OMG, it’s Mark Ruffalo! At a screening of Gasland, the charming Ruffalo takes time out for a photo with Food & Water Watch staff member Lauren Wright. Ruffalo will be wearing a water drop lapel pin at the Oscars to get people talking about protecting our water. Photo contributed by photographer Ian Hall.

We don’t usually think too much about the Academy Awards around here. (Well, I guess that’s not entirely true since Food Inc. was nominated last year.) This year, we again have good reason to look forward to the good ‘ole Oscars: Gasland, a documentary by Josh Fox about the negative impacts of natural gas drilling or fracking, was nominated for Best Documentary Film. Food & Water Watch regularly sponsors screenings of the film and we’d like to offer Josh a hearty congratulations for creating a powerful film and for bringing attention to this critical issue. We are proud to be associated with this project. READ FULL POST

As you all know, it’s budget time in Washington, D.C. As far as the issues that we work on here at Food & Water Watch, the President’s proposed budget for 2012 is nothing short of disappointing and frustrating. The Obama administration has determined that providing the nation with funds for public services that were once considered vital to our population is no longer a priority for the government. Let’s break it down…

Food Safety

The proposed 2012 budget allocates $1.02 billion for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), $9 million less than 2011. But, according to FSIS’s own report, there will be a need for more inspectors to keep up with increases in food processing in 2012 — the total volume of meat and poultry slaughter will each increase by over 250 million pounds. Even egg production will increase from 4,066 million to 4,074 million pounds. Remember the egg recall last summer? Instead of offering increased funds to FSIS for food safety, the Obama administration decided to offer an increased risk of food contamination by not increasing the number of inspectors in egg processing facilities.

USDA is also responsible for catfish inspections, for which the proposed budget also reduces funding. In 2008, negotiations over the Farm Bill included the creation of a new catfish inspection program, a mandate given to the USDA. The FDA, which only inspects about 2 percent of all imports, was previously responsible for inspection of fish, including catfish. Last year, U.S. catfish farmers united to ask Congress to implement the regulation of catfish at the USDA and demanded tougher inspections. The implementation of this program is now 14 months overdue and, thanks to Obama’s proposed budget, the funding for it has been significantly reduced. READ FULL POST