Agribusiness
GRAPHIC: Facing challenges, honeybees’ production has dropped in the U.S.
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Honeybee colonies' average yearly production has dropped 30 percent since 1995.
Agribusiness
GRAPHIC: The U.S. still uses many pesticides banned in other countries
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About 150 agricultural pesticides that the World Health Organization considers “hazardous” at some level to human health were used in the United States in 2017, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.
Agribusiness
EPA takes steps to allow continued use of pesticides linked to cancer, brain development issues in children
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The Trump administration in recent days took steps toward continuing to allow the use of two popular pesticides linked to developmental issues in children. In both cases, the agency weakened its metrics for assessing human health protections. On Sept. 18, the EPA approved the continued use of atrazine, the second most commonly sprayed herbicide in the United States. Atrazine, whose main manufacturer is Syngenta, is banned in more than 35 countries, including the European Union, because of its links to human health, which include reproductive issues, an increased chance of birth defects, a loss of fertility in men and a potential to cause cancer.
Agribusiness
GRAPHIC: There are now half as many dairy farms today than in 2003
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There are less than half of the licensed dairy farms in the United States than nearly two decades ago, according to an analysis of USDA data.
Agribusiness
With no guaranteed protections from COVID-19, agricultural workers face tough decision: protect their lives or retain financial security
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Some states have enforced rules to prevent COVID-19's spread among farmworkers, but the federal government hasn't done so, leaving many workers unprotected, advocates said.
Agribusiness
GRAPHIC: Design of South Dakota meatpacking plant contributed to high number of COVID-19 cases, CDC says
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In an August report, the CDC noted a difference between salaries employees in an office setting and the hourly workers on the production line.
Agribusiness
A week before Trump’s order protecting meat plants, industry sent draft language to feds
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Even as thousands of their employees fell ill with COVID-19, meatpacking executives pressured federal regulators to help keep their plants open, according to a trove of emails obtained by USA TODAY and The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
U.S. Department of Labor cites Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. for failing to protect employees from coronavirus
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September 10, 2020
U.S. Department of Labor Cites Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. For Failing to Protect Employees from Coronavirus
SIOUX FALLS, SD - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for failing to protect employees from exposure to the coronavirus. OSHA proposed a penalty of $13,494, the maximum allowed by law. Based on a coronavirus-related inspection, OSHA cited the company for one violation of the general duty clause for failing to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that can cause death or serious harm.
Agribusiness
GRAPHIC: Industrialization has pushed out more and more chicken
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The pounds of chicken available to consumers on a per capita basis has increased more than 500 percent since 1909, according to USDA data.
Bayer’s rejection of quick COVID-19 testing resulted in delayed isolation for migrant workers, officials say
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At least eight migrant workers who were infected with COVID-19 waited several days before isolating because the company they worked for, Bayer, declined to pay for expedited tests, Champaign County health officials said.