Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies have been on Capitol Hill this week trying to build support for his claims that the food industry and agricultural practices are responsible for chronic childhood diseases. This comes amid questions about what role, if any, RFK Jr. could have in a second Trump administration.
House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., says the ag sector is right to be concerned about RFK Jr. “I think they should be [concerned] with his very far left ideas on overregulation. I’m not a fan of that,” Thompson said. “I certainly believe in healthy eating, and I think we do our best.”
Beef can go to Colombia again
Beef exporters in 14 states are cleared to send their product to Colombia after the nation lifted restrictions it placed on imports this spring over concerns about highly pathogenic avian influenza in dairy cattle.
Colombia was the only country that officially restricted beef imports as a result of H5N1, U.S. Meat Export Federation CEO Dan Halstrom says. The U.S. sent an average of $3 million per month in beef exports to the country before the restrictions were imposed in April, but this fell to less than $850,000 in July, he says.
"We look forward to rebuilding U.S. beef’s presence in the Colombian market and meeting the needs of our valued customers,” he says.
Covercress, drought-tolerant potato among newly approved GM products
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has approved three CoverCress varieties, a drought-tolerant potato and a type of garden pea with seeds containing a meat protein.
CoverCress is a type of field pennycress that can be grown in winter months to be used as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and biodiesel. The potato was developed by Michigan State University with genes enabling it to better handle drought conditions.
The garden pea is a product of Moolec, a company that has been working on protein-containing crop varieties that can be used for meat substitutes.
Vilsack announces funding for international development programs
USDA announced Tuesday it will dedicate $466.5 million for global food security through international development programs.
Speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA is allocating $248 million to the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. This will support projects in nine countries that offer school meals and boost literacy and primary education, particularly for girls.
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The additional $218.5 million will go to the Food for Progress program to help seven countries strengthen their agricultural systems and adopt climate-smart technologies.
Under these programs, USDA buys domestically grown commodities and provides them to implementing organizations. Food for Progress sells commodities locally and uses the funds to support local development projects. The McGovern-Dole partners use these commodities directly in school nutrition programs.
PFAS a challenge for small drinking water systems, GAO says
The Government Accountability Office says a lack of expertise at rural water utilities is a major barrier to implementing EPA treatment standards for PFAS, called forever chemicals due to their persistence in the environment.
“PFAS treatment implementation is consultant- and engineer-driven, and small systems may not have resources to hire consultants or engineers,” according to a GAO report. “Further, state officials we interviewed said that EPA should develop guidance that is specific to small public water systems, as these systems are in greatest need of assistance.”
GAO estimates 77% of the public water systems in the six states it surveyed haven’t fully implemented a PFAS treatment method. The six states are Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, and Vermont.
In April, EPA set maximum contaminant levels for six types of PFAS that public water systems will have to meet by 2029.
Groups applaud Harris price gouging ban proposal
Sixty-eight academics and agricultural, labor and faith organizations are backing Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposal for a federal ban on food industry price gouging.
As part of her campaign, Harris has called for “new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules,” though it’s still unclear exactly what those rules would be.
A letter signed by the academics and groups says existing laws are inadequate to protect U.S. consumers from unnecessary food price increases. While some state-level price gouging laws exist, the federal government can only currently act in wartime or "extreme emergencies," like the COVID-19 pandemic. "Because there are so few corporations in any one sector, they no longer need to compete with each other for market share; rather, they work in concert to limit supply and set prices,” the letter says.
Keep in mind: Republicans say Harris is proposing price controls, and food industry groups also have pushed back on her plan.
Senators seek to limit inspection requirements for personal animal slaughter
Three senators are proposing to allow consumers who buy a live animal directly from a producer for their own use to have it slaughtered without the need for federal inspection.
Vermont Sens. Peter Welch, a Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, an Independent, have teamed up with Cory Booker, D-N.J., to introduce the Livestock Owned by Communities to Advance Local (LOCAL) Foods Act. The bill would expand a current Federal Meat Inspection Act provision that exempts livestock owners looking to process their animals for personal use from meat inspection requirements.
Take note: The proposal is intended to help expand livestock processing options in areas with few USDA-inspected slaughterhouses, according to a one-pager.
Final word. “Yeah, I’m not a fan of tariffs. They raise prices for American consumers. I’m more of a free-trade kind of Republican that remembers how many jobs are created by the exports we engage in.” – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to reporters on Tuesday.
