Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Federal food safety regulations have been put to the test in recent years, with an increasing number of instances in which people have been sickened by food-borne illness.
Spinach, lettuce, peanut butter and ground beef are just a few of the foods that have been recalled in recent years because of contamination by dangerous pathogens. And just last week the Topps Meat Company expanded a recall of ground beef to include almost 21.7 million pounds of frozen beef products because the beef might be related to at least 25 illnesses in the eastern United States. It was the largest food recall in history.
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has announced he would be adding legislation in the 2007 Farm Bill that will mandate a “Presidential Commission in Food Safety.” This commission would be tasked with examining where gaps and weaknesses exist in food safety regulations.
Currently two federal departments oversee different aspects of food safety regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. A panel announced by the Bush Administration this year will be reviewing regulations of imported foods. But Harkin said in a press release that that’s not enough to ensure the safety of the food supply across the nation.
He said it’s a “short-sighted goal given the increasing number of food safety recalls,” and that an examination of the safety of both domestic and imported food is needed.
Harkin included a presidential commission on food safety in the 2002 Farm Bill, but that provision of the bill was never implemented by the USDA.
In addition to mandating the food safety commission, Harkin has included a provision in the 2007 Farm Bill intended to strengthen safety regulations of fresh produce. That legislation would give the FDA the authority to make its current voluntary guidelines for produce into mandatory regulations.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter