Why I've Been Crying "Wolff"
I'm happy to admit: I was wrong. I said (based on a Washington Post article) that Charles Stenholm was up for the Secretary of Agriculture job. I was wrong. I also said Sebelius might get it - again,...
View ArticleStuff
All that is left of my brother is his stuff. He came into this world with nothing, accumulated stuff for 23 years, and left with nothing. Now we have his stuff. Ironically, I had planned to give him a...
View ArticleTeacherken's Got It Right!
Teacherken totally nailed it in his diary today. He spoke of the Kristof piece in the NYT that calls for changing the Secretary of Ag to a Secretary of Food. The way Kristof puts it, 35% of Americans...
View ArticleSolar Powered Cows (Action - Deadline Soon)
This will be a brief diary because I've left it to the last minute so it HAS TO be written, and yet - I have no time to write it. But here's the deal. The USDA proposed new organic rules that may have...
View ArticleMy Interview with Michael Pollan and an AMAZING Grassroots Activist Named...
As an Iowan, David Murphy doesn't take campaign promises lightly. Iowa alone may be responsible for Barack Obama's ultimate ascendancy to the White House by giving him a big win in their caucuses, and...
View ArticleTom "I Heart Monsanto" Vilsack, This One's For You
Last June I attended the big biotech annual convention, BIO 2008. I was anti-GMO on principle before I went in but it wasn't one of my bigger issues. During the many presentations I attended, I started...
View ArticleOne Day Left to Save Family Farmers & Organics!
A few months ago (when nobody cared about anything except for the election), the USDA put out some proposed rules for organics. The rules mostly pertained to dairy but there were a few other provisions...
View ArticleMental Health in 2009
As many of you know, I lost my brother recently. One month and twelve days ago, to be more exact. Why, exactly, we don't know. In general, we do know. Mental illness. Specifically, an untreated anxiety...
View Article2008 By The Numbers
I went back and looked at a bunch of numbers from 2008. Unfortunately, the economic numbers are pretty bleak (and still getting worse).U.S. Population: January 2008: 302,785,808 December 2008:...
View ArticleFood News Roundup (...Oops, Did I Say Roundup?)
I love the word Roundup and I hate that Monsanto (who recently announced more than double profits) took it. Anyway, here's what's going on in my little corner of the news...Tyson Worker Dies, Tyson...
View ArticleOne of the Biggest Issues You May Have Never Heard Of
One of my favorite Kossacks, Judith2007, wrote a diary that was largely ignored yesterday. But it should not have been. Judith is a sustainable farmer... to you Michael Pollan fans, Judith is "my" Joel...
View ArticleThe Real Dirt on Rick Berman
Rick Berman, a hired shill for the fast food, alcohol, and tobacco industries (among others), has something new to worry about: BermanExposed.org. The site was put together by CREW, Citizens for...
View ArticleSustainable Agriculture CODE BLUE - Your Help Needed ASAP!
We've already got Tom Vilsack as the head of the USDA, but the Vilsack USDA will also be incredibly influenced by the Deputy Secretary. And I have bad news about that that requires immediate action by...
View ArticleBe Afraid! Be Very Afraid... of Peanut Butter...
A fellow blogger recommended that I cross-post this here, so I will. I've been following the peanut butter recall due to salmonella over on my blog, La Vida Locavore. It's really getting out of hand....
View ArticleMore Flaming Bags of Poo Left by the Bush Admin
Obama's got a lot of cleaning up to do. (Fortunately, you can track his executive orders online.) Bush left him a bunch of flaming bags of poo in the White House. Worse than taking all of the W's off...
View ArticleKiller Peanut Butter... Why It Was Predicted but Not Prevented
I decided to do another peanut butter recall diary because the list of recalled products has grown SIGNIFICANTLY. I promise to continue covering this on my blog as long as the recall keeps growing, so...
View ArticleHunger, the "Food Crisis," and the Stimulus
I've got a pile of emails in my box about the "world food crisis." I've got another pile about the stimulus package. And I've got a great quote from a friend, jgoodman"I can understand someone from...
View ArticleWaPo Speculates: Kossack for Obama Admin Appointment?
No joke here. Bill Marler is a respected blogger, lawyer... and Kossack! Here's what the Washington Post had to say:Two leading candidates have emerged to serve as the Agriculture Department’s...
View ArticlePeanut Butter: Half of Those Sick Are Kids Under 10
Consumers Union posted that half of the 501 people sickened by salmonella in peanut butter are children under age 10. All of the 8 confirmed deaths were in people 59 or older. In light of this, they...
View ArticleThe Myth Of "Republicans Are For Small Government" - Busted!
I get it. I totally get it. Maybe you got it decades ago, but, you see - my political awareness was entirely formed under Republican majority rule. In my life I have enjoyed exactly 10 days of...
View Article7-yr-old: "It hurts so bad, I want to die"
That quote comes from Christopher Meunier, a victim of the current salmonella outbreak. LOTS of new information is out now, and the Obama administration has started a criminal investigation - as they...
View ArticleWTF! Why Is Siding WITH Obama Called "Controversial"??
For those of you who read that liberal rag, The New York Times, you might have seen Nicholas Kristof's brilliant article today. He brings up the decision over the Deputy USDA Secretary. Now here's the...
View ArticleACTION: No One Else Should Die From Peanut Butter!
As you're probably aware, the peanut butter recall is raging on and at least 8 people are dead as a result. Obama said:At bare minimum, we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids...
View ArticleA Major Disappointment
I'll be honest. I'm frustrated. Why? Well Obama did the rounds with all of the reporters uttering words George W. Bush never did: I screwed up. USA Today's front page today was a sad-looking picture of...
View ArticleWhat We Can Learn From The 2007 Ag Census Released This Wk
I admit it. I'm a geek. In high school I was a "mathlete." So when the government published the 2007 Agriculture Census.... omg! Heaven!!! No longer do I have to wonder where our food is coming from...
View ArticleReality TV, the Stimulus, and George W. Flavored Ice Cream
I have a theory. The news has become reality TV. Here's why. On reality TV they often have thousands upon thousands of hours of footage. No real human being has a life that follows a narrative and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
California Milk Industry Lies Like a Motherf*
I've got lots of news to share, starting with this: Happy cows may produce better milk, but most cows in California aren't happy cows. They are factory farmed cows, like these ones here:Compare that...
View ArticleMentally Handicapped Exploited, Live/Work in Appalling Conditions
Holy you-know-what. A meat processing plant in Iowa has been caught mistreating mentally handicapped employees. File that one under "Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse."From The Des Moines...
View ArticleHorizon's Illegal Tactics Endanger Your Organic Milk
I wrote earlier today about the dairy industry as a whole being in crisis. Which they are. Milk prices are at about 50% the cost of production - and unlike a factory, you can't turn off a cow. Well,...
View ArticleChicago Tribune Hires Jeff Gannon
OK, not really. But that's where their journalistic quality is going.The Chicago Tribune printed an identical op ed by the Center for Consumer Freedom: Gourmet Activists: Food For Thought. CCF is a...
View ArticleTom Vilsack: How COOL is He?
Greetings, from the Official Stalker of Tom Vilsack (me). At least, that's what I feel like I've turned into. I've been all over the web, looking for any information about our new Secretary of...
View ArticleHooray! Major Progressive Victory!
OMG everybody! We won! We did it! Obama announced today that he will nominate Kathleen A. Merrigan for Deputy Secretary of the USDA. She was among the Sustainable Dozen requested as high level USDA...
View ArticleGOP is Like an Abusive Husband; Has the US Successfully Escaped?
I woke up to read the headline "We know the GOP messed up, says Jindal. We'll make it up to you." What's that sound like? A classic abusive husband. "Come on baby, you know I love you. I didn't mean to...
View ArticleNew USDA Mascot: Pinocchio
Oh shit. This is so funny I couldn't even make it up if I tried. The USDA has found itself a new mascot. Pinocchio. The most famous liar ever.Now, don't get me wrong. I am on the whole very happy with...
View ArticleACTION: Help Obama Win an Impossible Fight
Obama called for something in the State of the Union that numerous others have called for before - and all have failed. He said he wants to "end direct payments to large agribusinesses that don't need...
View ArticleGM Goats, Whales (Wrongly) Blamed for Fish Pop. Decline, and More
Here's the latest food and ag news:Biotechnology News: More of the same... the biotech industry is marketing itself as "sustainable" and "able to feed the hungry" but studies and news show that a) it's...
View ArticleNetroots Nation: Food Panel Ideas???
Hi folks - We've got one month to submit panel ideas to the Netroots Nation folks. I plan to submit something, but not without the input of anyone who has opinions on the subject.I think about this all...
View ArticleConservation $$ to Factory Farms? Outrage!!!! (ACTION)
The USDA runs several conservation programs. Most are pretty good and would be better if they were fully funded. But one of them sucks. It might have been good once but in 2002, the rules were changed....
View ArticleI'm Unemployed Too
Well, now I've joined the ranks of the unemployed. Great.I was working on a team with a psycho for a boss. She had already fired 2 others and she's only been there maybe 6 months. She was getting...
View ArticleThank You, DC Rumors, and the Obama Admin's Revolving Door
I am writing for three reasons. This might be better as 2-3 diaries but I'm cramming them all into my one diary for the day.First of all: THANK YOU. I think I'm going to be OK til early June at least...
View ArticleSo You're a Blogger and You Want to Write a Book...
A few years ago, I decided I wanted to write a book. Today, I have a book on Amazon for pre-order and it's only a few months away from coming out. I'm a bit overwhelmed that this is really happening....
View ArticleThe Truth About HR 875 "The Bill That Will Kill All Farms and Eat Your Babies"
I've got a number of things on my radar but there's one very stupid thing that is causing a huge commotion for no good reason. It's HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act, a bill by Rosa DeLauro...
View ArticleHealth Care Series - What You Don't Know About Healthcare That Will Make You Mad
THURSDAY NIGHT IS HEALTH CARE CHANGE NIGHT, a weekly Daily Kos Health Care Series. We're switching the time as of this week from 8pm EDT to 9pm EDT (6pm on the left coast!).So, what is there in the...
View ArticleMega Major Super Big News Day!
It's rare that zillions of major news happens all on the same day. Or same week. Well, not all on the topic of food, at least. Usually the news is more spread out - a little Karl Rove here, a little...
View ArticleWhy Are Liberals Lying (And Believing Liars)?
I've got a thorn in my side. And I'm gonna be bad and call out another blogger. Scaredhuman. She's been part of a small group who has pushed a misinformation campaign - quite successfully - about Rosa...
View ArticleFactory Hog Farms Having a Bad Week
Factory hog farmers are having a terrible, horrible, awful, no good, very bad week for an awful lot of reasons. Already in the news was the earmark for a pig poop study that Republicans were having a...
View ArticleSenator Harkin Loves Breast Milk
Last night I couldn't sleep. So I did what any sensible person would do. I watched an entire Senate hearing on Child Nutrition. As for the title of this piece, it's true. Senator Harkin is a fantastic...
View ArticleMr. Monsanto In Charge of Food Safety? Seriously, Obama?
A recent issue of Agri-Pulse gave us some bad news. Obama's considering Michael Taylor to head his new Food Safety Working Group. For a president who came to power with grassroots support on a promise...
View ArticleCongress Goes After Salmonella in PB & Corporate Culprits
Yesterday the House Energy & Commerce committee subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations held a hearing on the salmonella peanut butter outbreak. It was their 3rd in a series of three, this...
View ArticleDrought-Tolerant Corn, the Latest Scam from Monsanto
There's a really easy way to understand the difference between sustainable and chemical agriculture. We can either let all of the life in the soil do the heavy lifting, or we can kill them all and...
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