Proposed Rules: You Lose, Poultry Industry Wins

Staff / Truthdig Apr 5, 2012 And you thought pink slime was bad: The Obama administration is proposing to fire USDA inspectors and let the poultry industry inspect its own slaughterhouse lines—while simultaneously speeding up the kill line. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

U.S. Gov’t May Blend FDA, USDA

Staff / Truthdig Jan 20, 2012 Here's a fun story involving the USDA, the FDA, the GAO -- i.e., the United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Government Accountability Office -- with the Office of Management and Budget thrown in for good measure. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

USDA May Let Monsanto Test Own Crops

Staff / Truthdig Apr 26, 2011 Monsanto, a giant in the genetically modified food business, may be granted a privilege that any corporation would envy: regulating its own products. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Shirley Sherrod Strikes Back

Staff / Truthdig Feb 15, 2011 The former U.S. Department of Agriculture official is suing conservative webmaster Andrew Breitbart for defamation. Sherrod was forced to resign after Breitbart posted a heavily edited video of a speech she gave, setting off a right-wing hullabaloo. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Racism as a National Default Mechanism

Marcia Alesan Dawkins / Truthdig Dec 7, 2010 In a speech regarding the Pigford lawsuit, Rep. Steve King implied that Obama supported the farmers because he is “very, very urban” and not because the USDA admitted its historical practice of discriminating against African-American farmers. The latest racial gaffe regarding our president came late last month from Rep. Steve King of Iowa. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Obama’s USDA Leaves Subsidy Payees More Places to Hide

Staff / Truthdig May 20, 2010 Yasha Levine, who reported for us on tea party diva Michele Bachmann's hypocritical penchant for federal farm subsidies, tipped us off that the Obama administration and Congress are making it harder to track the millionaires who hit up Uncle Sam for crop cash. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

1 in 7 Americans Went Hungry in 2008

Staff / Truthdig Nov 17, 2009 That recession is over statement looks more unfortunate every day. The Department of Agriculture disclosed Monday that a little more than 49 million Americans had trouble putting food on the table last year -- the highest percentage since the government began keeping track in 1995, up 13 million people from the previous year. (continued) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Huge Recall of Beef Is Linked to Schools

Staff / Truthdig Feb 18, 2008 The Department of Agriculture has ordered the largest ever beef recall in the US, deeming 143 million pounds of beef unfit for human consumption because of inspection violations The plant responsible for the suspect meat happens to call the U government, including the National School Lunch Program, one of its best customers. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Marie Cocco: The USDA’s Awkward Timing

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Nov 23, 2006 It hasn't the zesty political punch of that Reagan-era effort to turn ketchup into a vegetable. But really, could there be a more unfortunate time for the Agriculture Department to banish the word "hunger" from its description of people who are, well, hungry? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

USDA Eliminates ‘Hunger’

Staff / Truthdig Nov 16, 2006 The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to remove the word "hunger" from its annual report assessing Americans' access to food. Those among us who sometimes go without food, a group that has grown consistently over the last five years, will now suffer from "very low food security." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

USDA Staffers Stunned to Get Iraq Talking Points

Staff / Truthdig May 9, 2006 The Department of Agriculture has e-mailed "talking points" on Iraq to a "stunned" set of career staffers. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )