5 ms·
USDA is closing buildings, relocating staff, and downsizing-a lot
- aa_is_op 8mo agoYou get what you vote for. Enjoy!
- xnx 8mo agoMore AI layoffs /s
- apothegm 8mo agoPrepare for a major drop in what was already spread-too-thin enforcement of what are fairly low quality and safety standards relative to the rest of the developed world.
- tencentshill 8mo agoBut metal shavings add so much flavour to my meals! It really makes eating an exciting adventure.
- quentindanjou 8mo agoTime to become a GI doctor!
- SoftTalker 8mo agoJust grow your own food. /s
- mothballed 8mo agoWith poor enforcement, it would be nice if at least I could buy my meat directly from the farmer I know where at least I can see the facilities for myself, but they have made that illegal -- no you must buy it through one of the poorly enforced USDA approved slaughterhouses that I have no personal connection to.
- bognition 8mo agoInteresting, where are you running into trouble buying meat from local farmers? I've often visit rural farms that have a store houses. Nearly all of them haver refrigerators and freezers with meat to buy.
- CGMthrowaway 8mo agoThere is currently a bill in Congress trying to address (some of) that: https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/family_grocery_and_farmer_relief_act__section-by-section_3526.pdf https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/family_grocer... And also milk: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8374 https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8374
- magicalist 8mo ago> And also milk: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8374 https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8374 lol yes what we really need right now is unregulated interstate sales of raw milk. Luckily that was introduced in 2024 (last congress) and went nowhere.
- delichon 8mo agoI buy beef in bulk from a rancher, who sends me to get it from a USDA approved slaughterhouse. Which is a small family operation, so I've gotten to know them well too. They raise the most delicious lamb I've ever tasted.
- whoiskevin 8mo agoNever had any problem buying from local farms. Not sure where that is illegal.
- ne0flex 8mo agoYour comment reminded me of this book called, "everything I want to do is illegal" [1] written by a farmer that talks about his annoyances with the US food system and how regulations favor corporate farming. [1] https://tinyurl.com/hb95amyw https://tinyurl.com/hb95amyw
- xbar 8mo agoListeria? Who's she?
- JumpCrisscross 8mo ago> Prepare for a major drop in what was already spread-too-thin enforcement Genuine question: do we have historical analogs or studies for the costs and benefits of concentrated versus decentralised regulation?
- Freedom2 8mo agoInteresting. In my experience, the US still has one of highest food qualities in the world, especially when you take into account it's diversity and variety. Sure, some things get missed here and there, but it's also a lot easier to be safe and consistent if you aren't producing the types of food the US is.
- DougN7 8mo agoI guess it depends on what you mean by safe. My wife gets a lot of migraines from a lot of foods in the US (less so if she can get organic). When we travel through Europe she can eat anything without triggering a migraine. I’ve read the US allows about 10X more chemicals (pesticides? fertilizers?) than the EU, so we assume this is the difference.
- rayiner 8mo agoIf we have a $7 trillion national government, we should spread out the jobs instead of concentrating them in DC. It’s becoming The Capitol from Hunger Games. There’s no reason USDA of all agencies should have thousands of employees in DC.
- showerst 8mo agoI agree with this approach in general, but in reality this is just thinly veiled layoffs. If you have thousands of career employees with houses and kids in school and you tell them to move to Ogden Utah or lose their jobs, they're going to react as you'd expect. For greenfield projects though, or things like the FBI building that mix prime real estate with an outdated campus, spread the love.
- 1234letshaveatw 8mo agoSo true, dispersing agencies would also help with housing availability and cost of living concerns. No question that the USDA should be in someplace like Iowa or Nebraska
- magicalist 8mo ago> So true, dispersing agencies would also help with housing availability and cost of living concerns and all the current employees that don't want to move are fungible?
- atroon 8mo ago> all the current employees that don't want to move are fungible? Honestly? Probably. No one is really all that special.
- JumpCrisscross 8mo ago> Honestly? Probably Why do you think specialist knowledge about crop and livestock management is that fungible? Particularly as it interfaces with the federal bureaucracy?
- Simulacra 8mo agoI think it makes sense to distribute the federal government across the country, rather than centralizing it all in Washington DC. Especially for something like agriculture. What's the downside?
- kube-system 8mo agoIt already is -- 90%+ of USDA employees are not in the DC area.
- xtiansimon 8mo agoPublic buildings on the mall and public lands. Reminds me of Robert Moses and the highways on Long Island. His Long Island State Park Commission had an opportunity to buy enough land to plan for light rail in the future. He refused to consider it, and now the region suffers for it. It was all about cars for Moses. Drump is all about the luxury real estate deal. Today there’s no mountain of money large enough to buy the land necessary to improve Long Island public transit on the North Shore. And once public lands are sold, they’re gone. Once public buildings are sold, they’ll be leased back to us. Plunder and congress does nothing.