which requires congressional approval, would generate fees that will reduce appropriation needs in the future....
Animal activists take to the states Dozens of new provisions were added to both the House and Senate farm bills this year, but noticeably absent was a new "animal welfare" title that would have required strict new rules regarding the care and feeding of livestock. That's not to say that so-called "animal rights" groups aren't trying. Several bills have been introduced in Congress, including one that would curb the use of antibiotics and another bill requiring new standards for any meat products purchased by the federal government. But absent a lot of momentum on the federal stage, groups like the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) are increasingly turning to the states to push new bills or adopt ballot initiatives. And more often than not, they are succeeding. As HSUS points out on their web site: "Between 1990 and 2006, animal advocates squared off against hunters and other animal industries in 38 statewide ballot campaigns, winning in 26 campaigns and marking a huge surge in the use of the process on animal issues. To provide a contrast, in the previous 50 years--between 1940 and 1990--there were about a half dozen animal-related initiatives, and our movement prevailed in only one campaign--and that measure was later overturned by a subsequent ballot measure advanced by opponents of the reform." In the last couple of years, HSUS won big with livestock initiatives in Florida and Arizona. Now, California, New Hampshire and Colorado are facing some of the same....
FSIS investigating inhumane handling allegations Calling the actions observed in the video from the Hallmark Meat Packing plant, supplied by the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS), egregious and unacceptable humane handling practices, Dr. Kenneth Petersen with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) told reporters Thursday, Jan. 31 that a team is at the Westland Meat Company investigating the allegations. “Currently there is no evidence that any of the animals, downers in particular, did in fact enter the food supply, that is going to be one key activity we’re going to focus on,” said Dr. Petersen. Petersen also echoed U.S. Ag Secretary Ed Schafer’s concern that HSUS delayed the release and went public with the video before coming to USDA. “I have no reservations about anyone going public with any information they have, but sometimes if we can get a little bit of a lead time we can do our investigation a little differently,” Petersen said. Until the results of the multi-agency investigation are complete, Bill Sessions, Associate Deputy Administrator for Livestock and Seed Programs at the Agricultural Marketing Service says AMS will continue the suspension of product from the Westland Meat Company....
Bovine tuberculosis detected at Central Valley dairy A case of bovine tuberculosis has been found at a dairy in Fresno County, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said Friday. State and federal animal health officials are working with the dairy farmer and his veterinarians to implement control strategies to eradicate the disease. The name of the dairy and its specific location were not made public. The diagnosis of TB was made after a cow with suspicious lesions was found during routine slaughter inspection. This week, CDFA and USDA veterinarians completed tests on some herds that may have been exposed based on animal tracing records and determined that, to date, TB is present in just one herd. The tracing of related animal movement will continue, as will TB testing, the CDFA says....
It's All Trew: Brush up on the classic products I doubt many readers less than seventy years of age will know the term "Murphy Bed." It is simply a folding bed hidden behind beautiful cabinets. Founded in 1908 in San Francisco and later moved to Farmingdale, New York, the Murphy Bed Company, Inc. is still in business today. Best known for being more comfortable than conventional folding beds, it also utilized less space. Murphy beds were made famous by slapstick comedians like Red Skelton who could base an entire episode on being accidently folded up inside a Murphy bed. How about that Fuller Brush Company? In business for more than one-hundred years, the company now sells some 300 products with a "100% satisfaction guarantee attached or your money returned no questions asked." That's quite a guarantee in this day's world. Twenty-one-year-old Alfred Fuller set up shop in his sister's basement and began making custom brushes for personal and household use. With more customers than time to deliver products he initiated a program supplying dealers calling on homes throughout the U.S....