Guelph beef processing plant announces layoffs (680 News) Guelph - More than 300 employees at the Better Beef processing centre in Guelph will be out of work by the end of this week. Cargill Ltd., which bought the plant nearly two years ago, announced Monday it would be trimming its workforce from about 1,100 staff to 800. [News Source]

Humane Society of US again scaring people away from good diets? (AG Weekly) The Humane Society of the U.S. has, for years, been trying to frighten people away from consuming meat, milk and eggs -- but its recent testimony before a congressional committee reached a new low when the HSUS president, Wayne Pacelle, made the unsupported claim that pigs could be harboring the infamous and deadly British ‘mad cow” disease. [News Source]

UK consumers lead green charge. If you take a trip to the UK these days, you'll be bombarded by green marketing messages. Airwaves, billboards and publications are thick with ads for environmentally friendly cars, food, banking and a multitude of other goods and services. [News Source]

Pastured a-plenty. The demand for dairy goods from farms that avoid antibiotics and growth hormones is soaring, and consumers are willing to pay the price. [News Source]

Beef Market Grows, Pork and Chicken Market Shrinks (donga.com) The import of American beef has resumed after the embargo on beef products initiated as a result of mad cow disease three and a half years ago. [News Source]

Sound Off! (Las Cruces Sun-News) I am not a police basher. I believe the community needs to support our police department. However, there is a clique of Storm Troopers running around that ought to be fired. I hope the Sun-News continues to report on the progress for the Citizens Review Board for the police department. [News Source]

By Traci Carl, Associated Press Writer Manufacturing.Net - July 23, 2007 (Logistics Management) MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexican cantaloupe irrigated with water from sewage-tainted rivers. Candy laced with lead. Chinese toothpaste is not the only concern for U.S. consumers wary of the health risks posed by imported goods. [News Source]

PASTURED APLENTY / Going organic: Demand for dairy goods from farms that avoid antibiotics and growth hormones is … (San Francisco Chronicle) Surrounded by cows in one of organic dairyman Tony Azevedo's pastures, visitors from the city are struck by a sound most of them have never heard -- stereophonic munching. The cows are eating ryegrass, clover, alfalfa -- as many as 70 different... [News Source]

Premise registration continues on plan (Iowa Farmer) Editor’s note: On Nov.. 22, the Bush administration pledged not to make a planned National Animal Identification System mandatory. However, that has not derailed movement toward a voluntary tracking system. [News Source]

Pastured a-plenty / Going organic: Demand for dairy goods from farms that avoid antibiotics and growth hormones is … (San Francisco Chronicle) Surrounded by cows in one of organic dairyman Tony Azevedo's pastures, visitors from the city are struck by a sound most of them have never heard -- stereophonic munching. The cows are eating ryegrass, clover, alfalfa -- as many as 70 different... [News Source]