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Taste Makes Waste
We waste a lot of food and a lot of water, says report |
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22 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:18 AM on 22 Aug 2008 The world grows more than enough food to sustain the global population, but half of that food is wasted -- and thus half of the water used in food production is wasted as well, says a new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, International Water Management Institute, and Stockholm Water Management Institute. In developing countries, food spoils or is damaged by i ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news, United Nations, waste, water crisis (all these topics) |
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I'll Have the Marsupial of the Day
Aussies should fight climate change by eating kangaroo, says study |
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08 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:29 AM on 08 Aug 2008 Australians who want to make a dent in climate change just need to eat more kangaroo, says a new study in the journal Conservation Letters. The methane-producing burps and farts of sheep and cattle contribute 11 percent of Australia's annual greenhouse-gas emissions. Kangaroos, however, emit little methane. Researchers say that 175 million kangaroos could produc ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, Australia, climate, climate change mitigation, food, greenhouse-gas emissions, livestock, news, scientific research, wildlife (all these topics) |
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The Fuel's Progress
EPA refuses to lower requirement for ethanol in fuel supply |
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07 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:39 PM on 07 Aug 2008 The U.S. EPA gave a big, husky hug to corn ethanol Thursday, declining a request from Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) to reduce the amount of ethanol required to be blended into the U.S. fuel supply. The federal Renewable Fuel Standard mandates that 9 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be poured into U.S. gas tanks this year -- which will suck up about a third of the U.S. corn crop. The ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, energy, ethanol, food, news, politics, United States (all these topics) |
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Uganda Drink That?
Ugandan coffee endangered by climate change |
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17 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:52 PM on 17 Jul 2008 Uganda's coffee industry could be basically kaput in 30 years, according to a new Oxfam report. Uganda is Africa's second-largest coffee exporter after Ethiopia, but the report direly predicts that if "average global temperatures rise by two degrees or more, then most of Uganda is likely to cease to be suitable for coffee." In the last two decades, inconsistent weather has reduced crop yiel ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, climate, climate change impacts, food, news, severe weather, Uganda (all these topics) |
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When Demand Rises in Deforest, Does It Make a Sound?
Demand for food, wood, biofuels driving tropical deforestation, report says |
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14 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:21 AM on 14 Jul 2008 Demand for food, wood, and biofuels will likely contribute to massive deforestation in developing countries around the world by 2030, according to a new report. The Rights and Resources Initiative estimates that if current agricultural land productivity doesn't increase substantially, by 2030 about 1.2 billion additional acres of land ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, deforestation, food, news (all these topics) |
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Fumigant and Far Between
EPA cracks down on the pesticides on your peppers |
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11 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:35 PM on 11 Jul 2008 The U.S. EPA plans to tighten restrictions on five nasty soil fumigants that keep pests away from strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and peppers. The proposed mitigation measures include buffer zones, warning signs, air-quality monitoring, management and outreach plans, emergency-response training, and provision of breathing masks for farmworkers. The rules would apply to five sca ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Milkin' It
More use of growth hormones would boost sustainability of dairy industry, says study |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:00 PM on 01 Jul 2008 Shooting up cows with artificial growth hormones increases the sustainability of the dairy industry, claims a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Giving rbST to 1 million cows would enable the same amount of milk to be produced using 157,000 fewer cows," says the study, thus easing the impact that giant dairy-cow operatio ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, air pollution, food, health, industrial ag, news, scientific research, water pollution (all these topics) |
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I Know What You Did Last Summit
U.N. food summit ends without agreement on solutions |
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05 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:14 PM on 05 Jun 2008 A high-level three-day United Nations food summit ended Thursday without wide agreement on solutions to the world food crisis. At the meeting, delegates sparred over trade barriers, biofuels' role in keeping food prices high, agricultural subsidies, how food aid should be spent, and how much aid to give. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the conference by declaring that ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, international politics, news, politics, United Nations (all these topics) |
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The Future's Coming Fast
U.N. report forecasts continued high food prices for the next decade |
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29 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:12 PM on 29 May 2008 Food prices worldwide are likely to remain relatively high for at least the next decade, according to an analysis by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Biofuel demand, high energy costs, and commodity speculation will continue to keep food prices high in the long term, despite periodic dips in price. Climate change is also expected to increase food pr ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, business, food, news, United Nations (all these topics) |
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Coffee, Mate
McDonald's Australia will sell certified-sustainable coffee |
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27 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:16 PM on 27 May 2008 Starting next year, all coffee sold at McDonald's in Australia will be certified sustainable by the Rainforest Alliance. The country's 484 so-called McCafés make 5,000 cups of joe per hour; Mickey D's pockets 20 percent of the more than $1 billion that Aussies spend on away-from-home coffee. The Rainforest Alliance certifies coffee farms that reduce pesticide use and treat farmers decently. ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, Australia, business, food, news, sustainable ag (all these topics) |
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Hard to Stomach
Federal food-aid package promotes GMOs |
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19 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:09 AM on 19 May 2008 A $770 million food-aid package proposed by the Bush administration may also aid U.S. agribiz, as the feds have slipped in language promoting the use of genetically modified crops in developing countries. Proponents of bioengineering say that GM crops are hardier in harsh climates and can produce higher yields; opponents say that just ain't the case. The food-aid package must be approved by Congress, and eve ... |
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| Topics: Africa, agriculture, Big Ag, food, GMOs, legislation, news, politics (all these topics) |
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The Tale That Dogs the Ag
Congress finally passes veto-proof farm bill |
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16 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:54 AM on 16 May 2008 Defying President Bush's veto threat, the Senate joined the House Thursday in voting "yay" on the $289 billion omnibus legislation that covers everything from farm subsidies to food stamps. In both chambers, support for the bill tallied strong enough to override Bush's threatened veto. The legislation has bitterly divided the sustainable-agriculture world. Supporters acknowledge the ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, legislation, news, politics, United States (all these topics) |
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Bad News, Bees
Honeybee hives in U.S. seeing continued decline, survey says |
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07 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:17 AM on 07 May 2008 Honeybee populations in the United States continued their decline last year, according to a survey of bee health by the Apiary Inspectors of America; U.S. commercial beekeepers saw the loss of 36 percent more hives than last year. "For two years in a row, we've sustained a substantial loss," said Dennis van Engelsdorp of AIA. "That's an astonishing number. Imagine if one o ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news, wildlife (all these topics) |
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The Fertile Depressant
Nitrogen fertilizer is in short supply |
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30 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:02 PM on 30 Apr 2008 Yet another phenomenon tightly tied to soaring food prices: the price and availability of fertilizer. Global consumption of cheap chemical fertilizer has leapt an estimated 31 percent from 1996 to 2008, boosting modern agriculture around the world. But now, fertilizer is pricey and in short supply, leaving farmers scrambling to sufficiently feed their crops. "Putting fertilizer on the ground on a ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news (all these topics) |
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Aw, Shucks
Food prices are high, and so are Big Ag's profits |
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30 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:29 AM on 30 Apr 2008 Food prices hitting you hard in the pocketbook? Agriculture giant Archer Daniels Midland feels for you, it really does -- but gee, its profits jumped 42 percent this quarter, so it can't really empathize. ADM's grain-processing division is doing lively business keeping up with the bumper corn crop. And, they'll have you know, high food prices are due to high oil prices, not to the ethanol push. Backing ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, biofuels, business, energy, food, industrial ag, news (all these topics) |
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You Animals!
Independent report calls for major reforms to industrial animal farming |
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30 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:51 AM on 30 Apr 2008 Photo: FarmSanctuary.org Industrial animal farming in the United States needs to make many major reforms in order to protect public health and the environment, an independent two-and-a-half-year study by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has concluded. The report criticized the widespread use of antibiotics to promote animal growth, sa ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news, scientific research, United States (all these topics) |
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Perry and Thrust
U.S. should back off from biofuels to bring down food prices, says Texas guv |
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28 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:56 PM on 28 Apr 2008 Has the U.S. push for biofuels contributed to rising global food prices? Well, yes, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday: "There has been apparently some effect, unintended consequence from the alternative fuels effort." But, she hastened to add, "biofuels continue to be an extremely important piece of the alternative energy picture" and & ... |
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| Topics: ag policy, ag subsidies, agriculture, biofuels, economy, energy, food, news, politics, state politics, Texas (all these topics) |
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Putting Down Roots
Ousted L.A. gardeners continue to farm |
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28 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:17 PM on 28 Apr 2008 In June 2006, a land dispute led to the shutdown of the South Central Community Garden in Los Angeles. Weeks of protest and tree-sitting by celebrities and regular folk proved unfruitful, and the 14-acre garden, tended by 350 low-income families in the middle of one of L.A.'s poorest neighborhoods, was bulldozed. Nearly two years later, with legal wrangling over the land's ownership ongoing, the gardeners ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, California, food, gardening, Los Angeles, news, placemaking, sustainable ag (all these topics) |
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A Problem of Scale
Chilean salmon-farming industry in a sad state |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:18 PM on 27 Mar 2008 A virus called infectious salmon anemia is sweeping through Chile's fisheries, bringing attention to the condition of the country's third-largest export industry. On expansive salmon farms, fish are bred in crowded underwater pens. Fish poop and food pellets contaminate the water. As many as 1 million nonnative salmon escape each year, gobbling native species and traveling as far as Argentina. The ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, aquaculture, Chile, fishing, food, news, water pollution (all these topics) |
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GMO, Oh, Mexico ...
Mexico to allow planting of genetically modified crops |
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20 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:58 AM on 20 Mar 2008 Mexico has taken the last step toward finalizing rules that will allow genetically modified crops to be planted in the country. That has many farmers in the so-called birthplace of corn worried that GM varieties could contaminate their fields. Under the rules, GM corn wouldn't technically be allowed in certain areas of Mexico considered "centers of origin" for unique corn plant ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, GMOs, Mexico, news (all these topics) |
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Threatened to the Gills
World fisheries still in danger of imminent collapse, says U.N. |
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25 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:07 AM on 25 Feb 2008 When last we checked in on the world's commercial fish stocks, they were in danger of collapsing within decades. And, sorry to say, they still are, according to a United Nations Environment Program report ominously titled "In Dead Water." Factor in climate change, overfishing, and pollution "and you see you're potentially putting a death nail in the coffin of w ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, climate, climate change impacts, fishing, food, news, oceans, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Out of Harm's Safeway
Safeway agrees to animal-welfare standards for some products |
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12 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:02 AM on 12 Feb 2008 One of the largest grocery store chains in the United States, Safeway, has agreed to increase animal-welfare standards for some of the animal-derived products sold at its stores. Chickens and pigs were the focus of the most recent efforts pressuring the chain to adopt humane standards. Safeway has pledged to purchase more pork from suppliers that have started phasing out the most ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, animal welfare, business, food, news (all these topics) |
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Say Cheese
Pennsylvania will allow hormone labels on dairy products |
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18 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:26 AM on 18 Jan 2008 A decision by Pennsylvania agriculture officials that dairy products sold in the state could not be labeled as synthetic-hormone-free sparked a consumer outcry and a review by Governor Ed Rendell. Yesterday, officials more or less reversed that ban: dairies will be allowed to advertise that their cows aren't shot up with synthetic hormones, which increase milk production. However, dairies toutin ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news, Pennsylvania (all these topics) |
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Send in the Clones
Cloned meat and milk just as safe as conventional, says long-awaited FDA report |
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15 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:05 PM on 15 Jan 2008 In a nearly 1000-page report, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has concluded that food from cloned animals and their offspring "is as safe to eat as that from their more conventionally bred counterparts." The report effectively removes regulatory barriers to cloned food being offered to U.S. consumers, but practical barriers still remain, and it will ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, industrial ag, news (all these topics) |
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The Beet Generation
Genetically modified sugar beets expected to be in widespread use in U.S. soon |
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28 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 8:06 AM on 28 Nov 2007 The U.S. sweetener industry may soon have a new sugar daddy as it gears up for the widespread rollout of genetically modified sugar beets. GM sugar beets have been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 2005, but resistance from end-users such as chocolatiers Hershey's and Mars had disrupted their widespread use. But now with that resistance largely o ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, GMOs, news, United States (all these topics) |
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