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Tuesday, January 21, 2025

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Trump begins second term with series of sweeping executive actions; Addressing Ohio's youth care crisis; Winter Storm Enzo brings rare snow, ice to Gulf Coast; Report highlights needs for GA energy efficiency; Union rep: SEIU joining AFL-CIO will help OR workers.

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Donald Trump's second term as President begins. Organizations prepare legal challenges to mass deportations and other Trump executive orders, and students study how best to bridge the political divide.

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"We can't eat gold," warn opponents of a proposed Alaskan gold mine who say salmon will be decimated. Ahead of what could be mass deportations, immigrants get training about their rights. And a national coalition grants money to keep local news afloat.

USDA Rule Would Reform 'Made in USA' Meat Labeling

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Monday, March 13, 2023   

Ranching and agriculture groups say the federal government has taken a positive step in ensuring truth in labeling on meat from the United States, and they want Congress to go further.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule to only allow voluntary "Product of U.S.A." labeling on meat, poultry and eggs derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the country.

Current loopholes allow companies to import meat from other countries and stick this label on even if it is only processed in the U.S.

Jeanie Alderson, a southeastern Montana rancher and member of the Northern Plains Resource Council, said the loophole makes current labels misleading.

"Fraudulent labeling really betrays American ranchers and our rural communities and consumers by misrepresenting imported beef as American," Alderson asserted.

The USDA will take public comment for 60 days after the proposed rule change is published in the
Federal Register.

The proposed rule pointed out other labels which might be acceptable. For example, it said "sliced and packaged in the United States using imported pork" would work, as long as it is accurate. Alderson appreciates the USDA's rule but argued members of Congress need to go further and restore mandatory country-of-origin labeling.

"A true free market depends on transparency," Alderson contended. "We need that information, and consumers can't make informed decisions without that. And so we need a free market, we need a fair market, and consumers deserve to know where their food's coming from."

Lawmakers, including Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., have reintroduced the American Beef Labeling Act, which includes mandatory country-of-origin labeling. This labeling requirement was repealed in 2015.


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California's Proposition 12 mandated minimum space requirements for egg-laying hens but does not apply to chickens raised for meat. (JackF/Adobe Stock)

Environment

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By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collabor…


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Finding appropriate placements for youths entering Ohio's child welfare system has become increasingly difficult. Rachel Reedy, outreach and member …

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The Medicaid and CHIP programs are vital to rural Missouri, according to a report that says reliance on this safety-net health coverage is much …


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The population of Kane County, Illinois, is about 500,000. Reducing rotting food in landfills will help the county achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 2019 levels by 2030. (Adobe Stock)

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The Service Employees International Union is joining the AFL-CIO, a move both groups said will make it easier for more workers to unionize. SEIU is …

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