Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/category/government/)
New USDA data shows the overall food insecurity rate remained the same in 2020 compared to 2019. However, the rate increased for Black and Hispanic Americans. Researchers say more investigation is needed to understand the data.
In the past year, there have been at least eight hacks of companies in the industry, including the international meatpacking company JBS.
The maker of a popular flea and tick collar did not report thousands of adverse incidents to federal authorities as required until after an investigation by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting (Investigate Midwest) and USA TODAY was published.
As early as 2015, the EPA identified that Seresto "ranked #1 by a wide margin" when it came to incident reports of pet death and harm.
In the mounting battle between manufacturers trying to protect their technology from intellectual theft and customers who want more freedom to fix things when that technology breaks down, the Biden administration has won some gratitude in farm country.
White farmers have sued to prevent the USDA from forgiving loans to farmers of color. “Why are things always being stopped for us?” one asked.
The petition comes about four months after an Investigate Midwest and USA TODAY story found the popular flea and tick collar had been linked to about 1,700 pet deaths and more than 75,000 incidents of harm.
Although President Joe Biden has promised to limit people’s exposure to “dangerous chemicals and pesticides,” his administration has defended several actions by the Trump administration that generally deregulated pesticides.
More than a decade ago, nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council petitioned the EPA to ban the use of a pesticide called tetrachlorvinphos in pet products like flea and tick collars. The organization cited studies showing that the chemical, a possible carcinogen, had been linked to brain and nerve damage in children.
Some meatpacking plant workers found themselves at the intersection of two of the riskiest settings during the pandemic: correctional facilities and meatpacking plants.