Livestock Mistreated with GMO Feed March 14, 2014 Animal rights activists addressing the abuses of CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) often focus on the more obvious ways animals are distressed. Yet some researchers point to a less-understood aspect of livestock mistreatment: force-fed monoculture diets of genetically modified corn and soy that is often drenched in…
Roundtable defines sustainable beef By Rita Jane Gabbett on 3/17/2014 The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef has issued for public comment a document that sets out to define the principles and criteria that constitute beef produced in a sustainable way. The definitions and criteria are purposefully broad and meant to be interpreted and implemented regionally…
Consumers want companies to provide more sustainable food options File photo By Michael Fielding on 3/17/2014 Americans are willing to sacrifice variety and dollars in order to eat more consciously, according to the 2014 Cone Communications Food Issues Trend Tracker. Shoppers consider health and nutrition (93 percent) and sustainability (77 percent) important factors when deciding…
Local Food Gets Green Light From State By Christine on March 13, 2014 in Uncategorized If you’re a backyard farmer, and you want to sell your produce to an individual, a restaurant, or a grocery store, the State of Colorado just released clarification that says you can do exactly that. Wait – what? Did you…
The New Meat Monopoly: The Animal, The Farmer, and You in the New Age of Global Giants A generation ago, the business of raising animals for food in America looked much like it had at the Founding – family farms, open and competitive markets, high standards, and a self sustaining national economy. Today, vast corporations…
Meat may stave off mental, physical declines in older men: study By Meatingplace Editors on 3/14/2014 A diet rich in animal protein may help older men maintain higher levels of physical, psychological and social function, according to a study from Japan. Researchers investigated the relationship between protein intake and decline in higher-level functioning in a…
Book Review: ‘The Meat Racket,’ by Christopher Leonard Using a tournament system, Tyson compares how well each farmer fattens his chickens. Inefficient farmers are driven out of business. By Moira Hodgson March 12, 2014 7:04 p.m. ET After the stock-market crash of 1929, 25-year-old John Tyson left his nearly bankrupt family’s farm in Missouri. He…
The Unhealthy Meat Market MARCH 12, 2014 Nicholas Kristof Where does our food come from? Often the answer is Tyson Foods, America’s meat factory. Tyson, one of the nation’s 100 biggest companies, slaughters 135,000 head of cattle a week, along with 391,000 hogs and an astonishing 41 million chickens. Nearly all Americans regularly eat Tyson…
Study shows beta-agonist use increases cattle deaths (updated) File photo By Rita Jane Gabbett on 3/13/2014 Even though cattle feedlot deaths are rare, beta-agonists (βAA) including zilpaterol and ractopamine fed to cattle to improved growth and increase muscle mass appear to increase deaths in feedlots, according to a new research report authored by Guy Loneragan,…
‘Portlandia’ spoof against USDA chicken rule; ‘The Meat Racket’ Food & Water Watch launched an ad campaign this week a proposed chicken slaughterhouse rule that features a spoof on the TV show "Portlandia." (Food & Water Watch) By Lynne Terry | lterry@oregonian.com Email the author | Follow on Twitter on March 13, 2014 at 8:19…