There has been a great deal of media coverage surrounding FDA’s new enforcement initiatives under the Food Safety Modernization Act (“FSMA”).  With the new regulations going into effect, the agency has also adjusted its approach as it relates to other areas of enforcement.  Although FDA leadership implored last week that the agency is here to “help food companies enhance their existing food safety programs,” and to “educate before it regulates,” those statements stand in stark contrast to ongoing reports of: (1) FDA and DOJ criminal investigations initiated against companies such as Chipotl [node:read-more:link]

The way Americans view how food is created, prepared and consumed has the potential to affect the nation’s social, economic and political future, according to a new Pew Research Center report.  With public tastes shifting and polarizing in the last 20 years, the research center noted that how consumers view organic and genetically modified (GM) foods are demonstrated in key behaviors and attitudes on food in general.The Pew survey found that 55 percent of Americans believe that organically grown product is healthier than conventionally grown produce, with 41 percent saying that there is no [node:read-more:link]

Scientists have found a superbug — hidden 1,000 feet underground in a cave — which is resistant to 70 percent of antibiotics and can totally inactivate many of them. But here's the kicker. This bacterium has been isolated from people, society — and drugs — for 4 million years, scientists report Thursday in the journal Nature Communications. That means it hasn't been exposed to human drugs in a clinic or on a farm that uses them. But it has the machinery to knock out these drugs. And that machinery has been around for millions of years. [node:read-more:link]

A continuing resolution budget bill to keep the U.S. government funded through April includes language to provide the Department of Agriculture money for farm loans and summer feeding programs. The Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, which covers 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills, will maintain government operations at a rate of $1.07 trillion through April 28th, 2017.  The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill Thursday with the Senate following suit on Friday, according to the Hagstrom Report. [node:read-more:link]

Japan’s parliament on December 9 approved the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in spite of promises from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that the U.S. would withdraw from the deal. The trade agreement, which in addition to the U.S. and Japan, involves Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The agreement was agreed to by negotiators from all involved countries in October 2015 and signed in February. From there, governmental bodies from all participating nations were to vote for ratification. [node:read-more:link]

Patricia Aguilar began working at DeRuyter Brothers Dairy in central Washington nearly three years ago. She worked at the dairy's milking parlor, which she says handles about 3000 cows three times each day, seven days a week. Aguilar was one of four dairy workers responsible for pushing and guiding the cows into the parlor, connecting the animals to milking machines, wiping them and the machinery down, and cleaning towels and milk tanks. "I worked six days a week for eight or nine hours," she explains. [node:read-more:link]

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The California water bill now ready for the president's signature dramatically shifts 25 years of federal policy and culminates a long and fractious campaign born in the drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley. A rough five years in the making, the $558 million bill approved by the Senate early Saturday morning steers more water to farmers, eases dam construction, and funds desalination and recycling projects. [node:read-more:link]

The Farm Credit System’s quarterly report says stress levels are still high in the ag sector of the economy. In fact, the operating report says stress levels are high in many different sectors of agriculture. Farm debt levels are still high, while cash receipts continue to decline. Interest rates remain low, but are slowly beginning to rise. That is combined with commodity prices that will remain low thanks to record or near-record production in corn, soybeans, and wheat. All of these factors are putting downward pressure on farmland prices. [node:read-more:link]

Less than 24 hours after Illinois Gov. [node:read-more:link]