Food Safety Bill & Problem Lightning

Food Safety Bill & Problem Lightning plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

The food safety bill that passed the House last Thursday faces an uphill struggle in the Senate. A possible log jam includes healthcare reform and a climate change bill. Food Safety legislation already introduced in the Senate by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has attracted co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle and could be a vehicle in the Senate. Many groups are rallying including the National Pork Producers Council. Director of Science and Technology Dr. Jen Greiner says that’s why education is so important. And she says having Members of Congress home for the August recess presents a great opportunity for producers to do just that.

GREINER: As our producers see their members of Congress we would just ask that they go up and one, thank them for their support obviously of the U.S. pork industry but then two, really talk about the importance of antibiotics, why we use them, how we work with our veterinarians, why we are using those tool responsibly.

More than 6,400 lightning strikes are reported to have started 122 new wildfires in Oregon, most of them very small. More than a week of above-average temperatures has left Oregon's forests extremely dry. In the 24 hours ending Monday morning, The Oregonian reports the state saw 6,458 lightning strikes. Most of the central Oregon fires were kept to less than a tenth of an acre. Another 20 fires were reported Monday morning and fire bosses attacked them quickly.

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

For the youngest generation the new “Back to Nature” school lunch kits seem like a perfectly wonderful new and innovative idea for cutting down on school lunch waste. For those in my generation who carried school lunch boxes that included our own stainless steel thermos, reusable sandwich containers, and a Mom included cloth napkin, it’s a bit of déjà-vu. We do indeed seem to have come nearly full circle in the effort to live “greener” lives. Glass bottles for beverages are making a come back as is paper over plastic for fast food take out. Reusable shopping bags are of course one of the first things that comes to mind in the effort to go green. My family has acquired a large and eclectic assortment of reusable bags over the last several years. Wearing cotton again after all these years of wearing synthetics is also rather refreshing, although the iron and I still are not on speaking terms. And Mom was definitely right about how nothing beats sleeping on sheets that have been hung out to dry. So while “going green” is new to some, there are a lot of us that are taking a trip down memory lane through greener living.

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