EPA Proposal Would Limit P Discharges from Meat Plants, Strengthen N Limits

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing amendments to the rules regulating the wastewater discharged from meat and poultry plants.

Three options for this proposal were put forward by the agency earlier this month. The first, which the agency describes as its preferred option, would for the first time limit phosphorus discharges, as well as strengthen effluent limitations for nitrogen and establish the first pretreatment standards for oil and grease, total suspended solids, and biochemical oxygen demand.

This option, which includes existing direct dischargers, would apply...

Landmark Tool Supports Meat Sector Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets

A new tool released jointly today by the North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) and the United Nations Global Compact Network USA (the U.S. chapter of the United Nations Global Compact) will aid meat companies of all sizes in measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – advancing the Meat Institute’s aim for 100% of its members to set science-based GHG reduction targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

The tool was developed through Meat Institute member participation in the UN Global Compact Network USA’s Climate Ambition Accelerator program, a...

New York State Announces New Grant Opportunity to Expand Meat Processing Industry

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard A. Ball and the Hudson Valley AgriBusiness Development Corporation (HVADC) today announced a grant opportunity totaling $5 million for projects to expand existing or establish new meat processing facilities. The Meat Processing Expansion Grant Program aims to address the nationwide shortage of affordable meat available to consumers, increase capacity of New York’s processing facilities, and support agribusinesses.

Commissioner Ball said, “One of the biggest lessons we learned from the...