Department of Agriculture

SNAP: Cutting What Works?

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 04.20.2012

Read More: Agriculture Department, Agricultural, Supplemental Food and Nutrition Assistance Program, Food Stamps, Snap, Ryan Budget, Infant Malnutrition, Department of Agriculture, Hunger, Farms, Nutrition, Food, Farm Subsidies, Reduced Lunches, Families, House of Representatives Agriculture Committee, Free Lunches, Hungry, Cbo, Congressional Budget Office, Catholic Bishops, Child Hunger, Politics News
Marian Wright Edelman

The impact of more cuts on children and families who now receive a nutritionally adequate diet from SNAP would be devastating. Where is the justice in a vote to protect wealthy farmers over hungry children?

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Dave Jamieson

Workers Fear Plan To Speed Up Chicken Processing Lines

HuffingtonPost.com | Dave Jamieson | Posted 04.20.2012

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Chicken, Labor, Video, Usda Poultry Inspections, Workers, Labor Department, Tyson Foods, Poultry, Food Safety, Ufcw, Usda, Worker Safety, Cass Sunstein, Barack Obama, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- When he was working on a poultry processing line in northern Alabama last year, Jorge Polanco-Mercado watched new workers come and go al...

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This Investment Is Like 'Gold With A Coupon'

Reuters | Posted 05.19.2012

Read More: Corn Belt, Department of Agriculture, Soybean Crop, Farmland, Investing in Farmland, Crops, Reuters, Money News

By Kathleen Kingsbury BOSTON, March 19 (Reuters) - As a teenager in Wisconsin, Perry Vieth spent his summers baling ha...

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Obama Task Force Aims To Ensure China Plays By Trade Rules

Reuters | Posted 04.29.2012

Read More: White House, U.S. Trade Deficit, Treasury Department, Congress, Wto, President Barack Obama, Homeland Security, State of the Union Speech, Mitt Romney, Justice Department, State Department, Department of Agriculture, Video, Reuters, Interagency Trade Enforcement Unit, China, Business News

* USTR Kirk to select director of new interagency team * Unit will draw on resources from across government * Reports ra...

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Who Grows Our Food: Theresa Podoll, Prairie Road Organic Farm

Ellen Kanner | Posted 04.21.2012

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Genetic Modification, Usda, Organic Farming Research Foundation, Family Farmer Seed Cooperative, Turkish, Green Revolution, Theresa Podoll, Millet, Prairie Road Organic Seed, Green News
Ellen Kanner

Seeds are where it all begins. They promise the start of things. They're "the very basis of our food and agriculture," says Theresa Podoll of Prairie Road Organic Farm.

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Documenting Old Barns

AP | By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH | Posted 02.20.2012

Read More: Missouri, Documenting Barns, Department of Agriculture, Photography, Barns, Historical Preservation, The Midwest, Arts News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of precariously leaning, rotting barns with peeling paint and missing boards dot America's rural landscape. The aging r...

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Dinner At School: More Public Schools Dish Up 3 Meals A Day

AP | By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH | Posted 02.18.2012

Read More: School Dinners, Oakland Unified School District, Department of Agriculture, School Meals, Kansas City Schools, Missouri Schools, Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, Garfield Elementary School, School Lunches, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, Usda, Barack Obama, Education News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Too often it is after the fact that teachers discover their students are worrying less about math and reading and more about where...

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After Year Of Natural Disasters, States To Net Hundreds Of Millions In Aid

AP | BILL DRAPER | Posted 03.19.2012

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Emergency Assistance, Natural Disasters, Video, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, Emergency Conservation Program, Disaster Aid, Flooding, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Business News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is adding more than $300 million to the massive amount of financial assistance federal age...

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Gingrich Distorts Food Stamp Facts

Peter Dreier | Posted 03.07.2012

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Working Poverty, Food Stamps, Newt Gingrich, Naacp, Government Accountability Office, New Hampshire, Politics News
Peter Dreier

Before Gingrich starts ranting about illegal immigrants ripping off and bankrupting the food stamp program, he might want to check his facts.

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We're Not Laughing

Elaine Weiss | Posted 02.05.2012

Read More: National Academy of Sciences, Department of Agriculture, Fruits, House Appropriations Committee, School Lunch Policies, Healthy School Lunches, Kids Healthy Eating, School Lunches, Vegetables, Agriculture Appropriations Bill, Pizza-as-a-Vegetable, Healthy Eatings, Education News
Elaine Weiss

If they weren't so damaging to children, congressional leaders' explanations for their policy decisions that cater to big money interests at those children's expense would be downright funny.

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How The Food Industry Controls School Meals

Posted 02.04.2012

Read More: Food Companies, Video, Student Meals, Childhood Obesity, Reduced Price Lunches, Food Manufacturers, Student Food, Child Nutrition, School Lunch, National School Lunch Program, School Meals, Department of Agriculture, Jamie Oliver, Pizza as Vegetable, Nutrition, American Frozen Food Institute, Student Health, Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, Food Producers, School Lunches, Student Nutrition, Free Lunches, Education News

In a biting piece in The New York Times Sunday, investigative reporter Lucy Komisar offers an in-depth look at how the food industry -- and its comple...

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Let The Horse Slaughtering Recommence

Posted 11.30.2011

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Congress, Video, Horse Slaughter, Horse Slaughter Ban Lifted, Horse Slaughter Ban, Horses, Obama Administration, Food, Usda, Animals, Green News

Horse slaughter policy in America has entered a new era. Back in 2006, Congress instituted a ban on the use of federal money toward the inspection ...

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Support the Traditional Definition of Vegetables!

Rep. Earl Blumenauer | Posted 01.18.2012

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Diet and Nutrition, Pizza, Industrial Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, Nutrition, Earl Blumenauer, Video, Politics News
Rep. Earl Blumenauer

Forget the "dangers" of same-sex marriage. There is a much greater threat to traditional American values: the creeping danger posed by re-defining pizza and french fries as "vegetables" in our school lunch program.

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D.C. Central Kitchen Video Shows Off Its Healthy Corners Program (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post | Posted 11.16.2011

Read More: Department of Agriculture, DC News, Video, District of Columbia, Dc Impact, Healthy Corners, D.C. Hunger Solutions, Usda, D.C. Central Kitchen, Food Deserts, DC News

WASHINGTON -- Earlier this summer, D.C. Central Kitchen launched its Healthy Corners program, which provides corner stores with low-cost fresh fruit a...

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That Little Bundle of Joy Will Cost You Big Time - Or Will It?

Pamela Yellen | Posted 01.07.2012

Read More: Department of Agriculture, ?€œTaxation? of Parenthood, Childcare and Tuition, That Little Bundle of Joy Will Cost You Big Time ?€“ or Will It?, ?€œKeeping-Up-With-the-Joneses?, Business News
Pamela Yellen

Priceless, maybe. But not without a mega-price tag. So we're told. Indeed, each year the government reports and the media duly echo the rising, yea...

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Jason Linkins

Obama Nonsensically Defamed For Agriculture Department Plan To Support Growers Of Live Christmas Trees

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 01.09.2012

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Eat the Press, Holidays, Video, Christmas Trees, Agriculture, Christmas, Obama Christmas Tree, War on Christmas, Christmas Tree Farmers, Christmas Tree Tax, Barack Obama, Obama Christmas Tree Tax, Christmas Tree Tax Obama, Politics News

If you've been reading the Drudge Report lately, you've probably heard about some new plan that Obama administration had just now to finally destroy Christmas once and for all.

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Why We're Better for Beavers (and Why Does the Federal Government Kill 27,000 a Year?)

Andrew Wetzler | Posted 11.02.2011

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Drought, Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ecosystem Services, Aphis, Beavers, Nrdc, Wildlife, Green News
Andrew Wetzler

Why does the Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services' program spend taxpayers money to kill over 27,000 beavers every year?

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REPORT: More U.S. Farmers Relying On Internet

AP | Posted 10.26.2011

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Video, Technology Farming, Farmers Internet, Farming Technology, US Farmer, Internet Farmers, Farmers, Farmer, Farm Internet, Farmers Technology, Technology News

FRESNO, Calif. (GOSIA WOZNIACKA, AP) -- Think of farms and images of tractors and combines come to mind. But what about laptops, smart phones and tabl...

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Don't Allow This to Be Another Silent Spring: Tell Lawmakers to Take Climate Action

Sigourney Weaver | Posted 07.25.2011

Read More: Clean Water, Department of Agriculture, Ddt, Silent Spring, Climate Change, Cancer, Chemicals, Rachel Carson, Green News
Sigourney Weaver

I keep thinking about Rachel Carson these days, because the current efforts to discredit climate scientists look a lot like the powerful resistance that met Carson's warnings about DDT.

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Brooklyn Group Vows Night Patrol To Stop Goose Gassing

Prospect Heights, NY Patch | Kristen v. Brown | Email the Author | 2:00pm | Posted 07.20.2011

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Nyc-Parks-Department, Geese, Parks Department, Ny News, Goose Gassing, Usda, New York News, Prospect Park Geese, New York News

A group of goose lovers is now planning to stand night watch over Prospect Park's geese -- even if it might mean breaking the law. A group of 40 or...

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WATCH: See How Your Tax Dollars Are Spent

The Huffington Post | Harry Bradford | Posted 06.18.2011

Read More: Google, Taxes, Receipts, Department of Agriculture, Eyebeam, Video, National Defense, Tax Receipt, Big Macs, Tax Day, Chipotle, Tax Refund, Bud Light, Data Viz Challenge, Business News

With Tax Day winding down, wrapping your head around how the government uses your tax dollars can seem impossible. Thanks to a collaboration betwe...

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Increasing Age of Farmers Puts Our Food System at Risk

Valerie Jaffee | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Census, Department of Agriculture, Farming, Baby Boomers, Social Security, Sustainable Food, Retirement, Nrdc, Agriculture, Green, Nrdc Growing Green Awards, Food, Agribusiness, Sustainable Farming, Growing Green Awards, Green News
Valerie Jaffee

Our food system sits on the shoulders of hundreds of thousands of farmers in their 60s and 70s who are on the cusp of retirement. When they turn in their tractors, who will replace them?

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Saving Money by Saving Wildlife

Andrew Wetzler | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Nrdc, Poison, Natural Resources Defense Council, Aerial Gunning, Coyote, Wolves, Wildlife Services, Aphis, Wildlife, Green News
Andrew Wetzler

Cutting Wildlife Services' budget for the lethal control of carnivores is a win-win proposition for wildlife and the federal budget.

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'Nonsecurity' Spending Cuts Could Be Hazardous to Your Health

Scott Lilly | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Peter King, Department of Agriculture, Infrastructure, Continuing Resolution, John Boehner, Spending Cuts, Epa, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Food Safety, Salmonella, Fda, Federal Spending, Tea Party, House Republicans, Furloughs, Politics News
Scott Lilly

Despite the label "nonsecurity discretionary programs," many of the proposed cuts will reduce our security in a variety of ways, among them increasing our chances of getting sick from unsafe meat and contaminated drinking water.

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Ringling Bros. Circus: Friends in High Places

Bruce Friedrich | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Usda, Tom Delay, Rod Blagojevich, Olsson Frank Weeda, Brent Gattis, Peta, Ringling Brothers, Bob Ney, Animal Welfare Act, Politics News
Bruce Friedrich

With two wars going on, the economy still faltering, and the government on the brink of shutting down, why is Congress protecting Ringling Bros. Circus?

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