March 10, 2023 www.investigatemidwest.org Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Agencies agree FDA 'should be one-stop-shop for animal drugs'
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to transfer all regulation of pet products to the FDA.
This announcement comes nearly a year after Investigate Midwest published a story showing EPA staff questioning whether the agency could properly regulate flea and tick medicines when it took no action on the popular flea and tick collar Seresto, which has been linked to nearly 2,700 pet deaths.
An EPA official told Investigate Midwest in an interview the agency will release a science assessment about Seresto "in the next few months" — and that it couldn't have finished the report without the FDA lending staff and scientific help.
The EPA will hold a public meeting on March 22 to solicit public feedback.
— Johnathan Hettinger, reporter
EPA pushes ahead with transfer of regulation of pet products to FDA
By Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate Midwest
For the past two years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been under scrutiny and criticism for its regulation of a popular flea and tick collar linked to more than 100,000 reports of pet injury and death.
Now, the EPA is proposing to transfer all regulation of pet pesticide products to the Food and Drug Administration and is seeking public input on that proposal.
The announcement comes after the EPA’s process for handling incident reports about the popular Seresto flea and tick collar came under Congressional and public scrutiny following an Investigate Midwest/USA Today investigation that showed the collar has been the subject of more incident reports about pet death and harm than any other product in the agency’s history.
Read more.
Graphic of the Week: USDA forecasts meat production to increase to record levels by 2032
By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest
Production of beef, pork and chicken is expected to increase in the years ahead, given current political and climate conditions, according to an analysis from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Search the graphic.
Opinion: New provisions of the Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure Act require prudence
By Dave Dickey, Columnist
As it turns this land ain’t made just for you and me, fellow American citizens. Tens of millions – maybe even north of 100 million acres – are being bought lock, stock and barrel by foreign investors. That in itself may be of little consequence. Or it may be something.
In other words, who knows?
That’s because the 1978 Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure Act has been a total failure. And now Congress is trying to do something.
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Spanish translation: El sistema público de protección de los trabajadores agrícolas se ve afectado por la rotación de personal y la falta de un programa de apoyo
A principios de 2019, en Illinois, un trabajador agrícola vivía, junto a su esposa y su hijo, en una casa infestada de moho. En el invierno, debió cubrir las ranuras de las ventanas con sellador de espuma en aerosol para aislar el frío invernal. El inodoro se averiaba a menudo. A diferencia de la mayoría de las viviendas de los trabajadores agrícolas, esta no había sido inspeccionada: su empleador no la había registrado en el estado.
Lees más.
ENGLISH VERSION: Government system for protecting farmworkers plagued by staff turnover and lack of outreach
Center news
Join us in Iowa City for 'Home Grown' event April 20
WHAT: A handful of speakers will share their stories around the theme of "Home Grown." There also will be a silent auction and a themed trivia contest. This event is being sponsored in part by Alan Swanson with Blank and McCune, The Real Estate Company, in Iowa City.
WHO: Iowa Public Radio's Charity Nebbe will be introducing the speakers, and IPR will broadcast its recording of the event following the evening.
MORE: More details and tickets here. For more information, contact Donor Relations Manager Mary Ungs-Sogaard here.
