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The story that grabbed my attention last week was a class action lawsuit against Taco Bell challenging the actual beef content in the chain’s beef tacos. Taco Bell responded with what appeared to be an example of public relations crisis management at its best, but with one major flaw: in rebutting the lawsuit Taco Bell appears to have trashed its product.

The false advertising lawsuit claims that the “seasoned ground beef” in Taco Bell’s crunchy taco, beefy ground burrito and other products doesn’t actually meet the minimum requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be labeled as “beef.” Taco Bell responded quickly with its “thank you for suing us” ads stating that the filling was indeed beef with added seasonings.

Reprinted by permission from the Organic Consumers Association

In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto’s Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation’s 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America’s organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it’s time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto’s controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for “coexistence” with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.

In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and “seed purity,” gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the “conditional deregulation” of Monsanto’s genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the regulatory euphemism of “conditional deregulation,” this means that WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop, alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.

Dale Nelson and his family raise Animal Welfare Approved laying hens and beef cattle in Wadesboro, North Carolina. Dale grew up on a farm in South Dakota and has been farming since 1955. On the climatic difference between South Dakota and North Carolina Dale says it’s like “going from your freezer to your living room.” Needless to say, he is happy with the move. Dale has also worked for Caterpillar, Inc., the large equipment manufacturer, which has given him a wealth of skills that prove useful around the farm.

The Raleigh News & Observer’s restaurant critic Greg Cox came out with his annual recognition for local restaurants today. Topping the list as “Restaurant of the Year” is the new Bella Mia, the coal-fired pizzeria in Cary, NC. According to Cox, “Its blistery-crusted pies immediately raised the bar far above anything the area has ever seen.” AWA is proud to announce that all of the beef used by Bella Mia is supplied by Rare Earth Farms of Zebulon, NC.

Animal Welfare Approved farms also supplying Gold, Silver and “Best in Class” award winners include Border Springs Farm (lamb), Cane Creek Farm (pork), Captain John S. Pope Farm (lamb), Cohen Farm (eggs), Fowl Attitude Farm (eggs), and High Ground Farm (eggs).

Now in its third year, the AWA Good Husbandry Grants program is helping promote innovative, forward thinking farming techniques that ultimately enhance farm viability. Twenty-eight grants have been awarded to farms and slaughter plants across the nation to improve animal welfare and allow pasture-based farmers to increase productivity for their operations.

The 2010-2011 Good Husbandry Grants range from $600 to $6000 and were open to current Animal Welfare Approved farmers and those who have applied to join the program, as well as slaughter plants working with or seeking to work with AWA farmers. The funding priorities included genetic improvement for pasture-based systems; outdoor access and mobile housing; welfare improvements in the slaughter process; non-lethal predator control and other innovative projects that improve the welfare of animals.

The news that scientists think it is possible to genetically modify a chicken to make it resistant to avian influenza–also known as “bird flu”– had me spitting feathers. Talk about treating the symptoms and not the cause!

A BBC news piece on January 13 highlights the gallant efforts of scientists to cure the scourge of bird flu using GM technology. Researchers from a joint project between Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities have inserted an artificial gene into chicken cells that would make a chicken resistant to bird flu. The scientists go on to say that they think the potential to protect any farm animal from any viral disease is now only a test tube away. Professor Helen Sang said, “This is really exciting because bird flu is a real challenge to poultry production and if it were introduced to poultry breeding it would protect our large scale production flocks from avian influenza.”

Chad Chester and his family have been working on Chester Farm in the rural community of Pocahontas, Arkansas for decades. His grandfather bought the land back in the 1940s. Now Chad and his family are raising horned Hereford cows and a sturdy mixed breed of cattle to produce excellent beef products. Chad is determined to keep the farm in his family, and is doing so by working hard to maintain its top reputation.

Leona Grearson Bizzozero has been raising poultry since 2003, but she has been embedded in agriculture, in one way or another, for her entire life. Leona is currently raising Animal Welfare Approved laying hens – Rhode Island Reds, Araucanas and Barred Rocks – at HespeGarden Ranch & Rescue, LLC, her ranch and rescue operation in Washington, VT.

Swope Cattle Company raises grassfed beef cattle in the lush hills of the Midwest. Cattle are raised outdoors with the highest welfare standards, eating fresh grass and enjoying the sunshine of east-central Missouri, just north of the Mark Twain National Forest. Swope Cattle Company is an independent family farm that prides itself on high-welfare management and quality grassfed beef.