From the editors of Feedstuffs
Foreign animal disease prevention, preparedness legislation reintroduced
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) has reintroduced the Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance and Rapid Response Act. This legislation makes critical investments in the foremost animal health programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that are critical to protecting America’s farmers’ and ranchers’ livestock operations from devastating foreign animal diseases and pests. Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Don Davis (D-N.C.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.) are co-leading this legislation.
“As the representative of one of the largest animal agriculture districts in the country, I know how essential it is to ensure that the Department of Agriculture has the tools necessary to stay ahead of foreign animal disease outbreaks, not just react to them,” said Jackson. "With the threat of New World screwworm moving closer to our southern border and USDA being required to halt live animal imports from Mexico, proactive investment is critical to protect our agricultural producers, our rural economies and our food supply.”
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Consumers seem confident in their ability to identify healthy foods and understand that what they eat directly influences their overall health. Even so, new data shows that the average American adult has an unhealthy diet, according to the May Consumer Food Insights Report.
The survey-based report from Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS) assesses food spending, consumer satisfaction and values, support of agricultural and food policies and trust in information sources. Purdue experts conducted and evaluated the survey, which included 1,200 consumers across the U.S.
The May edition explores consumer perceptions of and preferences for healthy foods. CFDAS conducted last month’s survey during a national media discussion that spotlighted issues related to health and the use of GLP-1 for weight control and blood-sugar regulation.Read more
Lab-grown salmon passes FDA safety test
By Kristin BakkerWildtype Foods, a San Francisco-based cultivated seafood company, recently shared that it passed the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s pre-market safety assessment of its cell-cultured salmon.
FDA’s pre-market consultation process evaluates the safety of food made with cultured animal cells before it enters the market. It entails an evaluation of the production process and the resulting cultured cell material – including cell lines and cell banks – the manufacturing controls and all components and inputs, according to the agency.
Federal regulations require food products made with cultured animal cells under FDA’s jurisdiction to meet the same requirements as similar conventional food products, including for safety, facility registration and labeling.Wildtype first submitted a summary of its safety assessment to the agency in June 2022.
Two citizens of China — Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34 — were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements and visa fraud, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., along with Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Detroit, Mich., Division and Marty C. Raybon, Director of Field Operations for the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP).
The FBI arrested Jian in connection with allegations related to Jian’s and Liu’s smuggling into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon. This fungus causes head blight, a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year. Fusarium graminearum toxins cause vomiting, liver damage and reproductive defects in people and livestock.
Since 2019, the Institute on the Environment’s (IonE) Impact Goals grantmaking program has supported actionable sustainability research with more than $4 million in critical funding.
This year, seven new projects were accepted, which will receive a total of $1.13 million. The 2025 projects bring the Impact Goal grant portfolio to some $5.5 million in dispersals to 52 interdisciplinary teams across the state and the University of Minnesota (UMN) system, all working toward solutions to pressing environmental challenges.
Of the projects approved for 2025, one has direct relevance to the animal agriculture and the food system. It is a project evaluating and promoting the multiple sustainability and One Health benefit of seaweed in animal feed.
The use of seaweed in animal feed presents a number of environmental and economic benefits. However, due to inadequate supply and uncertainty of economic sustainability, compared to East and Southeast Asia, the U.S. and European animal feed and livestock industries haven’t given much consideration to the use of seaweed as a significant long-term feed resource. Read more
De La Cruz bill protects Texas livestock from screwworm
Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the New World Screwworm Preparedness Act to direct U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to conduct a study and report strategies to enhance preparedness and response capabilities against potential outbreaks of New World screwworm (NWS).
The legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and referred to the House Agriculture Committee on June 6, 2025.Read more