Comments Ken Meter has made

  • For "Foodprovider", my source is Tyrone Hayes at Berkeley, one of the foremost experts on atrazine.  Exactly what you mention is why this scares me so much.  Just as we have heavy metal pollution landing in pristine northern waters (such as Isle Royale in the middle of Lake Superior) from coal plants in the Four Corners area because of wind patterns and long-distance deposition, it seems atrazine is spreading all over, whether used locally or not.  It has been banned in European countries, and seems unlikely to last in the US.

    On The way we eat is trashing the fragile conditions that make human life possible posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago 22 Responses

  • Great story, Tom, with important insights all people who eat should work to overturn.  All I want to add is the fact that atrazine is routinely showing up in rainfall -- so even those of us who purchase organic foods have chemical residues to contend with.

    On The way we eat is trashing the fragile conditions that make human life possible posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago 22 Responses

  • Thanks Howard!, The proper link to the memo is:

    http://www.crcworks.org/crcagcensus.pdf

    On Tell USDA to add urban farming to the Ag Census! Deadline is Friday. posted 3 months ago 5 Responses

  • Data source for US subsidy of Wal-Mart

    Greenfish asked about the source of this data.  See:

    Democratic staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce (2004).  "Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart."  U.S. House of Representatives, February 16, pages 4,5,7.

    Note that these federal calculations do not include local subsidies that are often given to big box retailers to locate in a given community, which adds to the public subsidy.On Just as large retailers enter the market posted 3 years, 6 months ago 5 Responses

  • December trade data is in

    USDA has now posted the December agricultural trade data on its web site (http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FATUS/index.htm#value).  Not quite a deficit, but still a huge erosion of our trade balance.  The December, 2005, data show a small surplus of $205 million, 76% lower than for the month of December a year before.  Overall, the U.S. trade balance plummeted $5 billion last year, a decline of 50%.
    On Food imports may force new food policies posted 3 years, 9 months ago 7 Responses