Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Given USDA’s plan to move ahead with its New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS), federal lawmakers have agreed it’s time to hold the USDA accountable for claims that its new system will improve food safety and overall inspection. Today, 15 members of the House of Representatives sent a long list of questions to Secretary of Agriculture […]
(Washington, DC) – Today, consumer and worker rights groups filed a joint amicus curiae brief with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of Food & Water Watch v. USDA. The lawsuit challenges the agency’s New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) rules, a plan modeled after the agency’s controversial pilot […]
Watch the PBS piece below about USDA’s dangerous new poultry inspection rule, which was finalized recently against the wishes of the agency’s own inspectors and countless others concerned about public health. The rule hands government oversight of food safety to the plants themselves. Yes, you heard that correctly. Privatization of the meat industry is now […]
By CHASE PURDY Now that the USDA has released its final rule on poultry inspection modernization, the Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign is remaking itself to take on a broader array of interests. The campaign’s director, Amanda Hitt, says the group’s next step is to take on slaughter speeds in the pork and beef […]
Though extremely disappointed with the release of USDA’s new poultry inspection rule yesterday, FIC isn’t backing down in our fight against the problematic model. We will continue to fight to ensure that it is not expanded to other species. FIC and a coalition of consumer groups have been fighting this flawed plan since federal inspectors […]
(Washington, DC) – The Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign (FIC) expressed outrage today over the White House’s decision to send the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s poultry inspection rule back to the agency for public release. FIC Director Amanda Hitt stated: “The USDA has apparently made some changes to the initial regulation, but whatever is […]
This week, the USDA submitted a new draft version of its controversial poultry inspection plan to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It’s the OMB’s role to review regulatory policy and set the president’s budget (which, in turn, dictates rulemaking priorities). While there might be changes to the proposal in response to public comments, […]
Thus far, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has failed to acknowledge the concerns of USDA poultry inspectors regarding his agency’s proposal to increase line speeds and privatize inspection at processing plants. The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), despite being the public health arm of the agency, seems to be promoting industry profit, as corporations stand […]
Is USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack so desperate to push his poultry inspection plan forward that he’ll try to find evidence supporting it where there is none? Many poultry industry whistleblowers have told FIC that the USDA’s plan, including the increase of already-too-fast line speeds at poultry processing plants, is a threat to public and worker […]
According to a 2014 Harris Poll, 73 percent of Americans think there should be more government oversight of the food supply. Someone should alert the USDA, since the agency is proposing the exact opposite: the removal of government inspectors in poultry plants and transferring their duties to private industry workers (who are not empowered to speak […]