Pacific Legal Foundation announced that it has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Obama Administration’s greenhouse emissions standards for heavy duty and medium duty vehicles. Filed on behalf of small businesses and trade organizations whose members would be damaged by the regulations, the suit charges that federal officials were legally required to submit the regulations for independent scientific scrutiny, but failed to do so.  Read More   

Just when you think you’ve heard it all: PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has announced the launch in December of an XXX porn website. Supposedly aimed at promoting veganism and animal rights, the site will, a PETA spokesperson says, feature pornographic photos and videos, along with gruesome images of animal brutality. It’s hoped the "racy things" will enable PETA to "reach a whole new audience," says PETA’s Lindsay Rajt. The idea is to attract viewers with the porn lead-in, then hit them with images of animal mistreatment.In the process, of course, PETA expects to raise even more money for its campaigns against animal agriculture, and even animals as pets. Read More

The biofuels industry has poured millions of dollars into lobbying as Congress debates whether to end a key ethanol tax credit, according to a report released yesterday by a right-leaning Washington think tank.
The group, Taxpayers for Common Sense, documents some $31 million spent on lobbying this year alone by companies and groups affiliated with the biofuels industry. The industry has also put more than $12.5 million into campaign contributions in the past three election cycles toward members of this Congress, the group also found.
Since 2004, Congress has given more than $30 billion in subsidies to the ethanol industry, TCS writes. The largest ethanol tax credit is set to expire at the end of the year, and ethanol interests are looking for other ways for Congress to boost biofuels, the group says.
"The point that we’re conveying that is there are these policies that benefit biofuel production that on their face don’t seem to really be in the best interest of taxpayers," said Mike Surrusco, a senior investigator at TCS. Read More

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is asking its inspectors to review data from any programs that establishments use to control or monitor salmonella in raw classes of product. FSIS issued Notice 57-11 in light of recent illness outbreaks related to salmonella contamination in raw ground turkey products.  Read More

Avicorvi S.A.S. is announcing the revolutionary and long waited "Phenomenon" Turkey Nipple Drinker, a single watering system solution for the turkey industry, from start to finish.  Designed and developed exclusively for poults and turkeys, it has been successfully proven from day one poults to adult turkeys over 18 weeks of age. Based on the same patented and exclusive non-pin based technology used in the Avicorvi Nipple for Chickens, this new nipple drinker has a wide nozzle to help the adult turkeys to precisely activate the nipple’s internal valve and effectively direct the water into the beak, without leaking or spillage, providing much more abundant and cleaner water than any other similar product, with great poults and turkeys performances. Starting at 40mils/minute at about 5" (12.7cm) of water column height, it can be setup to deliver over 220mils/minute. This new product can be installed using our Avicorvi Nipple Installation System, which surpasses and replaces the common uses of aluminum rails, galvanized or metal pipes, significantly reducing installation and maintenance costs; or following other installation methods. For details or to request information and an optional product sample (U.S. and Canada territories only), please contact Jaime Orozco, Avicorvi North America, cell (805) 300-5227, email Jaime@Avicorvi.com; or using the traditional and effective US Postal Service, PO Box 0272, Folsom, CA 95763-0272. Outside North America region, contact our headquarters sales department in Colombia (South America) at info@Avicorvi.com, fax +(57.6) 326-0406. Visit our products’ web page at www.AvicorviNorthAmerica.com for details.

The Environmental Protection Agency has published in the Federal Register a proposed rule providing two ways to obtain information from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to help the feds enforce federal water-quality standards.

EPA is proposing two options for collecting facility-specific information to ensure CAFOs are complying with the federal Clean Water Act. Under one option, the agency would be authorized to collect information from all CAFOs. The other option would allow the agency to get the information from CAFOs located within areas identified as having water-quality issues "likely associated with CAFOs." Read More

Click here for the comment page at www.regulations.gov. Click here for a fact sheet and here for Q & A sheet.

Attention CA Elementary School Teachers:

As we approach Thanksgiving, learn about how the Presidential Turkeys were raised last year by California’s own Foster Farms. The official turkeys were presented to President Obama at the White House and were “pardoned”. A four-page activity guide is available to download from learnaboutag.org/turkey. The four-page, full-color guide, developed by California educators and in coordination with California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom and Foster Farms, introduces students to the history of our nation’s Presidential Turkey tradition and engages them with activities about the popular poultry. It is aligned to California state content standards for grades 4-6 in English-language arts, history-social science, math, science, and health education.

California Poultry Federation also offers a Gobble It Up turkey CD for grades 4-6. This CD contains information about the California Poultry industry. The goal of Gobble it Up is to provide elementary students fun and active learning centered around the turkey. The materials are aligned with the California State Content Standards for grades 4-6. Please email felicia@cpif.org to request one for your class. A chicken CD, Chicken, from the Egg to your Table, also is available. Check out the CPF website at www.cpif.org.