Publication Items

ABC News Urges Judge To Toss Out "Pink Slime" Defamation Suit [1]

In September, South Dakota meat processor Beef Products, Inc., had sued ABC, some of its anchors and correspondents, and a USDA microbiologist under South Dakota law for reporting on the controversial meat filler. The company said it would oppose the October 31st motion to dismiss.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Food [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about ABC News Urges Judge To Toss Out "Pink Slime" Defamation Suit [1]
Beef Company Sues ABC for Defamation Over 'Pink Slime' [6]

Beef Products Inc. filed suit for defamation over stories about its 'finely textured beef' product, known to headline writers as 'pink slime.' Legal experts say the company will have a hard time winning the case, which harkens back to the famous hamburger libel case of the late 1990s, in which Oprah Winfrey won the right to dislike beef in public.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Food [4]
Agriculture [7]
Laws & Regulations [3]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Beef Company Sues ABC for Defamation Over 'Pink Slime' [6]
Two Dead as FDA Refuses To Name Farm That Recalled Melons [8]

The Food and Drug Administration is so far refusing to name a Southwestern Indiana farm that voluntarily recalled its cantaloupes after a Salmonella outbreak last month that killed two people and sickened some 150.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [9]
Food [4]
Agriculture [7]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [10]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Two Dead as FDA Refuses To Name Farm That Recalled Melons [8]
Boots on the Ground at Annual SEJ Gathering [11]

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [13]
Economy & Business [14]
Energy & Fuel [15]
Environmental Politics [16]
Food [4]
Journalism & Media [17]
Natural Resources [18]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [19]
People & Population [20]
Planning & Growth [21]
Water & Oceans [22]
Wildlife [23]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [24]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Boots on the Ground at Annual SEJ Gathering [11]
EPA Withdraws CAFO Database Rule [25]

EPA says it could instead compile a database partly from information collected by some states. But that information is often spotty and inconsistent — which will make it hard for EPA to compile it and even harder to make useful conclusions from it. And the withdrawal may make it harder to get the information disclosed.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Food [4]
Environmental Politics [16]
Agriculture [7]
Region:
Northwest (OR WA) [26]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [27]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [28]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [10]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about EPA Withdraws CAFO Database Rule [25]
CRS Reports: You Paid for Them — You May As Well Read Them [29]

Here are some recent reports by the Congressional Research Service related to the environment/energy beat. Congress does not release them to the public. We again thank the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project for doing so.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [18]
Government [30]
Food [4]
Environmental Politics [16]
Energy & Fuel [15]
Climate Change [13]
Agriculture [7]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about CRS Reports: You Paid for Them — You May As Well Read Them [29]
Denver Post Exposes FDA Secrecy on Food Threats to Public Health [31]

Reporter Michael Booth's story resurrected the old issue of whether the public has a right to know the identity and source of foods in commerce that government agencies actually know may be causing fatal illness. The FDA refused to comment on the story.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [9]
Government [30]
Food [4]
Economy & Business [14]
Consumer [32]
Agriculture [7]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Denver Post Exposes FDA Secrecy on Food Threats to Public Health [31]
Is Documenting Cruelty to Animals a Federal Terrorist Crime? [33]

According to the Los Angeles Times, recent directives from the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force suggest that merely filming commercial acts of cruelty to animals could be a terrorist offense — something that now can lead to indefinite military detention without trial.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Food [4]
Economy & Business [14]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Is Documenting Cruelty to Animals a Federal Terrorist Crime? [33]
Winter Farmers Markets Provide Hook for Many Ag Issues [34]

The USDA says the number of winter farmers markets rose 38% from 2010 to 2011; 17% the year before. Coverage can include local foods, family-owned vs. corporate enterprises, validity of claims about being family-owned and/or local, food inspections, quality control, state, FDA and USDA regulations, immigration, unemployment, and career changes.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Food [4]
Agriculture [7]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Winter Farmers Markets Provide Hook for Many Ag Issues [34]
NOAA Seafood Report Released [36]

Use the data to report for communities directly affected by fishing or, at a larger scale, as a hook to report on several other related issues. Also, research another hot topic drawing attention — mislabeling of fish species.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [22]
Food [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about NOAA Seafood Report Released [36]

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