PCC public policy statements
Agriculture & farmland | Cooperative development | Food safety & irradiation | Genetic engineering | Meat & dairy | Nutrition | Organics | Pesticides | Seafood, oceans & water
Meat & dairy
December 10, 2008 — letter to USDA re: new pasturing standards for organic livestock.
September 30, 2008 — letter to the USDA re: mandatory country-of-origin labeling of beef and other products.
June 10, 2008 — sign-on letter to the Health Subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, advocating provisions in a pending bill that would phase out giving antibiotics to livestock for nontherapeutic purposes unless they're shown not to cause antibiotic resistance in humans (PDF).
March 25, 2008 — to the Pierce County Conservation District, supporting efforts to establish a USDA Mobile Meat Processing Unit to support ranchers in the south Puget Sound area.
March 19, 2008 — to Govenor Chris Gregoire, urging a line-item veto on a measure that would legitimize the flow of Canadian cattle over the border into Washington — without meeting state health inspection requirements.
January 22, 2008 — letter to USDA re: the proposed "naturally raised" label is deficient and misleading.
March 2007 — to U.S. House and Senate committee members urging support for The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2007, legislation would restrict antibiotics as a feed-additive for livestock. The 2007 bill is the latest of several similar efforts, with signatories added over the years.
February 28, 2007 — sign on letter to the chairs and ranking members of the U.S. House and Senate agriculture committees, re: urging implementation of country-of-origin labeling for beef, pork, lamb and produce, as mandated in 2002 (PDF) (goes to another Web site).
May 12, 2006 — to Mark Bradley, National Organic Program Administrator, Re: comment on how USDA should address access to pasture and replacement animals in the organic program.
June 24, 2005 — to U.S. Congressional representatives from Washington state, Re: urging support for the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (H.R. 2562), limiting antibiotics in feed for livestock to prevent development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
June 21, 2005 — to Washington's two U.S. Senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Re: support for Country of Origin Labeling, Conservation Security Program funding, and Farm to Cafeteria funding.
April 1, 2004 — to Dr. Attila Molnar, President and CEO, Bayer Corporation urging compliance with FDA ban on fluoroquinolone antibiotics in poultry. Sign-on letter sponsored by Environmental Defense.
August 16, 2000 — Thank you to Congressman Sherrod Brown, Re: sponsorship of HR 3266, the Preservation of Essential Antibiotics for Human Diseases Act.