Washington | Reuters — Two companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, said on Wednesday they have received final U.S. Department of Agriculture approval to sell lab-grown meat, paving the way for the nation’s first-ever sales of the product. With the approvals, the U.S. will become the second country after Singapore to allow the sale of
U.S. regulator allows first sales of lab-grown meat
Products to go first to high-end restaurants
JBS ends contracts with provider over child labour
Reuters – The U.S. arm of Brazilian meatpacker JBS is ending contracts with an American company fined for hiring kids to clean meat plants, it was announced April 24. The changes show how a U.S. government investigation into food-safety sanitation company Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) is prompting adjustments by major meat companies. JBS said
Tyson Foods plant closure raises antitrust concerns among US farmers, experts
Reuters – Tyson Foods Inc TSN.N gave its chicken suppliers two months’ notice of its plan to shut a Virginia processing plant in May, raising concerns among farmers and legal experts about the company’s compliance with antitrust regulations requiring it to give 90 days’ notice before ending a contract. The planned closure of the plant has left
U.S. to up meat label requirements
Reuters – U.S. ranchers lobbying for tighter rules on meat origin labelling got a win in early March. Meat, poultry or eggs labelled as a U.S. product must come from animals raised and slaughtered within the country under a rule proposed by the Biden administration March 6. Existing rules for the label permit its use
U.S. native seed shortage hinders land restoration
Reuters – The United States is facing a shortage of the native seeds it uses to restore natural habitats damaged by wildfire and other weather events made worse by climate change, according to a report released recently by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Extreme weather events, especially wildfires, are causing more
U.S. biofuels proposal would lift near-term greenhouse gas emissions
EPA says reductions would only come in the long term
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to increase biofuel blending mandates through 2025 would lead to a near-term increase in greenhouse gas emissions, before yielding reductions in the longer term, according to agency documents. The Renewable Fuel Standard requires the nation’s oil refiners to add billions of gallons of biofuels like corn-based ethanol into the fuel pool each
Hormel meat labeling case shows U.S. rules need reform: advocates
Reuters – Hormel Foods’ labeling of a meat product line as “natural” despite using the same hogs and production methods as its other brands shows the U.S. meat labeling system needs reforms, said consumer advocates and documents released on Nov. 15 from a lawsuit the company is close to settling. The false advertising suit, brought
Lab-grown meat cleared for human consumption by U.S. regulator
FDA's review not technically approval
Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time cleared a meat product grown from animal cells for human consumption, the agency announced on Wednesday. Upside Foods, a company that makes cell-cultured chicken by harvesting cells from live animals and using the cells to grow meat in stainless-steel tanks,
Minority farmers sue U.S. government over repealed debt relief program
Policy was to compensate for decades of discriminatory lending practices
Reuters – Black farmers and other farmers of colour filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. government on Oct. 12, claiming the recent repeal of a debt relief program that targeted them amounts to a breach of contract by the government. The suit comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture is set to roll
U.S. trade commission sues pesticide makers, alleging price scheme
Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued two top pesticide manufacturers for allegedly entering into exclusive contracts with distributors that kept prices paid by farmers artificially high. The consumer watchdog agency was motivated to bring the case in part because rising costs and supply chain disruptions from Russia’s invasion of
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
