The USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released an audit of inspection and enforcement activities at pig slaughter plants. The May 2013 audit found that inspectors for the Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS)...

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), a USDA agency, is amending its Animal Handling and Welfare (AHW) requirements for companies that supply meat from cattle, pigs, and sheep to the national school lunch program.

In response to the Hallmark-Westland slaughter plant exposé, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) within the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) assessed what had transpired at Hallmark, if it could have been prevented, and...

Following a year-long application process, AWI’s Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) program was audited for compliance with the International Organization for Standardization’s “ISO 65” standards earlier this year by the International Organic Accreditation Service—the leading independent...

Despite strong public opposition, and no documented demand, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears to be drawing closer to approving the first food product from a genetically engineered (GE) animal.

Researchers are only just starting to understand the critical role of native U.S. predator species in the functioning of ecosystems. A recent study by Oregon State University, for example, found that large predators such as...

U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) has reintroduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (“PAMTA,” or H.R. 1150) into the House of Representatives. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) intends to introduce a companion bill in...

Even as some state legislatures seek to cover up abuse via ag-gag bills, a few are in pursuit of higher ground: last year, Rhode Island joined a growing list of states that prohibit intensive confinement...

Industrial agriculture is continuing the tactic of introducing anti-whistleblower legislation to prevent the investigation and exposure of cruel conditions endured by farm animals on factory farms. These bills, referred to as “ag-gag” bills, had already...

Wenonah Hauter’s Foodopoly weaves nearly every aspect of the food system—from retail and fast food to the indentured nature of farming contracts—into a unique and highly accessible analysis of not just America’s food systems, but...