VIEW OF TEXAS CITIES FROM SPACE

FROM: NASA

Nighttime Image of Texas Cities

One of the Expedition 36 crew members aboard the International Space Station, some 240 miles above Earth, used a 50mm lens to record this oblique nighttime image of a large part of the nation’s second largest state in area, including the four largest metropolitan areas in population. The extent of the metropolitan areas is easily visible at night due to city and highway lights.

The largest metro area, Dallas-Fort Worth, often referred to informally as the Metroplex, is the heavily cloud-covered area at the top center of the photo. Neighboring Oklahoma, on the north side of the Red River, less than 100 miles to the north of the Metroplex, appears to be experiencing thunderstorms. The Houston metropolitan area, including the coastal city of Galveston, is at lower right. To the east near the Texas border with Louisiana, the metropolitan area of Beaumont-Port Arthur appears as a smaller blotch of light, also hugging the coast of the Texas Gulf. Moving inland to the left side of the picture one can delineate the San Antonio metro area. The capital city of Austin can be seen to the northeast of San Antonio.

Image Credit: NASA

Remarks by Secretary Hagel and Gen. Jacoby at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado

Remarks by Secretary Hagel and Gen. Jacoby at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado

U.S. GEN. AMOS SAYS MARINE TRASITION MOVING AHEAD IN HELMAND PROVINCE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Marine Transition in Helmand Ahead of Schedule, Amos Says

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2013 - Marine Corps security handoff and equipment recovery efforts in southern Afghanistan as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force are both ahead of schedule, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos said here today.


Amos told the Defense Writers Group that conditions in Helmand province, which he visited last week, are "pretty remarkable" and "dramatically different" from what they were even six months ago.

"I was there at Christmas, and I was there in February, ... and we just got back again," he said. "Even from Christmas, the focus began to [be] the advise-and-assist teams." He noted the 28- or 30-member teams drawn from across the coalition's forces worked with individual Afghan army and police kandaks, or battalions, and their headquarters.

"We brought teams in last fall, and we reorganized the structure" in Helmand from seven Marine Corps infantry battalions to two, Amos said. That demonstrates how well the Afghan army has been doing, he added -- "really well."

The advise and assist teams had been forecast for an intense effort through this year, Amos said, but "we missed the mark on that" because Afghan forces have improved more quickly than expected.

Some teams will be pulled out in the coming months, he added, and the advise-and-assist mission has gone well enough that in southern Helmand, Afghan army and police forces haven't asked for the Marines' operational help in more than a month.

"It's the same thing going up north, except the Taliban have gotten a little bit frisky trying to test the Afghan National Army in places like Sangin," he said.

Over the next year, Marine forces in Helmand will focus on advising at the corps, brigade and provincial government level, Amos said. He added the remaining two infantry battalions also will serve as a transitional "shock absorber" for Afghan forces' logistics, sustainment and training.

"This is what we would hope to happen, but we didn't think it would happen this soon," he said.

Responding to a question on how much Marine Corps equipment would remain behind after the major U.S. troop withdrawal ends in 2014, Amos said that barring any designated for handover to Afghan forces, none will. After the war in Iraq ended, he noted, the Marine Corps learned its lesson.

In Helmand, Amos said, equipment went home along with the Marines, estimating that 65 to 70 percent of Marine Corps gear already is out of the country. "We've been flying equipment out for a year and a half. ... These lots are empty. They're clean," he said.

Transition in Helmand is ahead of schedule, and nobody is running for the doors, Amos said. "We're right where we need to be," he added.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

 

FROM: U.S. NAVY

A visit, board, search and seizure team from Surface Warfare Detachment 1, embarked aboard the littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) searches and secures the Royal Malaysian Navy guided-missile frigate KD Jebat (FFG 29) during a Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Malaysia 2013 exercise. More than 1200 Sailors and Marines are participating in CARAT Malaysia. CARAT is a series of bilateral military exercises between the U.S. Navy and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor Leste. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Karolina A. Oseguera (Released) 130620-N-JN664-119

The amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) conducts a replenishment-at-sea. Harpers Ferry is underway for amphibious squadron-marine expeditionary unit integrated training in preparation for a deployment as part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gary Granger Jr. (Released) 130618-N-YR391-006
 

ARMY CUTS 12 BRIGADE COMBAT TEAMS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Army to Cut 12 Brigade Combat Teams by 2017, Odierno Says

By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2013 - As part of its force restructuring due to the Budget Control Act of 2011, by the end of fiscal year 2017 the Army will reduce its number of brigade combat teams from 45 to 33, the Army's chief of staff announced today.


In addition, Army Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters at a Pentagon news conference, the Army will shrink its active component end strength by 14 percent, or 80,000 soldiers, to 490,000, down from a wartime high of 570,000 troops.

The Army National Guard will cut 8,000 soldiers, he said, without making any force structure changes. And the Army Reserve will skip a planned force increase and maintain its current size of 205,000.

In all, 12 brigade combat teams will inactivate, the general said, including two brigade combat teams, stationed at Baumholder and Grafenwoehr, Germany, already scheduled to inactivate in fiscal 2013.

Two brigade combat teams will remain in Europe to fulfill strategic commitments, Odierno said.

One brigade combat team will inactivate at each of the following installations: Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Campbell, Ky; Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Knox, Ky.; Fort Riley, Kan.; Fort Stewart, Ga., and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

"In the future, we will announce an additional BCT to be inactivated, which will bring the number of BCTs to 32, but that decision has yet to be made," the general said.

The Army is in the process of undergoing one of its largest organizational changes since World War II, Odierno said, noting that today's announced end strength and force structure reductions are the result of provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011 that aren't related to sequestration spending cuts. "We are taking these actions as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011," he added.

Full sequestration beyond the current fiscal year could require another reduction in the Army's active, Guard and Reserve force structure by as much as 100,000 soldiers combined, Odierno said.

"Our decisions are in line with the fiscal year '13 budget submission, which implements a $487 billion reduction in DOD funding based on the Budget Control Act of 2011," he said. The Army's share of these cuts amounts to $170 billion, Odierno noted.

"If sequestration continues into fiscal year 2014, Army reductions to end strength, force structure and basing announced today will be only the first step," said he added.

The Army led an exhaustive review before deciding where and how to cut, the general said, looking at the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the reductions. The final decision was based on a number of criteria, Odierno said, including the ability to train, provide for soldiers and families and the ability to expand and regenerate forces.

Geographic distribution also was considered, not only to minimize cost and environmental and socioeconomic impacts, but also to ensure the Army was in line with the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region directed by the 2012 strategic defense guidance, he said. The 33 remaining brigade combat teams will be reorganized, Odierno said.

"We will add a third maneuver battalion and additional engineer and fires capability to each of our armor and infantry brigade combat teams in order to make them more lethal, more flexible and more agile," the general said.

The changes will reduce the overall number of headquarters while sustaining as much combat capability as possible, Odierno said. "As we inactivate brigade combat teams, we will reinvest some of the soldiers, equipment and support personnel into the remaining brigade combat teams," he added.

BACTERIAL DNA HUMAN GENOME INTEGRATION AND TUMOR TISSUE

Image: DNA Credit: NCI/Wikimedia

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Bacterial DNA May Integrate Into Human Genome More Readily in Tumor Tissue
Bacterial DNA may integrate into the human genome more readily in tumors than in normal human tissue, scientists have found.


The researchers, affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences, analyzed genomic sequencing data available from the Human Genome Project, the 1,000 Genomes Project and The Cancer Genome Atlas.

They considered the phenomenon of lateral gene transfer (LGT), the transmission of genetic material between organisms in a manner other than than traditional reproduction.

Scientists have already shown that bacteria can transfer DNA to the genome of an animal.

The researchers found evidence that lateral gene transfer is possible from bacteria to the cells of the human body, known as human somatic cells.

They found that bacterial DNA was more likely to integrate in the genome in tumor samples than in normal, healthy somatic cells. The phenomenon might play a role in cancer and other diseases associated with DNA damage.

"Advances in genomic and computational sciences are revealing the vast ways in which humans interact with an ever-present and endlessly diverse planet of microbes," says Matt Kane, program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Environmental Biology in its Directorate for Biological Sciences, which funded the research.

"This discovery underscores the benefits that can result from a shift in our understanding of how this vast diversity of microbes and their genes may affect our health."

The results may lead to advances in personalized medicine, scientists say, in which doctors use each patient's genomic make-up to determine care and preventive measures.

A paper reporting the results is published today in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

"LGT from bacteria to animals was only described recently, and it is exciting to find that such transfers can be found in the genome of human somatic cells and particularly in cancer genomes," says Julie Dunning Hotopp of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and lead author of the paper.

Hotopp also is a research scientist at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

"Studies applying this approach to additional cancer genome projects could be fruitful, leading us to a better understanding of the mechanisms of cancer."

The researchers found that while only 63.5 percent of TCGA samples analyzed were from tumors, the tumor samples contained 99.9 percent of reads supporting bacterial integration.

The data present a compelling case that LGT occurs in the human somatic genome, and that it could have an important role in cancer and other human diseases associated with mutations.

It's possible that LGT mutations play a role in carcinogenesis, the scientists say, yet it's also possible that they could simply be "passenger mutations."

The investigators suggest several competing ideas to explain the results, though more research is needed for definitive answers.

One possibility is that the mutations are part of carcinogenesis, the process by which normal cells turn into cancer cells.

Alternatively, tumor cells are very rapidly proliferating, so much so that they may be more permissive to lateral gene transfer.

It's also possible that bacteria are causing these mutations because they benefit the bacteria themselves.

The study was also funded by the National Institutes of Health.

-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF cdybas@nsf.gov

IMPROVING THE BREAKDOWN OF CELLULOSE NANOFIBERS

Image caption: An enzyme (shown in blue) pulls out individual cellulose chains (pink) from the pretreated nanofiber surface (green) and then breaks them apart into simple sugars. Image credit, Shishir Chundawat, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center

FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
Less is More: Novel Cellulose Structure Requires Fewer Enzymes to Process Biomass to Fuel
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., June 19, 2013—Improved methods for breaking down cellulose nanofibers are central to cost-effective biofuel production and the subject of new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). Scientists are investigating the unique properties of crystalline cellulose nanofibers to develop novel chemical pretreatments and designer enzymes for biofuel production from cellulosic-or non-food-plant derived biomass.


"Cellulose is laid out in plant cell walls as crystalline nanofibers, like steel reinforcements embedded in concrete columns," says GLBRC's Shishir Chundawat. "The key to cheaper biofuel production is to unravel these tightly packed nanofibers more efficiently into soluble sugars using fewer enzymes."

An article published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests-counter-intuitively-that increased binding of enzymes to cellulose polymers doesn't always lead to faster breakdown into simple sugars. In fact, Chundawat's research team found that using novel biomass pretreatments to convert cellulose to a unique crystalline structure called cellulose III reduced native enzyme binding while increasing sugar yields by as much as five times.

"The ability of this unconventional pretreatment strategy, currently under development at GLBRC, to selectively alter the cellulose crystal structure may lead to an order of magnitude reduction in enzyme usage. This will be critical for cost-effective cellulosic biofuel production," says Bruce Dale of Michigan State University, who leads GLBRC's biomass deconstruction research area.

The researchers had previously demonstrated that altering the crystal structure of native cellulose to cellulose III accelerates enzymatic deconstruction; however, the recent observation that cellulose III increased sugar yields with reduced levels of bound enzyme was unexpected. To explain this finding, Chundawat and a team of LANL researchers led by Gnana Gnanakaran and Anurag Sethi developed a mechanistic kinetic model indicating that the relationship between enzyme affinity for cellulose and catalytic efficiency is more complex than previously thought.

Cellulose III was found to have a less sticky surface that makes it harder for native enzymes to get stuck non-productively on it, unlike untreated cellulose surfaces. The model further predicts that the enhanced enzyme activity, despite reduced binding, is due to the relative ease with which enzymes are able to pull out individual cellulose III chains from the pretreated nanofiber surface and then break them apart into simple sugars.

"These findings are exciting because they may catalyze future development of novel engineered enzymes that are further tailored for conversion of cellulose III rich pretreated biomass to cheaper fuels and other useful compounds that are currently derived from non-renewable fossil fuels," says Gnanakaran.

This research was funded by the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research through Cooperative Agreement DE-FC02-07ER64494 between the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and the U.S. Department of Energy). The LANL team was supported by the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium (NABC), the Center for Non-Linear Studies, and the Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) program at LANL.


.

U.S. Navy Photos of the Day Update

U.S. Navy Photos of the Day Update

U.S. State Department Daily Press Briefing - June 27, 2013

Daily Press Briefing - June 27, 2013

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL SAYS SOME LENDERS NOT CLEARLY DISCLOSING ALLOTMENT FEES TO SERVICE MEMBERS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Hagel Orders Effort to Protect Allotment System From Lender Abuse

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2013 - In concert with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement action aimed at financial services institutions abusing the Defense Department's payroll allotment system, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today ordered an interagency effort to determine whether the allotment system needs changes to further protect service members.


The Defense Department's allotment system allows service members to automatically direct a portion of their paycheck to any bank or individual of their choosing. CFPB found that some lenders were not clearly disclosing the required fees charged by third-party allotment processors.

In a statement, Hagel said the settlement that CFPB announced today is the culmination of more than a year of collaboration among Defense Department leaders, the Judge Advocate General Corps of the military services and the CFPB.

"I want to thank the CFPB for their partnership in helping to protect those who protect this nation and for their ongoing efforts to increase the financial literacy and readiness of our service members," Hagel said. "However, I remain concerned about the potential misuse of the allotment system by lenders."

Therefore, the secretary added, he has directed the Defense Department's comptroller to form an interagency team to assess what changes might be needed in the allotment system going forward.

"This group will include representatives from enforcement agencies and bank regulators, and will report back to me within 180 days on steps the department can take to ensure our discretionary allotment system no longer creates an opportunity for unscrupulous businesses and lenders to take advantage of those who serve in the armed forces," Hagel said.

Media Roundtable with Gen. Campbell, Lt. Gen. Huggins and Maj. Gen. Murray from the Pentagon Briefing Room

Media Roundtable with Gen. Campbell, Lt. Gen. Huggins and Maj. Gen. Murray from the Pentagon Briefing Room

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY

Operations Specialist Seaman Manuel Dull views the global command control system maritime console in the combat information center of the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). The Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group is conducting joint force operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael Achterling (Released) 130618-N-BJ178-033

An AV-8B Harrier II assigned to the air combat element of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) takes off ofrom the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4). Boxer is conducting predeployment training during amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz. Dawn Blitz is a scenario-driven exercise led by U.S. 3rd Fleet and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brian Jeffries (Released) 130613-N-SV688-275

SPRINGS, CORALS AND ACIDIFICATION EFFECTS

Coral  Credit:  NOAA

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Natural Underwater Springs Show How Coral Reefs Respond to Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification due to rising carbon dioxide levels reduces the density of coral skeletons, making coral reefs more vulnerable to disruption and erosion.


The results are from a study of corals growing where underwater springs naturally lower the pH of seawater. (The lower the pH, the more acidic.)

The findings are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and are the first to show that corals are not able to fully acclimate to low pH conditions in nature.

"People have seen similar effects in laboratory experiments," said paper co-author Adina Paytan, a marine scientist at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC).

"We looked in places where corals are exposed to low pH for their entire life span. The good news is that they don't just die. They are able to grow and calcify, but they are not producing robust structures."

With atmospheric carbon dioxide rising steadily, the oceans are absorbing more carbon dioxide, which lowers the pH of surface waters.

Ocean acidification refers to changes in seawater chemistry that move it closer to the acidic range of the pH scale, although seawater is not expected to become literally acidic.

"In our efforts to understand and predict ocean acidification and its long-term effects on marine chemistry and ecosystems, we must deal with a slow process that challenges our ability to detect change," said Don Rice, program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Ocean Sciences.

"This study shows that, with a little effort, we can find ocean sites where nature is already doing the experiments for us."

NSF funded the research through its Ocean Acidification Program, part of the agency's Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Investment.

The scientists studied coral reefs along the Caribbean coastline of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where submarine springs lower the pH of the surrounding seawater in a natural setting.

The effect is similar to the widespread ocean acidification that's occurring as the oceans absorb increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Led by first author Elizabeth Crook of UCSC, the researchers deployed instruments to monitor seawater chemistry around the springs and removed skeletal cores from colonies of Porites astreoides, an important Caribbean reef-building coral.

They performed CT scans of the cores in the lab of co-author Anne Cohen at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass., to measure densities and determine annual calcification rates.

The results show that coral calcification rates decrease significantly along a natural gradient in seawater pH.

Ocean acidification lowers the concentration of carbonate ions in seawater, making it more difficult for corals to build their calcium carbonate skeletons.

"Carbonate ions are the building blocks corals need to grow skeletons," said Paytan.

"When the pH is lower, corals have to use more energy to accumulate these carbonate building blocks internally. As a result, the calcification rate is lower and they lay down less dense skeletons."

The reduced density of the coral skeletons makes them more vulnerable to mechanical erosion during storms, to organisms that bore into corals and to parrotfish, which sometimes feed on corals.

This could lead to a weakening of the reef framework and degradation of the coral reef ecosystem.

"There are likely to be major shifts in reef species and some loss of coral cover, but if ocean acidification is the only factor there won't be total destruction," Paytan said.

"We need to protect corals from other stressors, such as pollution and overfishing. If we can control those, the impact of ocean acidification might not be as bad."

In addition to Crook, Cohen and Paytan, co-authors of the paper include Mario Rebolledo-Vieyra and Laura Hernandez of the Centro de Investigacion Cientifica de Yucatan.

The research was also funded by UC-MEXUS.

-NSF-

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Secretary Hagel and Gen. Dempsey from the Pentagon Briefing Room

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Secretary Hagel and Gen. Dempsey from the Pentagon Briefing Room

Daily Press Briefing - June 26, 2013

Daily Press Briefing - June 26, 2013

Department of Defense Briefing by Gen. Odierno from the Pentagon Briefing Room

Department of Defense Briefing by Gen. Odierno from the Pentagon Briefing Room

POLISH AIR FORCE WORKS WITH RAMSTEIN AIRMEN

Members of the 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin Air National Guard, arrive for Aviation Detachment Rotation 13-2, May 9, 2013, at Lask Air Base, Poland. More than 100 Airmen will be working with the Polish Air Force for the first F-16 fighter aircraft rotation and second overall this year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Kenya Shiloh)


FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE
Ramstein Airmen build capability with Polish air force
by 1st Lt. Kay M. Nissen
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

6/19/2013 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) -- The 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron and 435th Contingency Response Group continuously train to meet sustainable medical readiness throughout the European theater here.

Training not only benefits Ramstein Airmen, but also other allies like the Polish air force who have consistently engaged in AE training and familiarization throughout 2012 and 2013.

"All NATO countries benefit from having highly skilled and qualified teams to transport wounded warriors from theater back to higher levels of medical care, and eventually back to their home country," said Lt. Col. Kevin D. Hettinger, the 435th CRG flight surgeon and Poland AE Building Partnership Capacity team lead.

In early 2012, Polish AE team members visited the 86th AES Airmen here. In turn, three months later, a member of the 86th AES attended the first medical evacuation and aeromedical evacuation conference at the Polish air force academy.

Last month, two Airmen from the 86th AES, and one Airman from the 435th CRG engaged with Poland again to focus on advancements of the Polish AE team from the previous year.

"The Polish (Aeromedical Evacuation) team has a goal of obtaining NATO certification for aeromedical evacuation," Hettinger said. "Our team was able to provide some recommendations toward this goal after reviewing published NATO standards for AE and inspection checklists."

Currently, the Polish AE team can transport stabilized Polish troops from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center back to Poland.

"Their team is amazing," said Tech. Sgt. Elizabeth Araujo, a 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron technician and fluent Polish speaker. "It's a team of six. They fly as a CCATT (Critical Care Air Transport Team). They do everything, they receive the phone call, they receive the plane, they set up and they fly."

While the Poland AE team impressed their U.S. counterparts, the Polish medical experts continue to work to reach their certification and sharpen their skills.

"It was nice to see how receptive they are and how willing they are to take in that information," Araujo said. "They're hungry for information, they want it, they're open to suggestions, they're willing to take criticism and learn from it."

While, the Polish AE team was absorbing information, the three Ramstein Airmen also learned from their interaction with fellow medical professionals.

"Both teams benefited as each shared their processes for safely moving patients during air evacuation," Hettinger said.

Training between both countries is planned to continue to ensure strategic capabilities for NATO allies throughout the European theater.

Vice President Biden Speaks on the Voting Rights Act | The White House

Vice President Biden Speaks on the Voting Rights Act | The White House

JUSTICE SETTLES WITH VT DAIRY FARM REGARDING MEDICATION PRACTICES

FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, June 20, 2013

Justice Department Settles Complaint Against Vermont Dairy Farm for Improper Medication Practices

Farm and Two Defendants Agree to Settle Allegations That Adulterated Food Was Introduced into Interstate Commerce

The United States has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for Vermont against Lawson Farm, Robert Lawson, George R. Lawson, and Lonnie A. Griffin to block them from violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) in connection with their alleged unlawful use of new animal drugs in cows slaughtered for food. The Justice Department filed the suit on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).


Defendants Lawson Farm, Robert Lawson, and George R. Lawson have agreed to settle the litigation and be bound by a Consent Decree of Permanent Injunction that enjoins them from committing violations of the FDCA. The proposed consent decree has been filed with the court and is awaiting judicial approval. The lawsuit continues against defendant Lonnie Griffin.

"When farms fail to maintain appropriate controls concerning the medication of food-producing animals, they jeopardize the public health," said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. "We are committed to making sure food producers have put in place the procedures and documentation necessary to help ensure that consumers receive safe foods for their family table."

The government’s action results from a series of inspections of the Irasburg, Vermont farm, which revealed, according to the FDA, that the defendants failed to maintain complete treatment records for their animals and that they sold animals for slaughter containing excessive and illegal drug residues in its edible tissues. The complaint also alleges that the defendants have dispensed prescription new animal drugs on more than one occasion without a lawful order from a veterinarian.

The complaint states that excess drug residues in animal tissues can harm consumers by causing allergic reactions and by contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Both FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have warned the defendants that their conduct violates the FDCA. Nonetheless, according to the complaint, the most recent FDA inspection, concluded in August 2012, documented the continuing nature of the defendants’ violations, and established their responsibility for illegal drug residues found in edible tissues sampled by USDA.

The government’s complaint asserts that the defendants have introduced adulterated food into interstate commerce, caused new animal drugs to become misbranded and adulterated while held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce, and failed to comply with statutory and regulatory requirements concerning the extra-label use of new animal drugs.

The FDA referred the case to the Department of Justice. The matter was filed by the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, and FDA’s Office of the General Counsel.

A complaint is merely a set of allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence.

Astronaut View of Fires in Colorado

Astronaut View of Fires in Colorado