Rebekah Wilce's News Articles

News

Wisconsin Legislature, Failing to Create Jobs, Opts to Punish the Unemployed

by Rebekah Wilce — June 3, 2013 - 6:47am
  • Topics: Economy, Politics

    • Wisconsin's unemployed are being subject to a double attack by the state legislature. In the state that fell to 44th in the nation in job creation in March, a bill introduced to the Wisconsin State Assembly on May 24 would make it more difficult for jobless workers to collect unemployment benefits. Then, in what Representative Chris Taylor (D-Madison) called the "ultimate bait-and-switch," a hearing on that bill occurred at the same time as a meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance that passed yet more changes related to unemployment insurance, which critics called even more extreme than the first.

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    U.S. Senate Votes Down State GMO Labeling

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 29, 2013 - 6:43am
  • Topics: Genetic Engineering, Food, Food Rights Network, Politics

    • In the midst of a week of debates and speeches about the federal farm bill (S. 954), supporters of the right to know whether or not food products contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) suffered a setback on May 23. An amendment (S. Amdt.

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    Victory for Food Rights and Wisconsin Farmer Vernon Hershberger

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 27, 2013 - 6:46am
  • Topics: Raw Milk, Food, Food Rights Network

    • In what has been roundly declared a victory for food rights and private food transactions by supporters, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty on three of four charges against Wisconsin raw milk farmer Vernon Hershberger in the early morning hours of May 25.

    News

    Raw Milk Supporters Rally in Baraboo, Wisconsin for Farmer Vernon Hershberger's Criminal Trial

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 22, 2013 - 6:28am
  • Topics: Agriculture, Raw Milk, Food, Food Rights Network

    • Farmer Vernon Hershberger's trial started May 20 in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and will most likely continue until May 24 at the earliest. Hershberger is a raw milk producer. As the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has reported, he is charged with four misdemeanor offenses: operating a retail food establishment without a license, operating a dairy farm as a milk producer without a license, operating as a dairy plant without a license, and violating a holding order. If convicted, the Amish father of ten children faces up to 30 months in county jail and fines of over $10,000.

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    GMO Labeling Passes Vermont House as Activists Prepare to March Against Monsanto

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 15, 2013 - 6:58am
  • Topics: Genetic Engineering, Food, Food Rights Network, Politics

    • In an advance that makes history, Vermont's House of Representatives passed a bill on May 10 requiring foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to be labeled. This is the furthest any such legislation has made it through the legislative process in the United States.

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    Republican Governor Deals Blow to "Constitutionally Suspect" Tennessee "Ag Gag" Bill

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 14, 2013 - 5:39am
  • Topics: Agriculture, ALEC Exposed, Food, Politics

    • Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has vetoed a controversial "ag gag" bill that would hamstring citizen investigations documenting patterns of abuse of animals and regulatory violations. These investigations have led in the past to regulatory action and demanded industry changes.

    News

    Trade Group Offers Free Sewage Sludge "Compost" to Community Gardens in "Million Tomato Campaign" for Food Banks

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 9, 2013 - 5:52am
  • Topics: Sludge, Food, Food Rights Network, Public Relations

    • Beautiful spring weather has gardeners outside seeding lettuce and transplanting tomatoes. Community gardens are ramping up for a growing season full of hot peppers and trailing squash vines. The sewage sludge "composting" industry wants in on the action. May 6 to May 12 has been declared "International Compost Awareness Week" by the sewage sludge industry trade group the U.S. Composting Council (USCC).

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    Wisconsin Bill Would Treat Organic Milk, Sharp Cheddar, Brown Eggs as "Junk Food"

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 6, 2013 - 10:55am
  • Topics: Food, Food Rights Network, Politics

    • Wisconsin ranks 44th in the nation for new job creation. Rather than rolling up their sleeves and finding new and innovative ways to help create jobs, the Wisconsin legislature is spending its time telling people needing food assistance what they should be eating. AB 110, which will be up for a vote in the Assembly on Tuesday, May 7, is geared toward limiting "the amount of food stamp benefits that could be spent on junk food." But some of the fine print of the bill, bizarrely, would ban people from choosing more healthy and less expensive options for their families. The bill is one of many being considered that are unduly punitive of the poor.

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    Over a Million Comments Filed on GE Salmon as New Evidence Emerges of Deeply Flawed Review

    by Rebekah Wilce — April 26, 2013 - 8:15am
  • Topics: Food Safety, Genetic Engineering, Environment, Food Rights Network

    • The extended comment period on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review and approval of AquAdvantage genetically engineered (GE) salmon ends April 26. As more comments flood in, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) reports that documents disclosed through a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) "raise serious questions about the adequacy of the FDA's review of the AquAdvantage Salmon application."

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    Bayer and Syngenta Lobby Furiously Against EU Efforts to Limit Pesticides and Save Bees

    by Rebekah Wilce — April 22, 2013 - 5:53am
  • Topics: Corporations, Environment, Food, Food Rights Network

    • Bee populations have been declining rapidly worldwide in recent years -- in the U.S., they have declined by almost 50 percent just since October 2012, according to The Ecologist. The problem is complex, with possible culprits including certain parasites (like Varroa mites), viruses, pesticides, and industrial agriculture. But two studies published in early 2012 in the journal Science suggested a particularly strong connection between the use of a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids and the decline of both bumble bee and honeybee populations.

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