MetaFilter posts tagged with USDA

Not quite your Vonnegut

casarkos — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:50:26 -0800

Undercover video (warning: very graphic) released by the Humane Society reveals abuse of animals on the slaughterhouse floor and other code violations. In comparison, some (also graphic) documentation of cow slaughter under Certified Humane standards, and hog slaughter conforming to USDA guidelines (both from chef Chris Cosentino's blog, previously posted here)

Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children?

dersins — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:48:16 -0800

Bored on your summer vacation? Well, the US government has lots of fun stuff for kids to do on line. Learn fascinating facts about cows (and agricultural marketing!) from the Department of Agriculture. Take a ride to Money Central Station with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. If you live in a federally-funded housing project, HUD wants you to learn more about being a good citizen. Want something more action-packed? Help FBI Special Agent Bobby Bureau go undercover, or become one of America's Crypto-Kids at the NSA. Play thrilling puzzle games or visit the world's most secret museum at the CIA. Play more games or become a Disaster Action Kid at FEMA! And no list of government kids' pages would be complete without revisiting the children's art contest from the ATF, which I've linked to before...

And yet, no tomacco.

cog_nate — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 20:08:43 -0800

"The USDA PLANTS database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories." Among the highlights are a list of culturally significant plants and a searchable image gallery you can submit photos to. Forestry Images is a similar USDA-supported site dedicated to silviculture.

If that isn't enough for you, click on over to the Germplasm Resources Information Network. There, you'll find a smorgasbord of information on virtually all the food varieties commercially raised in the US: where the germplasm is held, lists of species at each site, detailed descriptions of individual accessions (e.g., cultivars), even who owns the Red Silk Radish. If it grows and you can eat, drink, smoke or inject it, the USDA probably has it cataloged. And if they don't, search one of these.

USDA, you're doin' a heckuva job

soyjoy — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 23:06:51 -0800

US Meat Supply at Risk of Mad Cow Disease is one of the headlnes I missed last week week. Auditors can’t say whether meat plants followed mad-cow rules is another. Plus 'Downer Cows' Entering Meat Supply, USDA Inspector General Says | USDA slammed for letting high-risk downer cattle reach consumers | USDA Didn't Follow Procedures In '04 BSE Test | Agency Fought Retesting of Infected Cow | USDA feared beef test and, um... Confidence in U.S. called key to exports. [more inside]

find out what's in it before it's in you.

crunchland — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 10:32:54 -0800

Find out what's in it before it's in you ... using free software provided by the US Department of Agriculture's database. The information, which can be kept on a PC (Windows) or PDA (Palm OS), provides a detailed listing of nutrients (calories, protein, fat, carbs, sugars, vitamins, minerals) on almost 7,000 foods, including processed and fast foods.

A SSN for your horse?

turtlegirl — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 06:45:10 -0800

The USDA is working on a plan to enforce registration and identification of all livestock animals in the US. [More Inside]

And you thought FEMA was a mess

soyjoy — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 22:44:05 -0800

By the way...Americans may have eaten mad cow.

SOS or Safegaurd organic standards

flummox — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 22:12:55 -0800

SOS or Safegaurd Organic Standards is what the Organic Consumers Association is calling their effort to protect the USDA's National Organic Program's organic food standards adopted in 2002. A rider attached to the 2006 agriculture appropriations bill and sponsored by the Organic Trade Association contains changes to the standards that in their view will make "technical corrections" to the national organic standards. This became necessary in their view after a 73-year-old organic blueberry farmer from Maine named Arthur Harvey won a court appeal against the USDA, arguing that federal regulations guiding organic food standards were less stringent than the original legislation had intended. This issue is splitting the organic standards lobbying community. Or perhaps this has been in the works for sometime as large corporate food producers have moved to take advantage of the rapid growth of the organics market. (more inside)

Yes, YOU can run a corrupt govt. agency and NEVER pay taxes!

soyjoy — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 19:45:33 -0800

"I... Forgot."

Upon the death of a possible BSE cow, "the unidentified doctor preserved the brain stem sample in formalin... but then 'simply forgot' about it until mid-July." That's the reason why we're only hearing about it now. Any questions?

You have two cows.

soyjoy — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 13:12:28 -0800

Second US case of Mad Cow confirmed. The initial rapid screening test in November was positive, but a more stringent test was negative, and the USDA told America that the cow was BSE-free. The agency did not mention that it had skipped the Western Blot test, used in 2003 to confirm the first U.S. mad cow.