Health

Standards for Organic Seafood Coming This Year, USDA Says

Published

11 years ago

April 16, 2015

EU certified organic farm-raised easy peel shrimp are for sale on a tray at the Wegmans, Friday, April 10, 2015 in Fairfax, Va. Organic fish is certified in the EU and Canada because the US doesn’t have any standard. After more than a decade of delays, the government is moving toward allowing the sale of U.S.-raised organic fish and shellfish. But don’t expect it in the grocery store anytime soon. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — After more than a decade of delays, the government is moving toward allowing the sale of U.S.-raised organic fish and shellfish. But don’t expect it in the grocery store anytime soon.

The Agriculture Department says it will propose standards for the farmed organic fish this year. That means the seafood could be available in as few as two years — but only if USDA moves quickly to complete the rules and seafood companies decide to embrace them.

Organic seafood would be welcome news for the increasing number of organic shoppers — and for retailers that have profited from their higher prices. It also could help the U.S. farmed fish industry find a premium as it struggles to compete against cheaper imports.

Among the seafood that is commonly farm-raised in the United States and would be covered: salmon, tilapia, catfish, shrimp and mollusks such as mussels, oysters and clams.

The United States is “trying to play catch-up on organic aquaculture,” says Miles McEvoy, who heads up USDA’s organic program. The European Union and Canada, along with other countries, have been exporting their own organic products to the United States.

Retailer Wegmans already is selling organic seafood imported from Norway and elsewhere. Organic shoppers “skew to higher income and education which makes them extremely desirable,” says Dave Wagner, the company’s vice president of seafood merchandising.

Other retailers, such as Whole Foods, say they will wait for the U.S. rules before they sell seafood labeled organic.

It’s still unclear if U.S. standards can be successful. Many in the farmed fish industry say they expect that the requirements for fish feed may be so strict as to be financially prohibitive.

“The challenge is, will consumers will be willing to pay for it?” says Sebastian Belle, head of the Maine Aquaculture Association, who has advised the USDA on the organic rules. “The markets will decide that.”

In turn, some consumer and environmental groups have said they are concerned the standards won’t be strict enough.

The discussions have been marked by tensions over what organic fish should eat and whether some of them can be raised in ocean cages called net pens. USDA’s McEvoy says the new rules will be based on a series of recommendations from the government’s National Organic Standards Board over the last decade.

Some environmental groups criticize the recommendations for suggesting that at first a quarter of the fish feed could be from sustainably wild-caught — but not organic — fish. A fish can’t be organic, they argue, if it doesn’t eat 100 percent organic feed.

Wild fish would not be eligible for the organic label — that would be too difficult to monitor.

The environmental groups also are concerned that fish in ocean pens would be able to escape and contaminate their surroundings. They also worry about ocean contaminants.

“What we’re saying is this isn’t organic,” says Lisa Bunin of the Center for Food Safety.

The recommendations suggest several safeguards: Ocean-farmed fish should be strains of local species, and no net pens could be placed on migratory routes. Producers would have to closely monitor water quality and the impact on the area ecosystem.

For producers, the main concern would be the availability of organic feed.

Breeding organic fish to feed the organic fish could be prohibitively expensive, and organic grains such as soybeans and canola that can make up fish feed also are also costly. Some fish feed includes poultry or other land animal byproducts, but that would likely be prohibited, as would most synthetic ingredients.

Neil Sims, a longtime fish farmer based in Hawaii, says that if the rules have such strict limitations on feed, it could be unworkable for many companies.

“You can’t magically wave a wand and expect an organic supply chain to appear,” he says.

Such concerns are familiar in the organic industry, which is facing widespread ingredient shortages.

“It continues to raise the challenge that organic producers and suppliers are now confronting — whether there is going to be an adequate supply of feed,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said of organic aquaculture after addressing an organic industry conference this week.

Even if some companies do take steps to grow organic fish, the process could potentially stretch beyond two years. The National Organic Standards Board, which advises USDA’s National Organic Program, is still reviewing some vaccines, vitamins and other substances considered essential to aquaculture.

Linda ODierno of the National Aquaculture Association says that despite some of the challenges, the industry is hoping that organics could help consumers feel more confident in U.S. product that is often already more expensive than seafood produced cheaply abroad.

“It could be good for industry and good for consumers,” she said.

___

Find Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

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Doctors Seeing More Cases of Preventable Childhood Illnesses

OAKLAND POST — Physicians have said vaccine skepticism has expanded beyond childhood immunizations. Doctors also reported growing resistance to other preventive treatments.

Published

1 week ago

June 17, 2026

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By Stacy M. Brown

Doctors across the United States say they are treating children for illnesses that routine vaccinations once made increasingly uncommon, raising concerns that years of declining immunization rates are beginning to reverse decades of public health progress.

Pediatricians have described seeing more cases of whooping cough, rotavirus infections, bacterial pneumonia and other potentially life-threatening illnesses that vaccines have long helped suppress. Some physicians reported treating conditions they had rarely encountered during their careers, while others said that growing vaccine hesitancy is changing how emergency rooms and hospitals care for children.

The reports come as measles outbreaks continue to spread across multiple states and vaccination coverage remains below federal public health targets.

Johns Hopkins University’s International Vaccine Access Center reported 2,077 confirmed measles cases nationwide as of May 29. Researchers warned that outbreaks reported across the country have raised concerns about continued transmission, additional hospitalizations and deaths, and the possible loss of the nation’s measles elimination status.

Public health experts have long viewed measles as a warning sign because of its ability to spread rapidly through communities with lower vaccination coverage. The New York Times reported that physicians increasingly fear the resurgence of measles may be followed by the return of other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Doctors say that is already happening.

Dr. Meghan Hofto, a pediatric hospitalist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said she has already treated roughly as many children with rotavirus this year as she saw during the previous decade. Rotavirus once caused tens of thousands of hospitalizations annually before vaccines sharply reduced its spread. None of the children she treated this year had been vaccinated.

Hofto also described caring for infants with pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough.

“It’s hard to know when they’re safe to go home,” Hofto told The Times.

The rise in whooping cough cases has been particularly striking. More than 28,000 cases were reported nationwide last year, compared with approximately 7,000 in 2023, according to figures cited by The Times. Many of the affected infants were too young to receive vaccinations themselves and relied on broader community protection to reduce their exposure.

Other doctors described similarly troubling cases.

Dr. Jessica Kirk, a pediatric hospitalist in Alabama, recently treated an unvaccinated toddler hospitalized with pneumonia caused by simultaneous infections of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Vaccines exist to protect against both illnesses. The child required oxygen and antibiotics to recover.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have been tracking vaccination trends nationwide and found continuing signs of vulnerability.

At the same time, vaccine policy has become increasingly contentious in state legislatures.

Johns Hopkins researchers reported that lawmakers across the country continue to introduce bills affecting childhood vaccination requirements, vaccine access and non-medical exemptions. Researchers also noted that state policies governing exemptions remain a significant factor in vaccination coverage and disease transmission risks.

Physicians have said vaccine skepticism has expanded beyond childhood immunizations. Doctors also reported growing resistance to other preventive treatments.

For doctors confronting the return of illnesses that vaccines once pushed to the margins of American medicine, the challenge is becoming increasingly personal.

“It just feels like you’re a tiny little boat with a giant tidal wave coming at you,” Dr. Erin Charles, a regional pediatric hospitalist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, told reporters. “And you might convince one family here and there.”

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Community

Asm. Isaac Bryan’s Environmental Reparations Bill Passes on Assembly Floor

“All this bill does is allocate resources from that repair fund and direct cash assistance to families that have had negative health impacts as a result of living next to that oil field,” said Bryan during remarks on the Assembly floor.

Published

1 week ago

June 17, 2026

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Asm. Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights). File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

On May 26, the California State Assembly passed legislation to provide direct financial assistance to families harmed by pollution from a major urban oil field in South Los Angeles.

Assembly Bill (AB) 1661, introduced by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), cleared the Assembly floor with a 44-10 vote after lawmakers concluded debate on the measure.

The bill would direct money from a community repair fund toward families who suffered negative health effects from living near what Bryan described as the state’s largest toxic urban oil field. The repair fund was created under legislation approved two years ago that shut down the oil field and required polluters to contribute financially to community recovery efforts.

Bryan called the proposal “the largest environmental reparations opportunity for South LA” and told lawmakers the bill had not received opposition during the legislative process.

The legislation is part of California’s broader push to address environmental justice concerns in communities historically exposed to industrial pollution. South Los Angeles residents and environmental advocates have long raised concerns about health risks associated with oil drilling operations near homes, schools and parks.

Supporters say the measure represents a new approach to environmental accountability by ensuring that communities affected by pollution directly benefit from funds collected from responsible companies.

After debate concluded, Assembly leadership opened the roll call vote, and the measure passed with majority support from lawmakers.

AB 1661 now moves to the Senate for further review.

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Activism

Rep. Kamlager-Dove Introduces Bill to Protect Women in Custody After Reports Detailing Miscarriages and Neglect

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

Published

1 month ago

May 17, 2026

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37) on May 7, reintroduced updated legislation aimed at strengthening protections and healthcare standards for pregnant and postpartum women held in federal custody, including in immigration detention facilities.

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

The legislation builds on a bipartisan version previously passed by the House during the 117th Congress. The updated bill includes new standards for healthcare access, mental health and substance use treatment, high-risk pregnancy care, family unity protections and increased federal oversight.

“Proper pregnancy care is a human right, regardless of your immigration or incarceration status,” Kamlager-Dove said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable that there are virtually no legal safeguards for pregnant women in federal custody.”

The bill would also limit the use of restraints and restrictive housing for pregnant women, improve data collection on maternal health in custody and require additional staff training and enforcement measures.

Supporters of the measure said the legislation is intended to address long-standing concerns about maternal healthcare and safety in detention settings, particularly for Black women and low-income women who are disproportionately impacted by incarceration and health disparities.

“Pregnant women in custody should never be subjected to dangerous and inhumane treatment that threatens their health, dignity, or the well-being of their babies,” said Patrice Willoughby, chief of policy and legislative affairs for the NAACP and a longtime public policy and government affairs strategist, in a statement.

A 2021 report estimated there are about 58,000 admissions of pregnant women into U.S. jails and prisons each year. Kamlager’s statement also cited a recent investigation by NBC News and Bloomberg Law that identified allegations of severe mistreatment or medical neglect involving at least 54 pregnant women or families in county jails between 2017 and 2024.

Federal policy under the Department of Homeland Security restricts the detention of pregnant, postpartum and nursing immigrants except in extreme cases. However, the agency reported that ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum or nursing women between January 2025 and February 2026, including 16 recorded miscarriages during that period.

The bill is cosponsored by several House Democrats and backed by organizations including the NAACP and the Vera Institute of Justice.