mindy brashears

<div>=</div><div>https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-tech-professor-with-close-ties-ag-industry-nominated-trump-regulate/</div><div>
</div><div><div class="entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 34px;"><div class="article-con" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Texas Tech University professor and food scientist with close ties to the agriculture industry has been tapped by President Donald Trump to oversee food safety for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. <a href="https://www.depts.ttu.edu/meatscience/brashears.php" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Mindy Brashears</a>, who also heads the university’s International Center for Food Industry Excellence, was nominated on Monday for the post, which has been <a href="http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2018/03/food-safety-caucus-urges-trump-to-name-under-secretary/#.WvHi_YiUuUk" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">vacant</a> since 2013. It’s one of the federal agency’s highest-ranking positions and requires U.S. Senate confirmation. And though Brashears is an accomplished food safety expert, which at first glance makes her a good pick to ensure the safety of the nation’s meat, poultry and eggs, she also has a financial stake in the industry.For example, Brashears <a href="https://patents.justia.com/inventor/mindy-m-brashears" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">holds</a> seven patents and has applied for 14 more regarding food decontamination. Many of those patents are related specifically to eliminating bacteria from beef and pork — two products the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service directly oversees. The division has inspectors stationed at more than 6,000 food processing facilities. If Brashears doesn’t divest herself from the patents, she could profit from the very industry she’s regulating, said Tony Corbo, senior lobbyist at Food and Water Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for food and water safety.At least some of Brashear’s <a href="https://www.depts.ttu.edu/afs/people/docs/MMBrashearsVita1Feb2017.pdf" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">research</a> at Texas Tech has been sponsored by industry. The National Cattlemen’s Association, a trade group that lobbies for the cattle industry, has paid tens of thousands of dollars to fund several of her studies, and the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council also have sponsored research. Industry-sponsored research is an <a href="https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/sites/default/files/Public%20Research%20Private%20Gain%20Report%20April%202012.pdf" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">increasingly common</a> phenomenon at universities nationwide where Big Ag has gladly filled research funding gaps<a href="https://grist.org/article/monsanto-u/" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"> created by</a> government budget cuts. Last year, Brashears was the <a href="http://today.ttu.edu/posts/2017/06/lean-finely-textured-beef" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">star witness</a> in the “pink slime” defamation suit brought by South Dakota meat processor Beef Products Inc. against ABC. Brashears testified during the trial that the news network’s characterization of lean finely textured beef as “pink slime” was inaccurate and that the product is safe, wholesome and “100 percent beef.” The company sought $1.9 billion in damages; eventually a <a href="http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/breaking-bpi-settles-defamation-suit-with-abc/article_397f35af-b70b-5998-94c0-c46deddf58bf.html" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">confidential settlement</a> was reached.<section class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><aside class="pull-quote left" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 60px; margin-top: 25px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin-left: -62px; float: left; max-width: 700px;">“Mindy Brashears is great news for us here in the industry.”</aside></section>

Industry has cheered Brashear’s nomination. Colin Woodall, a lobbyist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said in a <a href="http://wnax.com/news/180081-brashears-tapped-for-top-food-safety-job-at-usda/" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">radio interview</a> on Monday that “Mindy Brashears is great news for us here in the industry.” The Texas Farm Bureau <a href="http://texasfarmbureau.org/texas-tech-professor-selected-secretary-food-safety/" target="blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">called</a> Brashear “a key expert in her field.”At times, Brashears herself has come off like a spokesperson for the meat industry. After Consumer Reports found alarming levels of bacteria during a survey of hundreds of pounds of conventional beef, Brashears told NBC’s “Today” show, “The beef industry in the U.S. is safe.”But food safety advocates say that her expertise is colored by her financial involvement with Big Ag. “A lot of her research she has done has been paid for by the industry itself, and primarily the beef industry,” said Corbo. “Whether she can take into account consumer perspectives on some of these food safety issues is going to be something we’re looking at.” Corbo said he anticipates that senators will question Brashears about her potential conflicts of interest during the confirmation process.Brashears did not immediately return an Observer call for comment on this story on Tuesday.The Trump administration has repeatedly returned to Texas to find nominees who’ve been exceptionally friendly to business interests. Last year, Trump <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/texan-kathleen-hartnett-white-too-extreme-for-trump-administration/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">nominated</a> Kathleen Hartnett White, an aggressively pro-industry former chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to lead the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality. (Her nomination was ultimately pulled after it became clear she wouldn’t be confirmed). The administration also tapped former Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, a <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/endangered-science/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">critic</a> of the Endangered Species Act, for a <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-taps-texan-susan-combs-fierce-critic-of-endangered-species-act/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">top position</a> at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Trey Trainor, a Texas attorney who tried to shred the state’s already-weak ethics laws, was <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-trey-trainor-fec-nominee/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">nominated last year</a> to a post on the Federal Election Commission. In April, Trump <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-nominates-austin-attorney-who-stymied-investigation-into-trump-university/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">nominated</a> to the federal bench a former deputy attorney general who stymied the Texas investigation into Trump University.Trump’s USDA has already proved to be friendly to industry. Last year it nixed the Farmer Fair Practice Rule, which <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-chicken-farmers-usda-trump-rule/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">would have protected</a> contract chicken farmers from the companies they say drive them into debt through shady business practices. The Trump USDA has also approved increasing the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/17/trump-administration-usda-swine-slaughter-rule-pigs-pork" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">line speeds</a> at pork slaughter facilities, despite some workers’ contentions that the lines are already too fast and dangerous. But there’s no guarantee Brashears will make it through the nomination process — lawmakers have a long line of Trump nominations to clear already, and there’s no currently no timeline for her confirmation.</div></div></div><a href="http://newsenter.org/lubbock/2018/05/05/253811-trump-selects-texas-tech-prof-for-usda-under-secretary-job.html">http://newsenter.org/lubbock/2018/05/05/253811-trump-selects-texas-tech-prof-for-usda-under-secretary-job.html</a>On  his 470th day in the Oval Office, President Donald J. Trump Friday announced his intention to nominate Dr. Mindy Brashears as the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDAs) next Under Secretary for Food Safety.   It will be many more days before the Texan food safety expert takes office.<div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Brashears, who was an expert witness in the BPI v. ABC trial last summer is a professor of food safety and public health who is also director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University.<div class="special_text2" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, also had positive things to say about Brashears appointment. “Consumers deserve to have confidence that their food is safe and that sound science is used to ensure they have access to the most wholesome products. That is why President Trump’s selection of Dr. Mindy Brashears as Under Secretary for Food Safety is welcome news to America’s farmers and ranchers. Her extensive and innovative track record of improving food safety standards is an excellent fit at USDA, where food safety remains a core part of the agency’s mission, and always a priority for farmers and ranchers,” Duvall said. </div>The departments top job over food safety, which Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue says is at the core of USDAs mission has been vacant for the past 1,604 days.   And it will remain vacant until Dr. Brashears nomination is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.<div class="special_text2" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Brashears is a professor of food safety and public health and the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. Brashears’ research program focuses on improving food safety standards to make an impact on public health. In a statement, USDA noted that her highly acclaimed work evaluates interventions in pre-harvest and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems. These efforts have resulted in commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that can reduce Escherichia coli and salmonella in cattle.</div><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 10px; background: linear-gradient(to right, rgb(255, 255, 255), rgb(204, 204, 204)) 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255);">Brashears selected for food safety post</h2>USDA unconfirmed nominations ahead of hers include Stephen Alexander Vader as general counsel, Naomi C. Hart as assistant secretary for civil rights, and James E. Hubbard as Under Secretary for natural resources and environment.Perdue Friday pressed the U.S. Senate to take up all our nominations as quickly as possible.  <blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; background: white; border-top: 5px solid rgb(234, 249, 249); border-bottom: 5px solid rgb(234, 249, 249); padding: 10px 10px 10px 90px; position: relative;">Food safety is at the core of USDAs mission, because it directly affects the health and well-being of millions of Americans every day. President Trump has made an excellent choice in Dr. Mindy Brashears, and I am excited to have her join the team. Dr. Brashears has spent decades finding ways to improve food safety standards through innovation, invention, and leadership on research missions across the globe. I look forward to her bringing that wealth of expertise and track record of results here to USDA.</blockquote>Government-wide, the Trump Administration is currently waiting for Senate confirmation on at least 124 additional nominations.  According to the Washington Post/Partnership for Public Services tracking of the top 600 executive positions requiring Senate confirmation, only half are nominated and confirmed.  <blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; background: white; border-top: 5px solid rgb(234, 249, 249); border-bottom: 5px solid rgb(234, 249, 249); padding: 10px 10px 10px 90px; position: relative;">U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue applauded President Donald J. Trumps recent selection of Mindy Brashears to be the U.S. Department of Agricultures Under Secretary for Food Safety. After the announcement, Perdue issued the following statement:</blockquote>The average time to confirm a Trump nominee is taking a historic 84 days.   That means if Brashears wins confirmation, its unlikely she will take over until late summer or early fall at the earliest.<blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; background: white; border-top: 5px solid rgb(234, 249, 249); border-bottom: 5px solid rgb(234, 249, 249); padding: 10px 10px 10px 90px; position: relative;">“Consumers deserve to have confidence that their food is safe and that sound science is used to ensure they have access to the most wholesome products. That is why President Trump’s selection of Dr. Mindy Brashears as Under Secretary for Food Safety is welcome news to America’s farmers and ranchers. Her extensive and innovative track record of improving food safety standards is an excellent fit at USDA, where food safety remains a core part of the agency’s mission, and always a priority for farmers and ranchers.”</blockquote><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 10px; background: linear-gradient(to right, rgb(255, 255, 255), rgb(204, 204, 204)) 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255);">Secretary Perdue Applauds President Trumps Selection for USDAs Under Secretary for Food Safety</h2>Generally speaking, Senate Democrats cannot defeat Trump nominees, but they can and do use a bag of procedural tricks to delay them from getting to the necessary floor votes.   Secret holds can be placed on a nominee by individual Senators and the minority party can demand 30 hours debate ahead of any nominees floor vote.<div class="special_text2" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The following statement regarding the appointment of Dr. Mindy Brashears as Under Secretary for Food Safety at the Agriculture Department may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.</div>Once the White House sends over the formal nomination for Brashears to serve as Under Secretary for Food Safety to the Senate, it’s certain to be assigned to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry.<h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 10px; background: linear-gradient(to right, rgb(255, 255, 255), rgb(204, 204, 204)) 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(255, 255, 255);">USDA works to increase ag exports</h2>The appointment of Ken Barbic as USDAs assistant secretary for congressional relations was the most recent to clear the Ag committee and get a favorable floor vote.   It took 103 days.<div class="special_text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; margin: 10px 5px; font-style: italic; border-left: 5px solid rgb(0, 160, 210); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Background: Dr. Brashears is a Professor of Food Safety and Public Health and the Director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. Dr. Brashears’ research program focuses on improving food safety standards to make an impact on public health. Her highly acclaimed work evaluates interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems. These efforts have resulted in commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that can reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle. She also leads international research teams to Mexico, Central and South America to improve food safety and security and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in impoverished areas. She is past-Chair of the National Alliance for Food Safety and Security and of the USDA multi-state research group.</div>While Food Safety News last October alone reported that Brashears was one of two candidates for Under Secretary for Food Safety under serious consideration by the White House, she was last in the news during the  June 2017 BPI-ABC trial.<div class="special_text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; margin: 10px 5px; font-style: italic; border-left: 5px solid rgb(0, 160, 210); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“Food safety is at the core of USDA’s mission, because it directly affects the health and well-being of millions of Americans every day. President Trump has made an excellent choice in Dr. Mindy Brashears, and I am excited to have her join the team. Dr. Brashears has spent decades finding ways to improve food safety standards through innovation, invention, and leadership on research missions across the globe. I look forward to her bringing that wealth of expertise and track record of results here to USDA.</div>Her testimony, including a cross-examination that turned combative, likely contributed to the decision by Disney-owned ABC News to reach a settlement favorable to South Dakota-based BPI.  The undisclosed settlement ended a state jury trial tasked with deciding whether ABC News had defamed BPI by repeatedly calling its lean finely textured beef product pink slime.<div class="special_text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; margin: 10px 5px; font-style: italic; border-left: 5px solid rgb(0, 160, 210); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today applauded President Donald J. Trump’s selection of Dr. Mindy Brashears to be the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Under Secretary for Food Safety. After the announcement, Secretary Perdue issued the following statement:</div>Brashears testified with her smile and Texas twang at trial for BPI as one of the nations top beef safety experts.   She said BPIs textured beef product was definitely meat and definitely beef and not pink slime.   <div class="special_text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; margin: 10px 5px; font-style: italic; border-left: 5px solid rgb(0, 160, 210); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dr. Brashears is a Professor of Food Safety and Public Health and the Director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. Dr. Brashears research program focuses on improving food safety standards to make an impact on public health. Her highly acclaimed work evaluates interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems. These efforts have resulted in commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that can reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle. She also leads international research teams to Mexico, Central and South America to improve food safety and security and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in impoverished areas. She is past-Chair of the National Alliance for Food Safety and Security and of the USDA multi-state research group.</div>Her cross-examination by ABCs attorneys from the prominent Williams & Connolly law firm in Washington D.C. was tough and spirited, but Brashears was still left smiling.   Disney financial statements later indicated ABCs legal settlement with BPI was at least $177 million.<div class="special_text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; margin: 10px 5px; font-style: italic; border-left: 5px solid rgb(0, 160, 210); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Food safety is at the core of USDAs mission, because it directly affects the health and well-being of millions of Americans every day. President Trump has made an excellent choice in Dr. Mindy Brashears, and I am excited to have her join the team. Dr. Brashears has spent decades finding ways to improve food safety standards through innovation, invention, and leadership on research missions across the globe. I look forward to her bringing that wealth of expertise and track record of results here to USDA.</div>Her highly acclaimed work evaluates interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems. These efforts have resulted in the commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that can reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle, Secretary Perdues statement said.<div class="special_text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; margin: 10px 5px; font-style: italic; border-left: 5px solid rgb(0, 160, 210); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(Washington, D.C., May 4, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today applauded President Donald J. Trumps selection of Dr. Mindy Brashears to be the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Under Secretary for Food Safety. After the announcement, Secretary Perdue issued the following statement:</div>In addition to her research, Brashears has led international research teams to Mexico, Central and South America to improve food safety and security and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in impoverished areas.Dec. 13, 2013, was the last day Dr. Elizabeth Hagen served as USDAs Under Secretary for Food Safety.  She was nominated in 2010 by President Obama and quickly confirmed by the U.S. Senate.<div class="special_text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; margin: 10px 5px; font-style: italic; border-left: 5px solid rgb(0, 160, 210); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“Her work evaluates interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems and has resulted in the commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that can reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle,” according to the release. She is also a past chair of the National Alliance for Food Safety and Security and of the USDA multi-state research group.</div>A-J Media Mindy Brashears, a professor of food microbiology and food safety in Texas Techs College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, has been selected by President Donald Trump as the new under secretary for food safety in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.<div class="special_text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; margin: 10px 5px; font-style: italic; border-left: 5px solid rgb(0, 160, 210); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Brashears appeared as an expert witness last year for Beef Products Inc., helping the Sioux City, Iowa, food company negotiate a multimillion settlement from ABC News. The company had sued ABC, alleging it had been disparaged by the news organization when it described a beef product as “pink slime.”  Brashears told the jury that BPI’s lean finely textured beef is meat, is beef, is nutritious and is entirely safe to eat.</div>Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a statement issued Friday morning that food safety is at the core of the USDAs mission, because it directly affects the health and well-being of millions of Americans every day.<blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; background: white; border-top: 5px solid rgb(234, 249, 249); border-bottom: 5px solid rgb(234, 249, 249); padding: 10px 10px 10px 90px; position: relative;">A rose to … the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which this week highlighted USDAs success and continuing commitment to expanding trade and increasing rural prosperity through ag exports. We encourage leaders at USDA to continue talking up ag trade. The message about the importance of trade to rural America and the nations economy cannot be understated, but it can be undermined with threats of tariffs and suspicious comments about multinational trade agreements.</blockquote>“President Trump has made an excellent choice in Dr. Mindy Brashears, and I am excited to have her join the team. Dr. Brashears has spent decades finding ways to improve food safety standards through innovation, invention and leadership on research missions across the globe. I look forward to her bringing that wealth of expertise and track record of results here to USDA,” Perdue said.According to a bio on Texas Techs website, Brashears is not only a professor in classes such as food microbiology and food safety, but she also serves as the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Tech. Her research has focused on interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance. Her interests are primarily in meat and poultry products, with some work on spinach. Her work has resulted in the commercialization of pre-harvest feed additives that reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle.Perdue said there are still qualified people in addition to Brashears awaiting confirmation to fill key roles at USDA, and urged the Senate to take up all of the nominations as quickly as possible.</div></div>