skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

USDA Proposes New Requirements for 'Product of USA' Label Claim

play audio
Play

Thursday, March 9, 2023   

A proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture would change the rules on what foods can be labeled 'Product of USA.'

Current laws contain loopholes that allow foreign-raised livestock and produce to receive that designation, which farm advocates say is a disadvantage to U.S. ag producers.

The new rule would require the "Product of USA" label to only be used on meat, poultry and eggs derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.

Dee Laninga - senior writer with the group Farm Action - said current law allows that label to be used if the product simply passes through a U.S. inspected plant, which is tantamount to a huge loophole.

"That allows imported meat to be imported by multinational corporations," said Laninga, "repackaged, and then passed off as higher-quality product raised by U.S. farmers and ranchers."

The new rule, Laninga said, would require meat labeled as "Product of USA" to have been born, raised and slaughtered on American soil.

Langinga said the proposed rule change would level the playing field for U.S. farmers and also educate consumers about where their food is coming from, all through the label.

"When you think about it, food labels are a critical component in our food system," said Laninga. "They connect eaters with farmers. Really it is the most direct communication most of us eaters have with farmers. When we're shopping at the grocery store, we can't ask a farmer, 'How did you raise this? Where did it come from?' The label really has to do that job."

The USDA will take public comment for sixty days after the proposed rule change is published in the Federal Register.




get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021