Food Rights Network

News

Prions in Plants? New Concerns Regarding Chronic Wasting Disease

by PRW Staff — October 3, 2013 - 6:36am
  • Topics: Mad Cow Disease, Agriculture, Environment, Food Rights Network

    • -- by Ron Seely, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

    Prions -- the infectious, deformed proteins that cause chronic wasting disease in deer -- can be taken up by plants such as alfalfa, corn and tomatoes, according to new research from the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison.

    Guest Contributor

    USDA's Reckless Plan to Privatize Food Safety

    by Jill Richardson — September 17, 2013 - 6:19am
  • Topics: Food Safety, Food, Food Rights Network, Outsourcing America Exposed, Politics

    • My friend Jim, a farmer, jokes about bringing a bowl of manure and a spoon to the farmers' markets where he sells his beef. "My beef has no manure in it, but you can add some," he'd like to tell his customers.

    I'm sure you'd pass on manure as a condiment. But unless you're a vegetarian or you slaughter your own meat, you may have eaten it. And if the USDA moves forward with its plan to make a pilot program for meat inspection more widespread, this problem can only get worse.

    News

    Wisconsin Citizens Speak Out about Raw Milk

    by Rebekah Wilce — September 13, 2013 - 6:28am
  • Topics: Raw Milk, Food, Food Rights Network, Politics

    • Across the United States, the majority of states allow legal sales of raw, or unpasteurized, milk in one form or another, whether retail, on the farm, or via "herd share" arrangements. A growing number of Wisconsin citizens would like to add this state to that list once and for all.

    News

    "Pandora's Lunchbox" -- Ingredients in Processed Food Products May Surprise You

    by Lisa Graves — August 13, 2013 - 8:05am
  • Topics: Agriculture, Children, Corporations, Food, Food Rights Network, Health, Marketing, Science

    • "The vitamin D in your milk ... is almost surely a derivative -- after many chemical stages -- from lanolin from Australian sheep wool, concocted in a factory in China. ... Vitamin A, is often synthesized from acetone, a principal ingredient in nail polish remover," notes George Kenney based on his interview with Melanie Warner, a former writer for the New York Times.

    Guest Contributor

    The Tiniest New Technology Poses Unanswered Safety Questions

    by Jill Richardson — August 12, 2013 - 6:21am
  • Topics: Food Safety, Corporations, Food Rights Network, Health

    • You might use nanotechnology in the sunscreens you squirt or lather on your kids. You might lick your lips and taste it in your favorite lip-gloss. You might even eat it in your Jell-O pudding. But is it safe?

    News

    Genetically Engineered Burrito? Chipotle Labels GMO

    by Rebekah Wilce — July 17, 2013 - 5:57am
  • Topics: Genetic Engineering, Corporations, Food, Food Rights Network

    • The fast food burrito chain Chipotle, which advertises "food with integrity," became the first restaurant chain in the United States to label genetically modified ingredients in its food in March 2013.

    Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have sparked concerns about potential human health effects and confirmed environmental effects. Chipotle has 1,450 restaurants as of June 2013 and $2.7 billion in annual revenue, so the labeling is no small potatoes.

    News

    Chronic Wasting Disease on the Rise in Wisconsin Deer; Will it Infect Humans?

    by Rebekah Wilce — June 13, 2013 - 6:21am
  • Topics: Mad Cow Disease, Environment, Food Rights Network

    • The rate of chronic wasting disease (CWD) is on the rise among deer in Iowa County, Wisconsin and elsewhere across the state. CWD is a fatal, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) similar to what is commonly known as mad cow disease that is caused by twisted proteins, or prions. For hunters, writes outdoors reporter Patrick Durkin, this means the disease might be affecting the herd now. For anyone who eats venison, this means greater chances that the disease could conceivably make the species jump and infect humans

    News

    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.

    News

    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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