McDonald’s in 2015 launched a billboard campaign in Canada profiling products made using Canadian meat and potatoes. (Dave Bedard photo)

McDonald’s sets new welfare standards for chicken suppliers

Chicago | Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. will require suppliers to improve the living conditions and slaughter process for chickens raised to be served in its restaurants, the company said on Friday, the latest changes affecting popular menu items such as McNuggets. Under new guidelines for animal welfare, suppliers such as Tyson Foods and Cargill must […] Read more


(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Tyson to test new method to stun chickens

Chicago | Reuters — Tyson Foods will test a new way to render chickens unconscious before slaughter, the company said Wednesday, in the latest sign that heightened concerns about animal welfare are affecting U.S. meat processors. Within the next year, Tyson, the biggest U.S. chicken company, will launch a pilot program at two processing plants […] Read more

(GreaterOmaha.com)

U.S. beef speeds to China by air as ban ends

Chicago | Reuters –– The first shipment of U.S. beef to China under a new trade deal went airborne on Wednesday, a Nebraska meat company said, just two days after Washington finalized details to resume exports, ending a 14-year ban. Greater Omaha Packing Co. said it shipped beef by plane to China from Nebraska, a […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Bird flu found in Tennessee chicken flock

Reuters — A strain of bird flu has been detected in a chicken breeder flock on a Tennessee farm contracted to U.S. food giant Tyson Foods, and the 73,500 birds will be culled to stop the virus from entering the food system, government and company officials said on Sunday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said […] Read more



NASA’s Terra satellite observes Post-Tropical Cyclone Matthew being absorbed by a cold front along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard on Oct. 9 at 11:45 a.m. ET. (NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team)

Millions of chickens reported dead in Hurricane Matthew floods

Chicago | Reuters — Flooding from Hurricane Matthew has killed up to five million poultry birds in North Carolina, most of them chickens, the state’s top environmental official said Wednesday. Donald van der Vaart, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, also told Reuters that some pits that hold hog waste on farms […] Read more

(KraveJerky.com)

Slumping U.S. meat prices help feed appetite for jerky

Chicago | Reuters — With prices for U.S. livestock on the decline due to larger cattle and hog herds, meat processors are jumping on the jerky bandwagon. In recent years, dried-meat snacks have gained popularity as Americans embrace diets packed with protein and less sugar and fat. Jerky has overcome its image as a highly […] Read more



(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

China to resume imports from U.S. pork plants

Chicago | Reuters — China, the world’s largest pork consumer, will soon resume imports from 14 U.S. pork plants and warehouses, after halting some shipments last year over the use of a feed additive, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday. USDA did not provide a date on which China will resume the imports. China’s […] Read more