Every January, the “in-session” map on our state legislative and regulatory tracking service starts to light up as most state legislatures open for business. By mid-February, 45 states are in regular session and one state is in a special session. These next few months, we will certainly be busy tracking bills and working with state and regional associations to minimize negative impacts brought on the industry by overly ambitious legislators.
Today, the American Feed Industry Association’s Leah Wilkinson participated in a virtual public meeting on the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine's (CVM) role in the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ (AAFCO) feed ingredient definition process. This issue is of importance to the animal food industry as the AFIA strongly believes that AAFCO and CVM should continue to work together to ascertain the safety of our animal food products.
Wow, we’re already in week two of the new year, and I am still getting used to writing “2023.” Before we completely wrap up 2022, I wanted to briefly share an interesting development that happened just prior to everyone putting up their out of office messages for the holidays. In late December, the American Feed Industry Association submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), asking the agency to expand the expertise and use of the feed management standard in current government conservation programs.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with the new executive director of the Assocation of American Feed Control Officials, Austin Therrell, on his plans for the industry.
On Tuesday, the American Feed Industry Association’s Louise Calderwood participated in a listening session at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine on the regulation of animal foods with certain claims. This issue is one the AFIA has been following for quite some time (see related blog posts here and here), given its hindrance to getting products to the marketplace that would help the U.S. get one step closer to meeting its food security and climate goals.
Remember the opening scene from the iconic television series, Star Trek? You know the one, where the Starship Enterprise glides by as the narrator exclaims that her intrepid crew will “boldly go where no man has gone before!” What the average viewer might not know is that the fictional craft USS Enterprise’s inaugural voyage started in 2245 and by the time her third pilot, the illustrious James T. Kirk, manned her helm in 2264, she had been engaged in interplanetary exploration for 19 years. Almost as long as the American Feed Industry Association has been urging the Food and Drug Administration to modernize its approach to the use of marketing claims for innovative animal food additives with proven efficacy and safety!
Congress is working their way back to Washington, D.C., over the next several days to do their fall rush of work in the few legislative days available before the election. The House only has 11 days that they are in session between now and Nov. 8, while the Senate is around all of September and two weeks in October. No matter how much they are in town, it’s a given that there will be a mad dash of activity to complete the legislative work by the necessary deadlines or they will give themselves some wiggle room to complete the work later in the year when more is known after the election
This week, the American Feed Industry Association’s President and CEO Constance Cullman penned an op-ed in The Hill on the Food and Drug Administration’s “archaic” policy for reviewing environmentally beneficial animal feed and feed ingredients, which has put U.S. farmers at a competitive disadvantage globally. She said it is time for the agency to develop a solution that allows these products to come to market quickly so that farmers can use them now.
Twice a year, those interested in the animal food regulatory space make the trek to attend the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) meetings. Sometimes those treks require patience while traveling through blizzards in the winter. Sometimes, it requires fortitude to handle being in business clothes instead of in shorts watching a baseball game during the summer. For both meetings, it requires preparation from all parties to make sure the AAFCO business gets due consideration and discussion. Your American Feed Industry Association staff are there on your behalf and are busy preparing for the upcoming AAFCO annual meeting, happening Aug. 3-6 in St. Louis, Mo.
Dogs and cats have been part of my life ever since my parents brought a stray kitten home from the bustling streets of New York City. I realize how fortunate my family is to have the means to care for our pets including flying them to Europe when we moved abroad. Not all companion animals are blessed to have stable homes and not all pet owners have the means to cover the cost of routine care or find new homes when life changes force the surrender of loved animals. Subsidized programs to neuter and rehome pets and feral cats are part of a caring culture. But should the cost of these efforts be borne by pet food businesses through legislatively mandated taxation? My response is a firm “no.”