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Department of Agriculture

Small Farms Fight Back: Food and Community Self-Governance

Beverly Bell | Posted 04.15.2013 | Green
Beverly Bell

Blue Hill is one of a handful of small Maine towns that have been taking bold steps to protect their local food system. In 2011, they passed an ordinance exempting their local farmers and food producers from federal and state licensure requirements when these farmers sell directly to customers.

Rogue Agency's Agent Investigated in Wolf Killing

Kieran Suckling | Posted 04.09.2013 | Green
Kieran Suckling

The Southwest's endangered Mexican gray wolves -- with just three breeding pairs left in the wild -- are hanging on by a thread. The last thing they need is one of their own gunned down by an employee of the government that's supposed to be nursing this wild population back to health.

Egypt's Looming Famine and America's Grain Bounty

Raymond J. Learsy | Posted 04.07.2013 | Business
Raymond J. Learsy

Along with this new focus and responsibility, it is also high time that the nation establishes a Strategic Grain Reserve much in keeping with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Why We Must Put Nature Back to Work, Part 1

William S. Becker | Posted 03.20.2013 | Green
William S. Becker

Ecosystems perform a wide variety of important services for free. But many of these ecosystems have been degraded or destroyed by human development. Now, communities need to put nature back to work.

Spending Cuts Could Wreak Havoc On Milk Prices

AP | TODD RICHMOND | Posted 05.13.2013 | Business

MADISON, Wis. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture's statistical arm said it won't issue some agricultural reports this year because of automati...

Meat Shortage Coming?

Reuters | Posted 05.13.2013 | Business

* Furloughs expected to begin in mid-July, total 11 days * Furlough days will be sporadic, none in succession WASHINGTON...

WATCH: U.S. Farm Worker Speaks About Slave-Like Conditions

The Huffington Post | Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington | Posted 02.01.2013 | HuffPost Live 321

For every 32 pounds of tomatoes Leonel Perez picks on Florida farmlands, he says he receives a piece rate of 50 cents. "That's a piece rate that ha...

19 TONS Of Beef Recalled

AP | Posted 10.02.2012 | Home

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kenosha Beef International Ltd. is recalling nearly 19 tons of frozen bacon-cheeseburger patties because they may contain piece...

GOP Senators Celebrate 'Meat Monday' After USDA's 'Meatless Monday' Mishap

Posted 07.30.2012 | Home

The hubbub over the U.S. Department of Agriculture's retracted tweet supporting "Meatless Mondays" continues. Last week, Republican Iowa senator C...

PETA Takes 'Bets' On Senator's Death As 'Meatless Mondays' Controversy Continues

The Huffington Post | Meredith Bennett-Smith | Posted 07.27.2012 | Home

PETA upped the ante Thursday, jumping headfirst into a feud involving the Department of Agriculture, the meat lobby and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley. ...

The Seen and Unseen Consequences of This Summer's Weather Assault

Pearl Korn | Posted 09.24.2012 | Politics
Pearl Korn

Each year in the United States, 3.5 million people are homeless, with 100,000 homeless vets. If you are homeless, you are also hungry, and you likely don't know where your next meal will come from. Is this really America?

John Celock

After Economic Boom, What Will Be North Dakota's Next Move?

HuffingtonPost.com | John Celock | Posted 07.11.2012 | Politics

The federal government's rural development agency released a report Wednesday outlining a series of recommendations for North Dakota in the wake of th...

SNAP: Cutting What Works?

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 06.20.2012 | Politics
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?

Dave Jamieson

Workers Fear Plan To Speed Up Chicken Processing Lines

HuffingtonPost.com | Dave Jamieson | Posted 04.20.2012 | Politics

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...

This Investment Is Like 'Gold With A Coupon'

Reuters | Posted 05.19.2012 | Home

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

Obama Task Force Aims To Ensure China Plays By Trade Rules

Reuters | Posted 04.29.2012 | Business

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

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

Ellen Kanner | Posted 04.21.2012 | Green
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.

Documenting Old Barns

AP | By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH | Posted 02.20.2012 | Arts

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

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

AP | By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH | Posted 02.18.2012 | Home

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...

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

AP | BILL DRAPER | Posted 03.19.2012 | Business

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

Gingrich Distorts Food Stamp Facts

Peter Dreier | Posted 03.07.2012 | Politics
Peter Dreier

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

We're Not Laughing

Elaine Weiss | Posted 02.05.2012 | Home
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.

How The Food Industry Controls School Meals

Posted 02.04.2012 | Home

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...

Let The Horse Slaughtering Recommence

Posted 11.30.2011 | Green

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 ...

Support the Traditional Definition of Vegetables!

Rep. Earl Blumenauer | Posted 01.18.2012 | Politics
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.