Mindy Brashears | |
---|---|
5th Under Secretary of Food Safety, USDA | |
In office March 23, 2020 –January 20, 2021 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Elizabeth Hagen |
Succeeded by | Jose Emilio Esteban |
Personal details | |
Born | Mindy Malynn Hardcastle May 13,1970 Wheeler,Texas |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | M. Todd Brashears |
Education | Wheeler High School Texas Tech University (BS) Oklahoma State University (MS,PhD) |
Mindy Brashears is the former Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [1] She was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by a Senate vote on March 23,2020 and concluded her service on January 20,2021. Her responsibilities in this role included leading the nation's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and its team of over 10,000 food inspectors and scientists. She chaired the Codex Alimentarius Policy Committee,which made her the highest-ranking food safety official in the U.S. government during her tenure.
Following her time at USDA,she returned to her role as professor of food microbiology and food safety at Texas Tech University where she is the director for the International Center for Food Industry Excellence. [2]
Brashears was born as Mindy Malynn Hardcastle in Wheeler,Texas. She grew up on a cattle and cotton farm,the daughter of Gary and Becky Hardcastle. Brashears graduated from Wheeler High School and went to Texas Tech University in Lubbock,where she majored in Food Technology within the Department of Animal and Food Sciences. She attended school on scholarship from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Brashears graduated from Texas Tech in 1992,then attended graduate school at Oklahoma State University. There,she earned an M.S. (1994) and a Ph.D. (1997) in food science with an emphasis in food microbiology under the tutelage of Stan Gilliland.
Brashears worked at the University of Nebraska as the State Extension Food Safety Specialist from August 1997 until May 2001. From June 2001 until January 2019 she served as assistant professor,associate professor and professor of food safety at Texas Tech University. During her time at Texas Tech,she was also the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence as well as a faculty member for the Center for Biodefense,Law and Public Policy in the Texas Tech School of Law. She was a prolific researcher and author with over 130 research papers cited over 2,700 times resulting in an index of 37.2 on ResearchGate. [3]
In 2016,she was selected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Inventors. Her induction ceremony took place on April 6,2017,as part of the NAI's sixth annual convention at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. [4]
The United States House Select Oversight Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released a report in May 2022 detailing the relationship between the Trump administration and the meat packing industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the report,Brashear was described as the "go-to fixer" for the meat packing plants. [5] A meat packing lobbyist described a close relationship with Brashear,who was able to prevent local health departments from enforcing COVID-19 safety measures at plants. [6] The report described Brashear providing her personal phone number and email address to industry representatives,in violation of the Federal Records Act. [7]
In June 2017,Brashears provided expert testimony [8] in the case of Beef Products Inc. (BPI) versus American Broadcasting Companies,Inc.,ABC News and other named individuals. [9] BPI's lawyer,Dan Webb contended that ABC's use of the phrase "pink slime" in 2012 made BPI lose customers. [10] During her testimony regarding the legal definition of "beef" she stated,"Slime is not beef. It does not meet any of the definitions of beef. It is false to call LFTB 'pink slime.' It is not 'pink slime." [11] ABC and BPI settled the case,reportedly for $177 million. [10]
There are multiple urban legends centering around the fast-food chain McDonald's. These legends include claims about the food and allegations of discrimination by the company.
Food libel laws,also known as food disparagement laws and informally as veggie libel laws,are laws passed in thirteen U.S. states that make it easier for food producers to sue their critics for libel. These thirteen states are the following:Alabama,Arizona,Colorado,Florida,Georgia,Idaho,Louisiana,Mississippi,North Dakota,Ohio,Oklahoma,South Dakota,and Texas. Many of the food-disparagement laws establish a lower standard for civil liability and allow for punitive damages and attorney's fees for plaintiffs alone,regardless of the case's outcome.
Mechanically separated meat (MSM),mechanically recovered/reclaimed meat (MRM),or mechanically deboned meat (MDM) is a paste-like meat product produced by forcing pureed or ground beef,pork,mutton,turkey or chicken under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue. When poultry is used,it is sometimes called white slime as an analog to meat-additive pink slime and to meat extracted by advanced meat recovery systems,both of which are different processes. The process entails pureeing or grinding the carcass left after the manual removal of meat from the bones and then forcing the slurry through a sieve under pressure.
Ground beef,minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife,meat grinder,mincer or mincing machine. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers,bolognese sauce,meatloaf,meatballs,and kofta.
Tyson Foods,Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale,Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken,beef,and pork after JBS S.A. It annually exports the largest percentage of beef out of the United States. Together with its subsidiaries,it operates major food brands,including Jimmy Dean,Hillshire Farm,Ball Park,Wright Brand,Aidells,and State Fair. Tyson Foods ranked No. 79 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
The meat-packing industry handles the slaughtering,processing,packaging,and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle,pigs,sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally not included. This greater part of the entire meat industry is primarily focused on producing meat for human consumption,but it also yields a variety of by-products including hides,dried blood,protein meals such as meat &bone meal,and,through the process of rendering,fats.
The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production,packing,preservation and marketing of meat. In economics,the meat industry is a fusion of primary (agriculture) and secondary (industry) activity and hard to characterize strictly in terms of either one alone. The greater part of the meat industry is the meat packing industry –the segment that handles the slaughtering,processing,packaging,and distribution of animals such as poultry,cattle,pigs,sheep and other livestock.
JBS USA Holdings,Inc. is a meat processing company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian multinational JBS S.A. The subsidiary was created when JBS entered the U.S. market in 2007 with its purchase of Swift &Company.
The Under Secretary for Food Safety is a subcabinet position within the United States Department of Agriculture responsible for oversight of the policies and programs of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The Under Secretary chairs the U.S. Codex Steering Committee,which provides guidance to U.S. delegations to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Food Safety and Inspection Service is responsible for ensuring the nation's supply of meat,poultry,and processed egg products are safe and correctly labeled and packaged.
Gordon W. Davis College of Agricultural Sciences &Natural Resources is a college at Texas Tech University in Lubbock,Texas. The agriculture program has existed at Texas Tech since 1925 making it one of the original programs at the university. The college currently contains six departments that offer fourteen baccalaureate,twenty master's,and eight Ph.D. degrees. As of 2013,it ranked in the top third in terms of size among universities with agricultural science and natural resources colleges placing it among the top 30 largest programs.
Cargill Meat Solutions is a subsidiary of the Minneapolis-based multinational agribusiness giant Cargill Inc,that comprises Cargill's North American beef,turkey,food service and food distribution businesses. Cargill Meat Solutions' corporate office is located in Wichita,Kansas,United States. Jody Horner is the division's president.
Bologna sausage,informally baloney,is a sausage derived from the Italian mortadella,a similar-looking,finely ground pork sausage,named after the city of Bologna. Typical seasonings for bologna include black pepper,nutmeg,allspice,celery seed and coriander,and,like mortadella,myrtle berries give it its distinctive flavor.
Empirical Foods,formerly named Beef Products Inc. (BPI),is an American meat processing company based in Dakota Dunes,South Dakota. Prior to high media visibility of its products,it was a major supplier to fast food chains,groceries and school lunch programs. It had three additional plants,which closed in 2012.
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is a television show on ABC from March 2010 until summer 2011. The show was produced by British chef Jamie Oliver and Ryan Seacrest,following Oliver as he attempted to reform the US school lunch programs,help American society fight obesity,and change their eating habits in order to live healthier and longer lives.
Lean finely textured beef is a meat by-product used as a food additive to ground beef and beef-based processed meats,as a filler,or to reduce the overall fat content of ground beef. As part of the production process,heat and centrifuges remove the fat from the meat in beef trimmings. The resulting paste,without the fat,is exposed to ammonia gas or citric acid to kill bacteria. In 2001,the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved the product for limited human consumption. The product,when prepared using ammonia gas,is banned for human consumption in the European Union and Canada.
National Beef is a beef processor headquartered in Kansas City,Missouri,United States,that produces fresh,chilled and further processed beef and beef by-products for customers worldwide. The company is owned by multinational Marfrig. Its main focuses include branded box beef,consumer ready beef,portion control beef and wet blue leather. The company is considered one of the modern "big four" beef packers in the United States.
Jo Ann Smith was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2015. She is the first woman to become the president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
The meat industry has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Outbreaks of the virus took place in factories operated by the meat packing industry and the poultry processing industry. These outbreaks affected dozens of plants,leading to closures of some factories and disruption of others,and posed a significant threat to the meat supply in the United States. The damage the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the meatpacking industry was unexpected and resulted in a sharp reduction of meat processing and capacity reduction of meatpacking companies.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada,outbreaks of the virus took place in factories operated by the meat packing industry and the poultry processing industry. These outbreaks affected multiple plants,leading to closures of some factories and disruption of others,and posing a threat to the food supply in Canada.
Mindy Finn is an American digital media expert,political and technology consultant,and entrepreneur. She worked as a digital strategist for the Republican Party,most notably for George W. Bush and Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008,respectively,and became the vice presidential candidate for Evan McMullin's 2016 presidential campaign. She co-founded the organizations Stand Up Republic and Empowered Women,and works to make elections more inclusive.