Ag Headlines, Thursday October 22, 2015

USDA Announces new Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Lanon Baccam as the USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, overseeing the Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison. Baccam, a U.S. Army and Iowa National Guard veteran takes the positions following the departure of Karis T. Gutter. Baccam, a native of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is a military veteran and spent eight years in the U.S. Army and Iowa National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004-2005. Baccam previously served as the director of scheduling and advance in the Office of the Secretary at USDA. Baccam is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Group Claims Chipotle Marketing Uses Scare Tactics

The Center for Consumer Freedom, which has launched a campaign against Chipotle's marketing strategy, says the restaurant is using ‘scare tactics’ in its marketing. The Chubby Chipotle campaign says the restaurant is tricking people into thinking its burritos are healthier by advertising its meat as being “antibiotic-free,” meaning from animals raised without antibiotics. However, this year the burrito chain began sourcing pork from Europe that comes from animals that may have been given antibiotics. Director of research at the Center for Consumer Freedom Will Coggin said “Consumers shouldn’t let Chipotle trick them into thinking their burritos are healthier by saying they’re antibiotic-free because federal regulations are designed to ensure all meat served in restaurants and sold in supermarkets is antibiotic-free.”

NCGA Calls for National Voluntary GMO Labeling Law

As the Senate Ag Committee seeks to pass a biotech labeling bill yet this year, the National Corn Growers Association is urging action on what it calls a “National Food Labeling Standard.” The Senate Ag Committee held a hearing Wednesday on GMO labeling. Committee members say passing a voluntary labeling law could end the patchwork of laws passed by some states and create a unified rule to follow. The House passed voluntary labeling in July. If the Senate does not follow suit, Vermont's GMO labeling law will go into effect next July. Meanwhile, other states and localities have passed or are considering state-level labeling mandates, according to NCGA. NCGA Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair John Linder said “Congress, and only Congress, can now prevent a costly and confusing patchwork of state labeling laws from taking effect next year.”

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