ED. NOTE: Christmas week is the only week of the year I don’t write a new column. Instead, I urge subscribing newspapers to reprint one of several "Christmas" columns from years past. Below is the one from 1994, titled Howard’s Priceless Gift of Simple Giving, easily the most reprinted anything I’ve ever written. It is…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 18, 2015 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Mabel Dobbs, rancher, 208-880-0441; Sara Kendall, 202-547-7040, WORC staff; or Kevin Dowling, WORC staff, 406-252-9672 Congress sacrifices meat labels The Senate today gave final congressional approval to an annual appropriations bill. A provision of the bill repeals the U.S. country-of-origin labeling decision authorizing Canada and…

Local View: Tears show why we need COOL Lincoln Journal Star Sally Herrin Dec. 18, 2015 This time of year, nothing brings a tear to the eye like a suffering child. Think Tiny Tim and the Little Match Girl. Some Christian faiths celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28, the Fourth Day…

“Investigation reveals an alarming tendency toward monopoly control of food of the nation by a small group of corporations and combinations.” See Americal Returns to the Jungle

Congratulations to Mike Weaver and others on helping keep out the GIPSA language! See yellow highlight http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/fy16-omnibus/ Massive Year-End Funding Bill A Mixed Bag But Includes Significant Wins for Sustainable Agriculture December 16, 2015 Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on emailMore Sharing Services7

Howdy, I read the NFU press release below. Amen. It is well done and on point. The level of frustration cuts deep as the many thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars Farmers Union members have invested in the advocacy for and defense of COOL is considered. For Nebraska Farmers Union, that commitment…

R-CALF USA Says Congress Forsakes Consumers and Producers in COOL Repeal Billings, Mont. – R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard issued the following statement in response to Congress’ inclusion of language in the must-pass omnibus spending bill that would repeal country-of- origin labeling (COOL) for beef, pork and ground beef and ground pork: "In the most…

Willie Nelson and Neil Young on stage. (photo: Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images) Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp: Help Us Stop the DARK Act By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch 15 December 15 ave Matthews, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young are speaking out against the controversial Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act (H.R. 1599),…

JBS Can’t Escape Brazil Bond-Market Meltdown After BNDES Probe Gerson Freitas Jr Paula Sambo December 13, 2015 — 7:00 PM MST Updated on December 14, 2015 — 8:09 AM MST After dodging a rout in Brazilian bonds for much of the year, JBS SA has become a full-fledged participant in the selloff. The world’s largest…

The Cheap, Imported Shrimp Americans Love Is the Product of Slave Labor A major investigation finds human rights abuses in a new corner of Southeast Asia’s shellfish industry. Migrant workers at a shrimp factory in Samut Sakhon on the outskirts of Bangkok. (Photo: Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters) Dec 14, 2015 Willy Blackmore is TakePart’s Food editor. Popping…