The New York Times by Michael Pollan Berkeley, Calif. – FOR Americans who have been looking to Congress to reform the food system, these past few weeks have been, well, the best of times and the worst of times. A new politics has sprouted up around the farm bill, traditionally a parochial piece of legislation… Read more »
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Historic Surge In Grain Prices Roils Markets
Wall Street Journal By Scott Kilman Rising prices and surging demand for the crops that supply half of the world’s calories are producing the biggest changes in global food markets in 30 years, altering the economic landscape for everyone from consumers and farmers to corporate giants and the world’s poor. “The days of cheap grain… Read more »
New Tool Helps Retailers Gauge Human Right Violations in Seafood
Cornucopia’s Take: Seafood Watch has published a Seafood Slavery Risk Tool to help corporate seafood buyers determine which fisheries are at higher risk for human rights abuses. Buyers are encouraged to work with those suppliers to end the troubling practices. Being able to tell your customers that the seafood sold in their store was not procured with… Read more »
What’s Up with Organics?
Cornucopia’s Take: John Ikerd is a policy advisor to The Cornucopia Institute and a leading figure in the sustainability revolution. The author of six books and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri, he contends that soil is the “very foundation of authentic organic production.” JohnIkerd.com by John Ikerd John Ikerd How can crops… Read more »
Subterfuge: FDA’s Phase Out of Antibiotics for Animal Growth Purposes Ineffective — Will Disadvantage Small Farmers
On December 11, 2013 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) released a new draft guidance that asks animal-drug makers to voluntarily discontinue marketing antibiotics to farmers for faster livestock growth, limiting their use strictly to therapeutic uses. Will this billion-dollar industry make voluntary changes in order to protect the efficacy of important antibiotics used… Read more »
Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Explain Your Mood?
The New York Times Magazine by Peter Andrey Smith Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The rich array of microbiota in our intestines can tell us more than you might think. Eighteen vials were rocking back and forth on a squeaky mechanical device the shape of a butcher scale, and Mark Lyte was beside himself with… Read more »
Death on the Farm
Newsweek by Max Kutner Credit: NRCS On January 21, 2010, a cold, clear day, Dean Pierson woke up early, as usual. The 59-year-old put on a pair of blue jeans and a hooded coat before the sun was up, then went to his barn, turned on the lights, closed all the doors and windows, powered… Read more »
Major U.S. Food Stores Sell Shrimp Peeled By Slaves: Report
The World Post Burmese migrant workers in a Thai shrimp peeling plant. Source: ILO in Asia & the Pacific An AP investigation has found shrimp peeled by modern-day slaves in Thailand is reaching the U.S., Europe and Asia. SAMUT SAKHON, Thailand (AP) — Every morning at 2 a.m., they heard a kick on the door and… Read more »
Grass-fed Beef Bearing the U.S. Flag Likely Comes from Australia or South America
Cornucopia’s Take: When Obama’s USDA jettisoned the country of origin labeling law (COOL), under industry pressure, they opened the door for deceptive labeling. Foreign beef processed in the U.S. can legally be labeled “product of the U.S.A.” Shoppers are being lied to, and domestic grass-fed beef producers have almost been shut out of their own… Read more »
Monsanto and EPA (Allegedly) Collude About Glyphosate Safety
Cornucopia’s Take: The article below gives the history of glyphosate toxicity testing and the uncomfortably cozy relationship between EPA management and Monsanto. Monsanto has apparently simply refused to participate in any truly independent research on glyphosate safety, and the EPA has repeatedly capitulated to their noncompliance since 1973. How Monsanto Captured the EPA (And Twisted… Read more »
