June 22, 2023 www.investigatemidwest.org Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
More work to be done to protect US meatpacking workers
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on meat and poultry processing workers is well-documented, but journalists and government watchdogs are still reflecting on how meat companies and federal agencies failed to protect the people who cut and package American meat.
Another instance arrived Tuesday.
A report by the Government Accountability Office says the Occupational Safety and Health Administration should evaluate how to better protect meat and poultry processing workers from infectious diseases in the future.
— Madison McVan, reporter
OSHA should strengthen rules to protect meat and poultry workers from infectious disease, government watchdog says
By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, working hard in cold temperatures and yelling to be heard over machinery contributed to high rates of COVID-19 infections in meatpacking plants, especially early in the pandemic.
The federal agencies charged with overseeing meat plants and their workers — the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor — failed to collaborate to protect worker health, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday.
Read more.
OPINION: It’s time to get serious on food expiration labels
By Dave Dickey, Columnist
What do all those words on a food label mean anyway? Dave Dickey asks in his latest column.
He writes: "If you’re like me, food expiration labels provide more puzzlement than clarity. Just what the heck do these all really mean? 'Use By?' 'Expires On?' 'Use Before?' 'Sell By?' 'Best If Used By/Before?' 'Expiration Date?' Good gosh ball of confusion. And most folks agree that all that confusion leads to perfectly good food going into the dumpster by the semi-truck load."
Read more.
In 2022, the farm bankruptcy rate in the U.S. was the lowest since the Chapter 12 process was made permanent in 2005, according to data from federal bankruptcy records.
This continues a trend of significant declines that began when farm bankruptcies fell more than 50% between 2020 and 2021.
Other news
The following story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an editorially independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report For America and funded by the Walton Family Foundation. Investigate Midwest is part of this network.
From factory to field, fertilizer is a huge source of planet-warming emissions
But the emissions footprint of nitrogen fertilizers doesn’t stop at the factory; planet-warming gases arise throughout the fertilizer’s life cycle. According to a study, only about 41% of emissions come from the process of making and shipping fertilizer from places like CF Industries’ Donaldsonville Complex. The majority are generated from farm fields after the fertilizer is spread.
Read more.
This story is by the Columbia Missourian. This is the third in a series, "The Price of Plenty."
First story: A lifetime of research links Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ to Midwest fertilizer runoff
Second story: Fertilizer plants add to toxic loads in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’
Who owns Iowa farmland? In many cases, it’s not farmers.
The sense that Iowa’s agricultural land is both scarce and gaining in value has driven the average price to a record-setting $11,400 per acre last year. Now Iowa farmers are bidding not only against neighbors, but out-of-state investors including professional athletes, well-known billionaires and the Mormon Church.
This story is by Erin Jordan of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
