Feedstuffs Source: Socially Responsible Agricultural Project After testing dust in the air near cattle feedlots in the Southern High Plains, researchers at The Institute of Environmental & Human Health at Texas Tech University found evidence of antibiotics, feedlot-derived bacteria and DNA sequences that encode for antibiotic resistance. The study was published online Jan. 22 in… Read more »
100+ Businesses Urge Obama Administration to Suspend Bee-Toxic Pesticides
Beyond Pesticides Source: John Bennett More than 100 businesses, including Clif Bar, Nature’s Path, Organic Valley and Stonyfield, sent a letter to the White House yesterday urging it to immediately suspend pesticides linked to global bee declines in order to protect the nation’s food supply, environment and economy. The businesses, members of the American Sustainable… Read more »
Iowa Farmers Union Leads Coalition Asking for Changes to Pesticide Rules
Farmers seek better protections and resources to deal with pesticide drift. Iowa Farmers Union DES MOINES (Jan. 20, 2015) – The Iowa Farmers Union (IFU), along with Pesticide Action Network (PAN), today announced their request to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) to improve the reporting and response process and the agency… Read more »
One Way to Beat a Bug That’s Destroying Florida’s Citrus? Get Them High.
The Washington Post by Darryl Fears Source: Mark Yokoyama It’s an understatement to say the Asian citrus psyllid is bugging Florida and California citrus growers. Since its discovery a few miles south of Miami eight years ago, the critter has destroyed half of Florida’s orange groves. As they chow down on citrus trees, they carry… Read more »
Everything You Need To Know About Nanopesticides
Modern Farmer by Virginia Gewin Stacey Harper has never been a farmer. In wooded Alsea, Oregon, Harper is more likely to be found hunting elk than sowing seeds. Rather, it’s Harper’s work in the laboratory that links her to the soil. A scientist at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Harper is doggedly researching tiny, human-made… Read more »
Cuba’s Harvest of Surprises
Craftsmanship by Christopher D. Cook Source: Thomas Münter In the fall of 1989, a full quarter-century before President Obama normalized US relations with Cuba, the Berlin Wall came tumbling to the ground in a flurry of sledgehammers and concrete dust. Meanwhile, an economic tsunami was brewing on the small Caribbean island. The Soviet Bloc was… Read more »
How Regenerative Organic Agriculture Can Save the Planet
EcoWatch by John W. Roulac John W. Roulac [Editor’s note: This article is part two of a two-part series. Read part one.] We now know that 20-30 percent of manmade greenhouse gases in the atmosphere comes from industrial agriculture. Petrochemicals are for cars, not for the soil. By dumping ag chemicals onto our soils, we disrupt nature’s delicate… Read more »
Industrial Poultry and Dairy Operations Slide Under Organic Regulations
Center for Rural Affairs by John Crabtree Aurora Dairy in Dublin, TX Federal organic regulations require that organic poultry and livestock be provided regular access to the outdoors. Dairy cattle and other ruminants must also be provided access to pasture. Increasingly, massive industrial poultry and dairy facilities are obtaining organic certification. And there’s the rub…. Read more »
Study Estimates Cost of Reducing Gulf “Dead Zone”
Study estimates cost of reducing Gulf “dead zone” Center for Agricultural and Rural Development Source: NASA A group of national researchers, including Todd Campbell, Philip Gassman, Adriana Valcu, and Catherine Kling from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, as well as others from across the country, has quantified the cost of reducing the Gulf… Read more »
Why Chipotle’s Pork Problem Is a Bad Sign for Its Future
Washington Post by Roberto A. Ferdman Source: Mike Mozart Chipotle said yesterday that it has stopped serving pork at a third of its restaurants, or some 600 establishments countrywide, citing a standards violation by one of its suppliers. It marks the first time the burrito slinger has been forced to pull a topping from its menu. But if Chipotle continues… Read more »
