Salmonella Outbreak and Wolf Delisting

Salmonella Outbreak and Wolf Delisting

Salmonella Outbreak and Wolf Delisting plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

A battle seems to be brewing in Washington State over the delisting of the gray wolf. The State Depart of Fish and Wildlife is backing the federal delisting of the wolf while state lawmakers are questioning the move. Lawmakers say that the bulk of the population support federal protection and says that they don't believe Fish and Wildlife sought any kind of public opinion before making the decision. State Fish & Wildlife Director Phil Anderson speaking to King 5 news said

ANDERSON: Wolf recovery in the state has certainly been one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult issues I've dealt with since I've been here. Se feel that the management of gray wolves in Washington should be left up to the State of Washington to manage through the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

I doubt we have heard the last of this story.

Well once again salmonella in chicken is responsible for over 270 illnesses in 18 states. The outbreak is linked to raw chicken products made at three California plants owned by Foster Farms that were distributed mostly to retail outlets in California, Oregon and Washington state. No recall is in effect. The CDC who would normally oversee the monitoring of the outbreak is short-staffed due to the government shutdown.

Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray.

I've been putting off writing this particular Food Forethought in the hopes that Congress would finally get their act together. I've come to the conclusion that "that just ain't gonna happen". Nearly half of 2 million federal workers are now on emergency furlough due to the completely avoidable government shutdown. Most of us are asking ourselves, "how did we get to this point?" Good question, especially when taking into account that for the past year Congress knew that the September 30th deadline for the budget was looming on the horizon. That and the fact that everyone agreed that sequestration was a very bad idea indeed. Why the President and Congress continue to point fingers, issue threats, and lay down demands while the country is crumbling is beyond me, and the majority of their constituents as well. It is nothing short of "school yard bullying tactics". Most of us moved beyond this type of behavior once we were out of our teens. No wonder Gallup reported that Congress' approval rating in August was a shameful 11%. And the President has nothing to gloat over either when it comes to approval ratings; as of last week his was less than 45%, and falling fast.

Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.

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