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Ag and Trade | Food
Commission Reports on Industrial Animal Production
04/30/2008

 

A two and a half year study of "industrial farm animal production" by a special commission has concluded that while "industrial farm animal production has benefits, it brings with it growing concerns for public health, the environment, animal welfare, and impacts on rural communities." The report, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public, finds that the costs of large scale animal production are "human illnesses caused by drug resistant bacterial associated with the rampant use of antibiotics on feedlots and the degradation of land, water and air quality caused by animal waste too intensely concentrated to be neutralized by natural processes," according to the Washington Post.

 

The commission concluded: "Research consistently shows that the social and economic well-being of rural communities benefits from large numbers of farmers rather than fewer farms that produce increased volumes. In rural communities where fewer, larger farms have replaced smaller, locally owned farms, residents have experienced lower family income, higher poverty rates, lower retail sales, reduced housing quality, and persistent low wages for farm workers."

Ag and Trade | Food
Will Genetically Modified Crops End Food Crisis?
04/25/2008
The global food crisis is leading countries to rethink their bans on genetically modified seed, hoping the new products will increase crop yields.
Ag and Trade | Food
Food Shortages and an Australian Drought
04/18/2008
The global food crisis has been on the front page of the New York Times the last two days. Friday, the Times continues its of the turmoil caused by global food shortages. "That anger is palpable across the globe," writes Marc Lacey. "The food crisis is not only being felt among the poor but is also eroding the gains of the working and middle classes, sowing volatile levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile governments."

The day before, the Times explained one part of the problem: a six year drought in Australia. Dry weather has forced rice mills in Australia to shutter. Good charts here and a great slide show of how Australian producers are coping with the dry weather that may be caused by global warming. (See photo above.)

The drought has spurred incredible innovation among Australian ranchers and farmers. "The flexibility of farmers and ranchers here has persuaded some climate experts that, particularly in developed countries, the effects of climate change may be mitigated, if not completely avoided," the Times reported. "I'm not as pessimistic as most people," said Will Steffen, the director of the Fenner School of Environment and Society at Australian National University. "Farmers are learning how to do things differently."
Ag and Trade | BioFuels and Energy | Food
Has Ethanol Led to Food Riots? No, Says A&M Report
04/15/2008
Yes, food prices worldwide are rising and basic foods are in short supply. But it's hard to put all the blame for riots in Haiti and shortages in India on corn ethanol in the U.S.
Ag and Trade | BioFuels and Energy | Food | Health | Main Street Economics | Media
The $1 Burger
04/14/2008


Our fast-food nation is driven by corn. A couple of recent college graduates decide to learn more about the commodity by growing an acre in Greene, Iowa, and shooting a television program. "King Corn" airs this week on public television's Independent Lens.



The Des Moines Register's Philip Brasher says the film "is a warm, playful portrayal of Greene as well as its residents and farmers. At one point the woman behind the counter at a local bakery comments on the speed at which farmers can get their planting done with modern machinery: 'Then they're back twiddling their thumbs until it's time to spray something.'"

The film perhaps missed a good bit of the changing economics that the ethanol boom brought about, but then again much of the bloom is off that rose.

Food
Irradiating Vegetables Works, USDA Says
04/11/2008
The US Department of Agriculture has concluded the best way to kill all the bad stuff on leafy greens is to zap them with radiation. The LA Times reports that USDA scientist reported yesterday that "irradiation could be key to destroying pathogens in hard-to-reach places inside and on the surface of fruits and vegetables." (Above, spinach.)

Irradiating fruits and vegetables, however, isn't currently allowed in the U.S. (Some meats are irradiated.) And although the USDA hasn't found any health effects from eating irradiated foods, consumer groups say the technique is unproven.

One in four Americans suffer from a food-borne illness each year. The USDA study found that irradiation of leafy greens did a much better job of killing the bad bugs than rinses. "Irradiation kills E. coli where chlorine doesn't," said one USDA scientist.
Ag and Trade | Food
Monsanto: Controlling Food Supply Through Seeds
04/09/2008
Don't mess with Monsanto. Two writers for Vanity Fair magazine tell what happens when rural America runs afoul of the giant seed and chemical seller.
BioFuels and Energy | Food
Krugman Says Biofuels a 'Terrible Mistake'
04/07/2008
ethanol
"Grains Gone Wild" is the headline in Paul Krugman's New York Times column today. There are financial troubles in the world, Krugman writes, "But there's another world crisis under way — and it's hurting a lot more people. I'm talking about the food crisis."

Krugman, a Princeton economist, notes the higher prices in stores today and food riots around the world. One cause is that more people can afford to eat meat — in other words, more people are eating like Americans. Other reasons are high oil prices and bad weather around the globe. These are all problems that are happening naturally.

Krugman, however, believes using corn to produce government-subsidized ethanol is a "terrible mistake." Or, as the always outspoken Krugman puts it, "people are starving in Africa so that American politicians can court votes in farm states." The result, "Cheap food, like cheap oil, may be a thing of the past."
Ag and Trade | Food
Where Are The Farmers?
03/21/2008
Documentary filmmaker Jan Weber's examination of farming today in mid-America.
Environment | Food
Organics and Genetics Can Help Each Other
03/17/2008
Organic farming and genetic engineering aren't opposites. In fact, they need to work together to reduce environmental damage and increase yields, writes Pamela Ronald a professor of plant pathology at University of California, Davis.

For example, beginning in 1997 Chinese growers adopted a new variety of cotton that was resistant to insects. Farmers reduced their use of insecticides by 156 million pounds. Their production costs dropped. Fewer farmers got sick. And yields increased. The key was a new cotton seed genetically engineered to be resistant to pests.

Ronald argues that genetic engineering is essential to increasing production and reducing dependency on chemicals, especially when it is combined with organic techniques. She writes, "It is time to abandon the caricatures of genetic engineering that are popular among some consumers and activists, and instead see it for what it is: A tool that can help the ecological farming revolution grow into a lasting movement with global impact."
Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural
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