Poultry Dangers, More Farm Bill, Energy Bill

Apparently the chickens aren't the only ones in danger.  Tom Philpott at Grist points us to an article published earlier in the week at The Charlotte Observer that exposes a local poultry processor for doing harm to more than the factory farmed chickens.  According to the newspaper article, "The company has compiled misleading injury reports and has defied regulators as it satisfies a growing appetite for America's most popular meat. And employees say the company has ignored, intimidated or fired workers who were hurt on the job."  Responding to the same article and a push to contact North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole to voice concerns, Bonnie at The Ethicurean writes "I’d add that we can try to elect politicians who believe in upholding the rights of immigrant workers, not punishing them. We can also refuse to support the corporations that exploit such workers — and yes, that means refusing to buy or eat the products of Raeford and Smithfield and their ilk wherever you might encounter them."  Which all just underscores the collateral damage that comes along with those chicken nuggets.

Whoa.  Here comes the Farm Bill again.  With momentum building toward a March deadline for the 2007, er, 2008 Farm Bill to be signed into law, the blogosphere has heated up.  You'll remember that if the new legislation is not approved by next month the regulations currently in place revert to the original, 1949 version of the bill, which would put quite a bit of pressure on institutions big and small.  Dan Owens shared a new press release Monday at Blog for Rural America that underscores the lack of real reform in the new version of the legislation, foreshadowing his confidence that whatever is eventually signed into law will be heralded as "reform of historic importance."  Seemingly moments later, the Environmental Working Group released an interactive map (see post at Mulch) that points to "350 pro-reform Farm Bill editorials published in the past year from across America."  I won't post the 350 links, but many of the articles included are must-reads for anyone passionate about agricultural policy reform in America.  Brian Depew chimes back in at Blog for Rural America that the map itself deflates claims by Senator Kent Conrad that the only real opposition to the new Farm Bill is coming from the "east coast media" that doesn't understand real farmers.  Finally, Keith Good contributes updated coverage of the blow-by-blow in Washington at Farm Policy, noting that as time grows shorter, compromise is more likely to come:  "Traditionally, lawmakers are more inclined to fast-track the farm bill when pressure from around the country compels them to put aside political differences.  Often this has the added benefit of presenting opportunities for those lobbyists eager to win favors for their clients and the lawmakers hoping to burnish their legacies."  Like the headline said, whoa.

Good news.  The battle is won, the war is just begun.  Ken Ward posts at Grist congratulating environmentalists on the new energy bill that has passed, then urges them to consider what the next steps might be in fighting global warming.  After defining twelve potential focus areas, he adds "Environmentalism must undergo a revival, not burial. To accomplish this, we must first rid ourselves of the notion that our primary purpose is to craft policy. Even most critics of the U.S. climate agenda spend their energies debating substance, but it is not our job to lobby for carbon markets or mileage standards, nor should efforts to reshape our approach be concerned with devising alternative policies."  Instead, let government do what government does.  But hold them accountable for the results.

Ragan Sutterfield writes at Plenty about dirt and why it's more important this year than ever.  Energy Bulletin points to an article at AFP about the price of food in Asia, and the expectation that they are only going higher.  Like pennies from heaven, Sharon ponies up a food storage class which she outlines at Deplention & Abundance.  Goes right along with one of my priorities this year:  making sure I eat local much more effectively through next winter's cold months. 

Finally, Kat writes at Eating Liberally that you can lay off the meat and still get plenty of protein without filling up on legumes alone:  add some bugs to that dish and you're ready to go!