Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
UPDATE: Kit Foshee releases statement. Former Client Featured in Several ABC News Reports (Washington, DC) – Earlier today, former Government Accountability Project (GAP) client Kit Foshee was named as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed by Beef Products, Inc (BPI). Also named as defendants were ABC News, journalists Diane Sawyer and Jim Avila, and […]
by Audrey Haynes Last month President Obama signed the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act into law. The law revamps protections for federal employees who come forward and report misconduct, abuse of authority, or violation of law in their workplaces. These enhancements could be crucial in advancing environmental issues, but only if implemented properly. “Protecting federal employees […]
by Scott Wickersham The USDA is considering changing the way the chicken you eat is inspected, but one group calls that a huge mistake. In a 9 investigation, Eyewitness News looked into USDA inspection reports from local poultry processing plants. Eyewitness News found reports of numerous issues. And now, some people worry that with the […]
What seemed like a basic information request seems to have been too much for factory farms that prefer to keep things under wraps. The EPA originally planned to issue a final rule this month that would require the owners of CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) to report certain data, such as the amount of waste […]
by Kim Geiger WASHINGTON — As part of President Obama’s push to streamline regulations on businesses, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to let chicken slaughterhouses run production lines faster and with fewer federal inspectors, angering food safety advocates and poultry plant workers. Under the proposal, production lines would be allowed to move 25% faster, […]
by Helena Bottemiller Three more leading consumer groups weighed in this week on the debate over a controversial plan to revamp poultry inspection by shifting greater responsibility to companies. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, and Consumers Union each sharply criticized the proposal in their comments filed before the […]
Federal agricultural officials believe they can give poultry industry officials more oversight responsibilities, free up government inspectors to focus on detecting food-borne pathogens and thereby increase consumer food safety, prevent 5,200 illnesses annually, save taxpayer money and lower production costs for the industry by allowing it to increase assembly line speeds. Consumer groups disagree. They […]
New Concerns Raised Over Safety of Chicken, Turkey Products (Washington, DC) – Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) is releasing several additional affidavits from federal poultry inspectors/whistleblowers, all of which challenge the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed Modernization of Poultry Inspection System – based on the piloted poultry inspection system known as the HAACP-Based […]
The I-Team has uncovered more on the growing controversy over meat glue. It’s a product that binds bits and pieces of meat together to look like whole steaks. Now, the ABC7 I-Team looks at how one Midwestern company is helping processors re-make vats of meat they call unsellable into steaks for restaurant tables. This is […]
by Kristen Rasmussen A recent spate of nationwide legislative measures designed to curb undercover recording at farms and other agricultural facilities may potentially restrict reporters’ ability to gather and publish important information about the food industry. Some of the measures would directly prohibit journalists from photographing or recording farm animals and other items and activities […]