The recent surge in avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, cases among dairy herds across 12 U.S. states has escalated concerns about the potential for increased human infections, federal officials warned on Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (Usda) has reported the presence of the virus in 94 dairy herds since late March and stressed the need for enhanced biosecurity measures to contain the outbreak.
Nirav Shah, the principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emphasized the direct correlation between the spread of the virus among cattle and the risk to public health. “The more infections there are among cows, the more risk there is for infections to occur among humans,” Shah stated in a briefing with reporters.
The CDC has closely monitored over 500 individuals and tested at least 45 during the current outbreak, with three dairy farm workers testing positive for the virus.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (Usda) has reported the presence of the virus in 94 dairy herds since late March and stressed the need for enhanced biosecurity measures to contain the outbreak.
Nirav Shah, the principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emphasized the direct correlation between the spread of the virus among cattle and the risk to public health. “The more infections there are among cows, the more risk there is for infections to occur among humans,” Shah stated in a briefing with reporters.
The CDC has closely monitored over 500 individuals and tested at least 45 during the current outbreak, with three dairy farm workers testing positive for the virus.
- 6/15/2024
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Kansas senator Pat Roberts learned an important lesson: always keep your phone on vibrate or silent during important meetings. He experienced one of our worst nightmares when his phone started blaring during an important financial hearing. And worst still, his ringtone was none other than the infamous tune from Frozen. People just can.t let this one go, Roberts. According to Entertainment Weekly, house representatives were in the middle of a hearing on U.S. tariff policy when this unfortunate mishap happened. Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, was in the middle of a statement when all of sudden Roberts goes, "Oh, come on!" Pulling out his cellphone, he revealed the muffled melodies to be Idina Menzel.s rendition of "Let It Go," the song that everyone who has ever turned on a television or a computer knows by heart. How did Vilsack take the interruption? By the...
- 4/17/2015
- cinemablend.com
Oops. U.S. senator and doting grandfather Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) was in a Disney mood on Thursday, apparently. His cell phone rang loudly during a Senate Finance Committee meeting, interrupting speaker Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. His ringtone? Frozen's "Let it Go." The blaring vocals by Idina Menzel were picked up by his table microphone, spurring scores of attendees to chuckle and Vilsack to crack a smile, as seen in videos posted by CNBC a NBC News' House of Representatives producer. "Ah, come on," a visibly embarrassed Roberts said. "Just let it go, mister," the 78-year-old added as he silenced his phone. "Sorry about...
- 4/16/2015
- E! Online
Conservative leaders got their panties in a knot after Obama ordered his administration to stop deporting Dream-Act eligible illegal immigrants. Here’s a brief rundown of conservative responses to the President’s executive order:
Steve King
On Mike Huckabee’s radio program, Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King announced his intentions to sue the Obama administration, claiming to have successfully sued his own state governor for a similar issue: "I have done it once in the past successfully when then-Governor Tom Vilsack thought he could legislate by executive order — and the case of King vs. Vilsack is in the books."
Maybe, but remember that King says a lot of things, factually incorrect things. Two years ago around this time, he said, "The president has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down the side of race—on the side that favors the black person." Around the same time,...
Steve King
On Mike Huckabee’s radio program, Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King announced his intentions to sue the Obama administration, claiming to have successfully sued his own state governor for a similar issue: "I have done it once in the past successfully when then-Governor Tom Vilsack thought he could legislate by executive order — and the case of King vs. Vilsack is in the books."
Maybe, but remember that King says a lot of things, factually incorrect things. Two years ago around this time, he said, "The president has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down the side of race—on the side that favors the black person." Around the same time,...
- 6/15/2012
- by David Barnett
- Celebsology
The First Lady is taking a trip to Virginia to discuss healthy school lunches tomorrow. Obama will be at Parktown Elementary School to talk about the Usda guidelines for school lunches. She will be joined by Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and celebrity chef, Rachael Ray.
The new Usda guidelines include portions, whole-grain foods, and a larger focus on fruits and vegetables. They are also looking to limit milk by including only low-fat or fat-free.
At the talk, Ray will be cooking a healthy meal that follows in the new guidelines to show parents and schools how easy and simple it can be to make a nutritious lunch.
...
The new Usda guidelines include portions, whole-grain foods, and a larger focus on fruits and vegetables. They are also looking to limit milk by including only low-fat or fat-free.
At the talk, Ray will be cooking a healthy meal that follows in the new guidelines to show parents and schools how easy and simple it can be to make a nutritious lunch.
...
- 1/24/2012
- by rnazarali
- Foodista
On Wednesday, January 25, First Lady Michelle Obama will be joined by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va to speak with parents about Usda’s new nutrition standards for school lunches.
These new standards seek to ensure kids are offered fruits and vegetables every day of the week, increase the offerings of whole grain-rich foods, offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties, as well as focusing on proper portions.
Celebrity cook Rachael Ray will be serving a healthy, delicious meal that meets new and improved nutrition standards for school lunches. Following their remarks, Mrs. Obama and the Secretary will then join students for lunch.
Read more...
These new standards seek to ensure kids are offered fruits and vegetables every day of the week, increase the offerings of whole grain-rich foods, offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties, as well as focusing on proper portions.
Celebrity cook Rachael Ray will be serving a healthy, delicious meal that meets new and improved nutrition standards for school lunches. Following their remarks, Mrs. Obama and the Secretary will then join students for lunch.
Read more...
- 1/23/2012
- Look to the Stars
Liberal radio and TV host Thom Hartmann took on the gang at Fox & Friends this week over the stimulative properties of food stamps and unemployment benefits. Fox & Friends, along with other conservative media, criticized Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's remarks that food stamps are "the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times." Hartmann responded with the usual bag of tricks: facts and logic.
- 8/21/2011
- by Tommy Christopher
- Mediaite - TV
The Usda replaced the food pyramid with a new nutritional icon called MyPlate. Foodies and nutritionists, from Padma Lakshmi to the South Beach Diet creator, weigh in on the redesign.
The Usda unveiled its new food pyramid on Thursday, and as it turns out, it's not a pyramid at all. The decades old nutritional icon has been replaced with an easier-to-understand symbol: a plate, divided into sections for fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. The new symbol has been in development for two years and comes with a new website: choosemyplate.gov.
Related story on The Daily Beast: 9 Unhealthiest Takeout Foods
Why the change? Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack said the old pyramid was accurate, but too complex to be useful. First Lady Michelle Obama, who helped reveal "MyPlate," said, "Parents don't have the time to measure out exactly three ounces of chicken or to look up how much rice or broccoli is in a serving.
The Usda unveiled its new food pyramid on Thursday, and as it turns out, it's not a pyramid at all. The decades old nutritional icon has been replaced with an easier-to-understand symbol: a plate, divided into sections for fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. The new symbol has been in development for two years and comes with a new website: choosemyplate.gov.
Related story on The Daily Beast: 9 Unhealthiest Takeout Foods
Why the change? Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack said the old pyramid was accurate, but too complex to be useful. First Lady Michelle Obama, who helped reveal "MyPlate," said, "Parents don't have the time to measure out exactly three ounces of chicken or to look up how much rice or broccoli is in a serving.
- 6/4/2011
- by The Daily Beast
- The Daily Beast
With the help of First Lady Michelle Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin unveiled the replacement for the archaic Food Pyramid with a new “Nutrition Plate” at a news conference in Washington. MyPlate will be used in a campaign to “encourage people to make half their plate fruit and vegetable, avoid oversize portions, [and] enjoy their food but eat less of it and to drink water instead of sugary drinks.” While the First Lady’s ambitions are appreciated, we don’t feel she’s necessarily being thorough enough to clearly illustrate to the American diet just what we should actually eat. Keep in mind, we are a country that actually sells things called “Bugles,” “Munchos,” and “Dipsy Doodles” to children (mmmmm Buuuuugles) (they fit on your fingers!), so we could use something a tad more direct. We’ve saved the First Lady and team time by just doing it ourselves.
- 6/3/2011
- by Eliot Glazer
- BestWeekEver
The secretary of state is on a mission: putting women's rights at the forefront of a rapidly emerging new world order. In this week's Newsweek, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon talks to Clinton about the greatest role of her lifetime. Plus, see the results of Newsweek's survey about the most admired women in America.
Hillary Clinton seemed to be in a rare moment of repose while the Middle East erupted. She'd just returned from a surprise trip to Yemen and now sat for 30 minutes against a blue backdrop in the State Department's Washington broadcast studio as reports streamed in of Libya's violent crackdown on its own people.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Al Qaeda Smells Blood
But Clinton was far from a passive observer. She was in energetic discussion on the Egyptian news site Masrawy.com, where her presence excited a stream of questions-more than 6,500 in three days-from young people across Egypt.
Hillary Clinton seemed to be in a rare moment of repose while the Middle East erupted. She'd just returned from a surprise trip to Yemen and now sat for 30 minutes against a blue backdrop in the State Department's Washington broadcast studio as reports streamed in of Libya's violent crackdown on its own people.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Al Qaeda Smells Blood
But Clinton was far from a passive observer. She was in energetic discussion on the Egyptian news site Masrawy.com, where her presence excited a stream of questions-more than 6,500 in three days-from young people across Egypt.
- 3/7/2011
- by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
- The Daily Beast
Yesterday, we put up a post discussing allegations from the Organic Consumers Association (Oca) that Stonyfield Farm, Organic Valley, and Whole Foods broke away from the organic community to support "co-existence" with Monsanto's genetically modified alfalfa, a toxic pesticide-resistant crop used as hay for cattle. Now Stonyfield and Organic Valley have responded to explain their point of view on what really happened in the battle against Ge alfalfa.
In a nutshell: These companies, as well as a number of others in the organic and biotech communities, have been involved in talks with the Usda in an attempt to reach a consensus on Ge alfalfa. Stonyfield CEO Gary Hirshberg points out that contrary to the Oca's allegation that Stonyfield, Organic Valley, and Whole Foods split from the organic community, "the full spectrum of organic interests were in that room" when Usda Secretary Tom Vilsack convened the Alfalfa Production Co-Existence Forum this past December.
In a nutshell: These companies, as well as a number of others in the organic and biotech communities, have been involved in talks with the Usda in an attempt to reach a consensus on Ge alfalfa. Stonyfield CEO Gary Hirshberg points out that contrary to the Oca's allegation that Stonyfield, Organic Valley, and Whole Foods split from the organic community, "the full spectrum of organic interests were in that room" when Usda Secretary Tom Vilsack convened the Alfalfa Production Co-Existence Forum this past December.
- 2/4/2011
- by Ariel Schwartz
- Fast Company
In a move that threatens the organic meat and milk industries, the Usda last week approved the planting of Monsanto's genetically modified alfalfa, a crop used mainly as hay for cattle. Most organic farmers oppose the decision, but Forbes and the Organic Consumers Association (Oca) have brought our attention to an unsettling bit of information: Whole Food Markets, Stonyfield Farm, and Organic Valley--three of the biggest natural food brands--split with the rest of the organic community and opted to support "co-existence" with Monsanto's alfalfa. What does this mean?
In an email sent last week to customers, Whole Foods explains its stance:
So, faced with the choice between full deregulation of Ge alfalfa or conditional deregulation of it, our best chance at preserving seed purity, and the future of organic and non-ge agriculture now is to fight for every protection available under the Usda’s conditional deregulation coexistence option.
That means...
In an email sent last week to customers, Whole Foods explains its stance:
So, faced with the choice between full deregulation of Ge alfalfa or conditional deregulation of it, our best chance at preserving seed purity, and the future of organic and non-ge agriculture now is to fight for every protection available under the Usda’s conditional deregulation coexistence option.
That means...
- 2/2/2011
- by Ariel Schwartz
- Fast Company
Welcome to the No Fact Zone’s new column on musical performances on the Colbert report. Stephen is quite the entertainer, and also has fantastic musical guests from a variety of genres and backgrounds on the Report. Check back at the end of each week for a round-up of music in the show!
While there was not a great deal of musical performance (well any, really) last week, there were a few tasty bits of music with callbacks to other tv shows and forms of entertainment that you may have missed. So sit back, enjoy some Cheerios, and be wary of any evil twins that may be waiting in the kitchen …
Tuesday:
Oh Cheerios!
As Stavros and Pavros fought a melodramatic battle involving kitty litter, toaster strudels, and Cheerios they were underscored by a synthesizer sound borrowed directly from soaps and radio. That sustained, organy sound dates way, way, way back,...
While there was not a great deal of musical performance (well any, really) last week, there were a few tasty bits of music with callbacks to other tv shows and forms of entertainment that you may have missed. So sit back, enjoy some Cheerios, and be wary of any evil twins that may be waiting in the kitchen …
Tuesday:
Oh Cheerios!
As Stavros and Pavros fought a melodramatic battle involving kitty litter, toaster strudels, and Cheerios they were underscored by a synthesizer sound borrowed directly from soaps and radio. That sustained, organy sound dates way, way, way back,...
- 12/6/2010
- by emilyooo
- No Fact Zone
Happy Sunday, everyone! It was a light news week around here, but if you’ve been busy celebrating the joy of Hanukkah, or getting all your Christmas shopping done, or compiling a list of grievances for Festivus, we’ve got a quick round-up of everything you missed. Here’s All You Need to Know:
Episode Guides:
Fantasy Colbert League Weekly Episode 6150 – Guest Dan Savage Episode 6151 – Guest Tom Vilsack Episode 6152 – Guest Michele Rhee Episode 6153 – Guest David Stockman
No Fact Zone features:
Four Horsemen of the Apopcalypse Fangirl Suit Report Daily Show Toss Recap
Mainstream Media:
Let’s all play a game of Fox News Fail
Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist:
Stephen answers fan questions on Reddit Northwestern Alumni Magazine gives us the Real Stephen Colbert You have to admit, he does look gouda Six Degrees: Eric Drysdale presents The Man With F.E.E.E.T. Six Degrees: Neil DeGrasse Tyson interviews...
Episode Guides:
Fantasy Colbert League Weekly Episode 6150 – Guest Dan Savage Episode 6151 – Guest Tom Vilsack Episode 6152 – Guest Michele Rhee Episode 6153 – Guest David Stockman
No Fact Zone features:
Four Horsemen of the Apopcalypse Fangirl Suit Report Daily Show Toss Recap
Mainstream Media:
Let’s all play a game of Fox News Fail
Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist:
Stephen answers fan questions on Reddit Northwestern Alumni Magazine gives us the Real Stephen Colbert You have to admit, he does look gouda Six Degrees: Eric Drysdale presents The Man With F.E.E.E.T. Six Degrees: Neil DeGrasse Tyson interviews...
- 12/6/2010
- by nerdygirl
- No Fact Zone
Television's an interesting mix tonight; most of you are probably tuning into the extra jumbo sized season finale of "Sons of Anarchy" but for any of you out there who aren't watching it, the tide of shitty Christmas specials is going strong and there's something involving some chicks in fancy underwear. And Bob Saget has a new show because apparently what the world has been waiting for is more Danny Tanner in their television lives. Actually, since Uncle Jesse is also back on "Glee" we've only got another five cast members to go before the whole "Full House" crew gets back on TV, but since at least one of them is a meth addict, two are fashion victims of the highest order, and DJ has disappeared from any radar I'm aware of, I don't see that happening soon. And that's your dose of 90's sitcom nostalgia for the day. Here's...
- 11/30/2010
- by Intern Rusty
This morning, Matt Lauer conducted an impassioned interview with Shirley Sherrod, the Georgia-based official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Obama appointee who was asked to resign after a story she told this March at an NAACP dinner about her initial hesitance to help a white farmer save his land more than 20 years ago was taken out of context by a conservative activist and the Fox News Channel to make her look racist.
“I don’t know who to blame here, Ms. Sherrod. I mean, the activist who put forward this garbage in the first place has an agenda,...
“I don’t know who to blame here, Ms. Sherrod. I mean, the activist who put forward this garbage in the first place has an agenda,...
- 7/21/2010
- by Mandi Bierly
- EW.com - PopWatch
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