Gerald Fry, a popular speaker on animal genetic issues, and Teddy Gentry, a member of the country band Alabama, plan to start a vertically integrated grassfed beef company called American Prairie Beef. Other participants are Dr. Ronald Bolze, a seedstock producer, Tom German, a leading Iowa grassfed producer and Myron Wolff, a South Dakota seedstock producer. The company plans on using the correct grass genetics and extensive producer education to ensure that only tender and high quality grassfed meats are the end product. A vertically integrated marketing and production company is proposed with the meats sold under their own brand. The company is currently conducting an equity drive soliciting qualified investors via a Disclosure Statement.

After a 15 city listening tour across the country on the subject of animal disease traceability, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack has decided a State administered program would be better than one run out of Washington. In the future the USDA’s efforts will only apply to animals moved in interstate commerce and will be administered by the States and Tribal Nations. One of the USDA’s first steps will be to convene a forum with animal health leaders for the States and Tribal Nations to initiate a dialogue about the possible ways of achieving the flexible coordinated approach they envision. Additionally, the USDA will be revamping the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health to address specific issues, such as confidentiality and liability. Mark Kastel of the Cornucopia Institute in Wisconsin said the USDA announcement is an "all too rare victory of the nation’s farmers over the political power of corporate agribusiness.

The USDA’s first in-depth survey of America’s organic farms found that there are currently only 4.1 million acres that are USDA Certified Organic. This is less than one percent of America’s 922 million acres of farmland. However, this small amount of land generates $3.16 billion dollars in sales and is one of America’s hottest growth areas in food marketing. The survey tallied 14,450 farms that were either certified or exempt under the USDA’s organic rules. This compares to 2.2 million farms of all types.

Fast food sales are fallling at many chains due to high unemployment among 18 to 34 males which make up their primary customer base according to The Wall Street Journal. Sales at Burger King restaurants are down 4.6% in the three months that ended September 30 and sales at Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr where down 3.7%. Young people are increasingly cooking at home more and dining out only on the weekends. Noah Rubin, a 28 year old Seattle man, said this new eating pattern is saving him $100 a week. On average 18 to 34 year olds went to fast food chains about 13 times per month from January to September 2009. This is down from almost 19 times per month in 2006.

Michael Pollan’s newest book just came out last week. It’s entitled Food Rules, An Eater’s Manual. Grassfed producers will particularly like Rule 27 - "Eat animals that have themselves eaten well." Pollan said the feeding of high grain diets changes the nutritional quality and healthfulness of not only ruminant animals, but also pigs and chickens. He said all animals are healthier when they have access to green plants - and so are their meat and eggs. The food from these animals will contain much healthier types of fat as well as appreciably higher levels of vitamins and antioxidants. Pollan concludes Rule 27 with the following advice, "It’s worth looking for pastured animal foods in the market - and paying the premium prices they typically command..."

The proposed regulation of health claims for foods in the USA and Europe has already stirred up a storm of protest over the health claims of various omega-3 fatty acids, The Economist in London, England reported. Jack Winkler of the Nutrition Policy Unit at London Metropolitan University says the proposed regulation would legalize deception of consumers about the healthfulness of omega-3 fatty acids and actually make the public’s health worse. Currently companies are allowed to advertise that a product is high in omega-3 fatty acids without differentiating whether these are long-chain or short-chain omega-3's. Short chain omega-3 fatty acids come from plant oils such as flax seed, olives, sunflowers and soybeans and are of questionable health value. It is the long chain omega-3's from fish oil and grassfed meats and milk that reduce the inflammation associated with many diseases including strokes and arthritis. Currently, most "health" food products are adding cheap short chain omega-3's to create their health "story." Also, some food products have the correct long chain omega-3's but are much higher in omega -6. For example, margarine made from plant oils was promoted as a healthy alternative to saturated fat butter while ignoring that margarine is very high in omega 6, while grassfed butter is a good source of healthful long-chain omega-3. The Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union said the labeling of omega-3 should make it clear which type is contained in a product. Albert Flynn of the European Food Safety Authority said this issue will take care of itself under the proposed regulations because only those products with long chain omega-3's will be able to provide any evidence to support health claims.