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☆ Technology Puts American Chestnut Trees on the Comeback Trail
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—More than a century after blight decimated the American chestnut tree, the U.S. government is weighing whether to allow a genetically engineered version to spread in the wild. The impending decision has unleashed a ferocious debate over the promises and perils of genetic engineering among legions of chestnut enthusiasts. Some have been preparing for years in hopes that a genetically modified tree that can withstand blight will revive once-mighty chestnut forests. Others warn that could have unintended environmental consequences.

Imported baby formula will be subject to tariffs again in the new year, after the expiration of exemptions implemented amid a nationwide shortage. Congress waived tariffs, which can be as high as 17.5%, to help families struggling to find formula after supply-chain problems and the closure of a crucial factory crimped supplies. A White House spokesman said the tariff waivers doubled the number of manufacturers selling baby formula in the U.S. Congress made the tariff waivers temporary as part of a deal to pass the measures quickly, said people familiar with the matter.

☆ Congress Funds Summer Food Program to Help an Estimated 29 Million Children
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are taking aim at childhood hunger by funding a new program that would help feed roughly 29 million school children over the summer months, with an estimated cost of almost $23 billion over 10 years. The program would start in the summer of 2024 and be funded in part by winding down supplemental food-stamp benefits enacted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those extra funds will now stop at the end of February, instead of ending a month after the public health emergency is declared over, as originally planned.

☆ Congress Backs Lobstermen in Battle Over Whales
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Maine’s lobster industry has disputed that its ropes pose a threat to North Atlantic right whales. WASHINGTON—Maine’s lobster industry will get a break under the sweeping spending bill unveiled by congressional leaders this week, which would delay tougher rules intended to protect endangered whales. As part of the bill funding the government until October, lawmakers proposed in legislation unveiled Tuesday to delay until 2029 the implementation of new, stricter regulations aimed at bolstering the shrinking population of roughly 340 North Atlantic right whales.

☆ FDA Needs Leadership Role for Food-Safety Mission, Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Kristina Peterson | Jesse Newman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The Food and Drug Administration needs to overhaul its structure so that a single person is clearly in charge of its food programs, an independent panel said in a report released Tuesday. The report from the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, a nonprofit created by Congress and funded largely by the FDA, also recommended that the agency boost the visibility of its food programs and create a new center focused on nutrition to elevate its role.

☆ Maine Lobster Controversy Pinches Biden’s State Dinner With Macron
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Kristina Peterson | Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—It wasn’t the cheese selection that became the most contentious item on the menu at President Biden’s first state dinner Thursday night with French President Emmanuel Macron . Instead, the butter-poached Maine lobster landed the White House in hot water. The state’s lobster fishery has been at the center of legal and regulatory fights over whether its equipment harms endangered North Atlantic right whales—a political battle that began boiling over after two conservation groups warned consumers against buying Maine lobsters. Last month, Whole Foods Market paused its sales of the state’s iconic crustacean, saying it doesn’t meet the grocer’s sustainability standards.

More than 90% of corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified. The U.S. and Mexico are tangling over Mexico’s proposal to ban genetically modified corn, with a top U.S. official threatening to initiate a trade dispute if the two countries can’t find an agreement. Mexico plans to ban genetically modified corn by 2024, adding another flashpoint to the two countries’ tensions over trade. More than 90% of corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified, according to the National Corn Growers Association.

☆ Backers of Farmworker Visa Overhaul Make Year-End Push for Immigrant Labor Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Kristina Peterson | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

While there is no cap on the number of U.S. visas for seasonal agricultural work, farmworkers are only allowed to remain in the country for up to 10 months. WASHINGTON—Lawmakers, agriculture groups and farmworker organizations are pushing to pass an overhaul of the farmworker visa program through both chambers of Congress before the GOP takes control of the House next year. A bill providing a path to citizenship for about one million farmworkers—and creating a capped number of new year-round visas—passed the House in March 2021, with the support of 217 Democrats and 30 Republicans.

☆ What Exactly Is Cultivated Meat, and When Can We Eat It?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

There are still some regulatory steps before the public can buy lab-grown chicken and similar products. It sounds like science fiction, but meat grown in labs is real—and it is getting closer to hitting U.S. grocery stores. The fledgling industry—which generally prefers the name cultivated meat—cleared a hurdle last week when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicated it viewed chicken meat developed by Upside Foods as safe to eat.

☆ As Republicans Take Command in House, Fight Over 2023 Farm Bill Looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Debate over federal funding of food stamps—formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—is expected to intensify next year. WASHINGTON—House Republicans had a tough time passing the last farm bill, when they had a sizable majority in 2018. It’s about to get much harder. The bill, always a big lift for any Congress, is typically reauthorized every five years. The current version expires at the end of September next year, setting up a looming legislative headache for GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, who will have a slim majority if he is elected speaker in January.

☆ Lab-Grown Poultry Clears First Hurdle at FDA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Singapore is the only country so far to have approved the sale of cultivated meat products. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicated for the first time Wednesday it had no safety concerns over a chicken product grown from cells in a lab setting, bringing cultivated meat closer to U.S. grocery store shelves. The FDA said it had completed a premarket review of a cultivated chicken product from Berkeley, Calif.-based Upside Foods , and had no unresolved questions about its safety for humans to eat. The lab-grown chicken from Upside Foods must still get approvals from the Agriculture Department, which oversees the meat industry, before it can be sold in the U.S.

Sen. Rick Scott talks to reporters after meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Tuesday. WASHINGTON—Sen. Rick Scott announced a bid to challenge Sen. Mitch McConnell for the role of Senate Republican leader, deepening a rift within the Republican conference following the party’s weaker-than-expected performance in the midterm elections. Mr. Scott, of Florida, announced his bid during a closed-door Republican luncheon called to discuss the outcome of the elections at their first all-conference meeting since Election Day, arguing that the party needed a clearer message to voters and sparring directly with Mr. McConnell over his leadership style.

☆ FDA Developing Plan to Guard Against Bacteria Outbreaks in Baby Formula
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-developing-plan-to-guard-against-bacteria-outbreaks-in-baby-formula-11668539067

☆ Political Candidates Choke on Food, Drink Issues: Crudités, Corn Husks, Ice in Beer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For decades, Joe O’Dea poured his beer over ice in peace. Then he ran for the U.S. Senate. Controversy bubbled over when word spread that the Colorado Republican sipped Michelob Ultra in a glass of ice during an interview. The partisan outrage spilled in a state awash in craft breweries, 428 at last count.

☆ Farm Groups Rally Against SEC Proposal to Report Climate Data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Kristina Peterson | Patrick Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Agriculture companies and farm groups have said the cost of generating emissions estimates would drive up food prices. WASHINGTON—Big agricultural groups say a proposal from the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring companies to report their carbon footprint could drive small farmers out of business. Skeptics say it is more likely to be a boon for the consulting business.

☆ Families Still Struggle to Find Baby Formula Nearly One Year After Shortages Began
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Jesse Newman | Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Many U.S. households are still struggling to find baby formula, almost a year since supplies thinned on store shelves and eight months after a nationwide recall. Adults in roughly one-third of households with infant children who typically use formula had trouble obtaining it last month, according to a recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly one in five of affected households has less than a week of formula on hand, the survey showed.

☆ Biden Seeks to Expand Free School Meal Programs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden said his plan would make at least nine million more children eligible for free school meals in a speech at a White House conference Wednesday. WASHINGTON—President Biden pushed to expand free school meals Wednesday as part of what he called a new national strategy to end hunger and increase healthy eating by 2030. The administration’s attempt to stamp out hunger comes at a time when rising food costs have become a political liability for Democrats ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. Grocery prices increased 0.7% in August from a month earlier and 13.5% over the past year, according to the Labor Department.

☆ Black Farmers Skeptical About Loan Aid After Discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Kristina Peterson | Photographs Timothy Ivy For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Last month, President Biden signed into law a spending bill intended to reckon with what courts and government investigations have repeatedly found to be a history of discrimination by the U.S. Agriculture Department against Black farmers. But for many Black farmers and their advocates, they will have to see the money to believe it.

☆ Black Farmers Skeptical About Aid After Biased Lending
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Kristina Peterson | Photographs Timothy Ivy For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Ex-FDA Official Says Baby-Formula Industry Remains Vulnerable to Problems
▼ + stars: | 2022-02-17 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Frank Yiannas helped lead the FDA’s response to the baby-formula recall and ensuing shortages. WASHINGTON—The baby-formula industry remains as vulnerable to safety problems and supply disruptions as it did more than a year ago, when a recall led to nationwide shortages, a former Food and Drug Administration official says in testimony submitted for a congressional hearing Tuesday. “The nation remains one outbreak, tornado, flood, or cyberattack away from finding itself in a similar place to that of February 17, 2022,” Frank Yiannas , the former deputy FDA commissioner for food policy and response, says in testimony prepared for a hearing by the House Oversight Committee’s healthcare panel. Mr. Yiannas helped lead the agency’s response to the formula recall and ensuing shortages.

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