Vegetarians, Federal inspection, Farm bill, NAIS, Illegal immigrants, FDA, FFA?, Farming for votes

“Being a vegetarian puts you at a disadvantage. You’re in the most basic category of finicky. Even women who order chicken, it isn’t enough. Everyone wants to be the girl who drinks the beer and eats the steak and looks like Kate Hudson.”
(Source: New York Times, August 9, 2007)
Sloane Crosley, unmarried vegetarian, talking about the trials and tribulations of dating while on an all veggie diet in New York City.
>PS: Sloane, just order the ribeye at Smith & Wollensky or a brewski and a burger at “21.” Better yet, get out of NYC and belly up to the bar at Plaza III in Kansas City or Del Frisco’s Double Eagle in Ft. Worth.

"During that time, we can produce enough wholesale product to get us through the entire week even though 75 percent of our volume would otherwise be considered exempt.”
(Source: MEAT&POULTRY, August 8, 2007)
Marlin Dietrich, owner of Dietrich’s Meats in Lenhartsville, PA, talking with Steve Krut about his decision to scale back on federal inspection.
>PS: He cut his inspector back to 3 days per week. Saves him money, doesn’t hurt his mostly local business. So, who needs a federal inspector?

“Now, first thing I will say, we appreciate the work of the House, we appreciate the work of the Senate that's occurred and is coming up. But there are some poison pills in this House bill that we want to rectify, and they are very problematic.”
(Source: USDA transcript of remarks by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation regarding the 2007 Farm Bill and Beef Trade, August 9, 2007)
Mike Johanns expressing serious concern about the shape of the new Farm Bill.
>PS: The accordion musicians are just warming up and the usual pork barrel polka has begun.
>PPS: For his early views on the Farm Bill, click to read “Five Minutes with Mike Johanns,” an interview published by Cattlenetwork in March.

“The agency has not effectively addressed several issues that, if left unresolved, could undermine the program’s ability to achieve the goal of rapid and effective animal disease traceback.”
(Source: Washington Technology, August 6, 2007)
Unnamed GAO report writer commenting on failing USDA efforts to promote NAIS.
>PS: Chief reason for failure? USDA lacks a “robust process for selecting and standardizing testing and ID tracking technologies,”
>PPS: Click here to view full GAO report.

“We are tough and we are going to be even tougher. There are not going to be any more excuses for employers, and there will be serious consequences for those that choose to blatantly disregard the law.”
(Source: New York Times, August 8, 2007)
Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, cranking up the heat on everyone who hires anyone.
>PS: And in a related story Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for Social Security, said “We don’t know and we won’t speculate” when asked the reasons behind the thousands of mismatches they find every year.

“The FDA itself admits that this seafood needs inspection, but then doesn't have the capability to inspect it. This is an example of government failure at its worst."
(Source: Forbes/Associated Press, August 8, 2007)
Senator Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a critic of the FDA's food safety record, reacting to an AP report that at least 1 million pounds of suspect Chinese seafood landed on American store shelves and dinner plates despite the Administration’s order that the shipments first be screened for banned drugs or chemicals.
>PS: The frozen shrimp, catfish and eel arrived at U.S. ports under an "import alert," which meant the FDA was supposed to hold every shipment until it had passed a laboratory test.

“At this point, it’s just super hard to rent — much less buy — ground. On top of the land, the initial investment to farm is so much: the tractor, the startup costs, it’s crazy. If you want to rent land, you either have to find a landlord who is sympathetic to your cause or who knows you.”(Source: New York Times, August 8, 2007)
Kyle Sheaffer, 28, Dixon, Illinois farmer who serves as the local leader of a Farm Bureau committee focused on the worries of young farmers.
>PS: High land prices, fueled by the ethanol boom, are prohibitive to young farmers who have to contend with well-off land speculators who arrive in Dixon with “an open checkbook.”
>PPS: Long term ag problem to solve: In states like Iowa half the farm land is owned by people age 65 or older.
>PPPS: How are you going to keep them down on the farm…when they can’t afford it?

Farming for votes:
Campaign 2008Edwards for President Iowa Communications Director Dan Leistikow, after herding 8 Berkshire hogs onto the John Edwards for president float, said, “The State Fair Parade is a great Iowa tradition and the campaign is looking forward to participating and having some fun. It’s also a chance to call attention to a serious issue. As president, John Edwards will stand up for the family farm by passing a moratorium on these huge hog operations that do so much damage to the environment and to the tradition of family farming.”

Barack Obama, campaigning in Iowa, said, "When the farm bill comes up in the Senate, I will be fighting to tell all those agribusiness lobbyists that they won't be able to count on the multi-million-dollar subsidies they always get because we're going to put family farmers first. Under Tom Harkin's leadership, we're going to put conservation of our land and our water first. We're going to put biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and ethanol that represent the future of energy in this country first. And we're going to put economic development for rural America first. Those lobbyists -- they can wait at the back of the line for a change."
AND
"If lobbyists for well-heeled interests in Washington are setting the agenda on the farm bill, in the energy bill, on health care legislation and if we can't overcome the power of those lobbyists then we're not going to get serious reform in any of those areas. That doesn't mean they don't have a seat at the table. We just don't want them buying every chair."

Hillary Clinton introduced legislation to block the USDA proposed closure of several FSA Natural Resource Conservation Service and Rural Development field offices. Her press office released this comment: “Small farmers can’t leave their farms for a half a day to go to several different offices to access services, yet they are the ones who need these services the most.”