Take Action: Tell USDA that consumers have rights!

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Fri, 9 Jun 2006 10:31:11 -0400 (EDT)

" Food & Water Watch " <fwwatch

Take Action: Tell USDA that consumers have rights!

 

 

 

Food & Water Watch

 

There's a lot going on at the USDA this week. Here are two actions you

can take right now to strengthen the rules for what kind of

information consumers get about their food.

 

Organic Milk Should Not Come from Factory Farms!

 

The USDA's National Organic Program is accepting comments on a

controversial provision of the government's standards for organic milk

– how much " access to pasture " cows need to have for milk to be

certified as organic. When most of us think of organic milk, we assume

it comes from smaller farms where the cows graze on pasture. Lots of

organic milk does come from these kind of farms. But an increasing

amount comes from factory farms, where thousands of cows are kept

confined to buildings, and rarely get outside to graze.

 

The rules for organic milk have been a source of controversy for

years, because USDA has allowed factory farms (where confined cows are

fed organic grass and grain) to be certified as organic producers. The

agency has claimed that the current rule is too vague to be enforced,

and has been slowly working through the process of revising the rules,

even though its own advisory committee (the National Organic Standards

Board) has repeatedly made recommendations on how it can be done.

 

Click here to tell the USDA that organic milk should not come from

factory farms!

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=136356196 & url_num=1 & url=http:\

//www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/fwwatch/campaign.jsp?campaign_K\

EY=4138

 

Tell USDA Consumers Deserve to Know Where Recalled Meat Was Sold!

 

 

When the USDA announces that some meat or poultry product is being

recalled consumers don't get a key piece of information that could

help them identify whether they may have purchased the recalled

product – the retailers who carry it. The agency currently releases

the code for the plant that produced the recalled meat (which appears

on the package), product codes and a picture. Right now, the agency is

considering a proposal to take the vital step of adding " retail

consignees " to the agency's website when a product is recalled. Retail

consignees is a fancy term for the stores that carry the product in

question.

 

It is past time for the agency to provide consumers with practical

information they need to figure out if they have purchased meat that

is subject to a recall and should not be consumed. Tell USDA to

finalize this proposed rule and make retail consignees of recalled

product available on their website.

 

Click here to send a letter to USDA.

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=136356196 & url_num=2 & url=http:\

//www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/fwwatch/campaign.jsp?campaign_K\

EY=4139

 

Thank you for taking action and being part of our campaigns!