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(WASHINGTON) -- The sequester likely won’t cause meat and poultry shortages for a while — thanks, in part, to union negotiations and USDA inspectors’ lack of email access. Furloughs to Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors at the U.S. Department of Agriculture could force meat and poultry plants to stop production — with no inspectors to approve products, they can’t be sold — but Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the House Agriculture Committee that those furloughs probably won’t happen until later this year. “We are looking at a several-month period, if you will, before a furlough will be imposed,”...

Critics of federal school lunch regulations say they waste food and money, that they infringe on an individual’s choice to eat whatever he or she wants, and that they’re not filling enough. Some students are even boycotting cafeteria food. Now, ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools are finding it difficult to abide by the newly implemented federal school lunch guidelines, providing another example that this one-size-fits-all policy doesn’t “fit all.” That’s because the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act for which First Lady Michelle Obama vigorously advocated requires the serving of certain foods that some might consider non-kosher. Ultra-Orthodox community leaders are now appealing to...

FOOD giants Birds Eye, Taco Bell and caterers Brakes all confirmed today that horsemeat has been found in their beef products. BIRDS EYE confirmed two products withdrawn as a precaution last week have tested positive: a spaghetti bolognese and beef lasagne all made in Belgium. US-owned TACO BELL has had to withdraw ground beef from its three Mexican-themed diners in the UK and nine in Spain. The meat was used in its tacos, burritos, gorditas, chalupas and Nachos. A spokesman admitted the chain knew LAST WEEK that there was a problem and withdrew the meat. But it only decided to...

BEIJING—The head of Yum Brands Inc.'s China operations made a rare appearance to take aim at the country's food-safety issues and win back customers after allegations of quality oversights at the company's KFC restaurants caused consumer confidence and sales to tumble in its largest market. Yum is aiming to prevent food-safety problems by cutting its ties with suppliers that source their chicken from small farms that are hard to regulate, said Sam Su, the chairman and chief executive of Yum's China division, in a press briefing Monday. But the fundamental problems that sparked consumer concern over the quality of the...

Swedish furniture giant Ikea was drawn into Europe's widening food labeling scandal Monday as authorities said they had detected horse meat in frozen meatballs labeled as beef and pork and sold in 13 countries across the continent.

No one wants to send a species to extinction, but when a chicken that can be hunted and cooked for dinner is proposed as an endangered species, one has to question the entire program. When that proposed endangered species listing brings together representatives from oil, gas, and wind energy companies—as well as ranchers and farmers—you can be sure changes are needed in the way the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is applied.    The specific critter in question this time is the lesser prairie chicken (LPC) and the proposed ESA listing would have the federal government killing jobs, thwarting economic development, and...

An article penned by a Stanford University professor that alleges Vietnam's "aggressive tendencies" are tied to its penchant for eating meat -- particularly rats, birds and dogs -- has triggered a social media backlash from Vietnamese and others around the world. The opinion piece -- "Despite increasing prosperity, Vietnam's appetites remain unique" -- was written by Joel Brinkley, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former foreign correspondent for The New York Times and posted Tuesday on the Chicago Tribune's website. Describing a trip he made to Vietnam, Brinkley said he observed a dearth of squirrels, birds and rats. He also said the "World...

I recently read the new biography of Trotsky by Oxford don Robert Service, published in 2009 by Pan Books. It is well-written and surprisingly interesting. The book does a great public service in describing the life of the actual Trotsky, whose previous “biographies” were little more than hagiographies written by his toady worshippers (people like Isaac Deutscher). The last time that I had taken any interest in Trotsky was when I was a teenager and had fleeting delusions of believing in “socialism.” Reading the new book as an adult and as an economist, I found it a useful opportunity to...

First it was bacon, now it's chicken wings. With less than two weeks to go before the big game, football fans may find it a bit harder to find their favorite Super Bowl snack. The National Chicken Council released a report that said the demand for wings this year is at “an all-time high” due to decreased wing production caused by the high cost of corn and feed prices. Wings are currently the highest priced portion of a chicken and cost $2.11 a pound in the Northeast, up 12 percent from last year.

The Obama administration moved ahead Friday with the first major overhaul of the nation’s food-safety system in more than 70 years, proposing tough new standards for fruit and vegetable producers and food manufacturers. The long-awaited proposals by the Food and Drug Administration are part of a fundamental change aimed at preventing food-borne outbreaks — caused by everything from leafy greens to canteloupes to peanut butter — rather than simply reacting to them. Every year, contaminated foods sicken an estimated 48 million Americans and kill 3,000.

-excerpt- Per the notice filed with the US Food and Drug Administration, the recall includes 282,000 cases. Boxes included in the recall have the letters “KB,” “AP” or “FK” before or after the “Best Before” date.

Any tips or helpful resources to prepare for the coming food shortage and societal collapse? I am the father of two and I owe it to my wife and kids to make any necessary preparations, while I still can, for adequate survival in an economic meltdown or food crisis. I am on a very limited budget, but need any useful advice I can get out there to prepare with very limited resources. I am sure there are others on this platform, beside me and my family, that would stand to benefit from such advice. Recently, it has become more and...

Legendary investor Jim Rogers remains bullish on commodities and says the world will soon face food shortages. "The fundamentals (for agriculture) have gotten better," he says. "The inventories are now at the lowest they've been in decades, not in years.” And that trend is just intensifying, Rogers tells CNBC. “ Things are getting worse. Many farmers can’t get loans to buy fertilizer now, even though we have big shortages developing " And what will be the end result of this dynamic? "Sometime in the next few years we're going to have very serious shortages of food everywhere in the world,...

Russia has suspended the import and use of an American GM corn following a study suggesting a link to breast cancer and organ damage. Separately, the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA), has ordered its own review in to the research, which was conducted at a French university. The decision by Russia could be followed by other nations in what would be a severe blow to the take-up of the controversial technology.Historically, biotech companies have proved the safety of GM crops based on trials involving feeding rats for a period of 90 days. However, experts at the University of Caen conducted an...

The world’s best-selling weedkiller, and a genetically modified maize resistant to it, can cause tumours, multiple organ damage and lead to premature death, new research published today reveals. In the first ever study to examine the long-term effects of Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller, or the NK603 Roundup-resistant GM maize also developed by Monsanto, scientists found that rats exposed to even the smallest amounts, developed mammary tumours and severe liver and kidney damage as early as four months in males, and seven months for females, compared with 23 and 14 months respectively for a control group.“This research shows an extraordinary number of...

... how Sun-Maid made their raisins disappear ...

Because of the worst drought since 1988 the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared a federal disaster area in almost one-third of all the counties in the United States - more than 1,300 counties covering 29 states, the largest disaster declaration ever made by the USDA. Only in the 1930s and 1950s has a drought covered more land. The United States Drought Monitor shows 88 percent of corn, and 87 percent of soybean crops are in drought-stricken regions. This map show the counties affected: “We just had a crop report today, which indicated a significant reduction in corn production as well...

[Snip]...I have long felt that one of the biggest threats to the U.S. ethanol industry is a major drought/crop failure in the heart of corn country. This year we may be experiencing such an event. Recent reports indicate that what had been expected to be a record crop of corn has been downgraded such that only 40% of the corn crop is being classified as in good or excellent condition. This is down 48% versus last week and 69% versus a year ago.

A shocking and disturbing video taken by an undercover investigator at a pig farm depicts the horrific extent of animal cruelty being practiced at a pork-supply company used by Walmart. Mercy For Animals released the graphic video which documents the daily animal abuse allegedly taking place at Christensen Farms in Minnesota. The video depicts hundreds of pigs packed into cages so tiny, they can barely move or even turn around. Some of the usually-social animals bite down on the bars just for something to do.