Tagged: Big Ag
Ethanol rivals petroleum for gulf killing champ
It's a slow crisis at every turn
While the BP oil spill has been labeled the worst environmental catastrophe in recent U.S. history, a biofuel is contributing to a Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" the size of New Jersey that scientists say could be every bit as harmful to the gulf.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/05/MNF91E84SL.DTL#ixzz0svT4X72V
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/05/MNF91E84SL.DTL
Read moreThe Disappearing Act
Quick. What can you tell me about the FDA Modernizaion Act? I bet most of you know very little. I don't know much about it myself, but I can tell you who knows tons about the bill: the food services industry. In fact the first piece of relevant information sent by a Google alert I have set up tracking news about the bill was an article in Quick Serve Restaurant.
Read moreAnimal Welfare, The Texas Farm Bureau, and Messenger Shooting
So I've been sparring with Mike Barnett of the Texas Farm Bureau in the wake of the Conklin Dairy Farm abuse scandal. It's good natured sparring, of course (I am a firm but well-mannered luchador), because, while we disagree on a great deal, I did truly appreciate his post titled Zero Tolerance for Animal Cruelty.
Read moreBig Ag’s Blowback: “Know Your Farmer” is a Waste of Money
Big Ag's blowback against all foods local, regional, and organic is getting stronger and louder. Now, instead of simply targeting mere figureheads like Michael Pollan or Michelle Obama, they're targeting the USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program, and enlisting allies in Congress to join the food fight. From KC Star's website:
Read moreFarm Bill 2012: USDA Prioritizing Regional Food Systems?
USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack (left) went before the House Ag Committee this week and laid out five priorities for the next Farm Bill, slated for intense food-fighting in 2012. These five priorities are (via the Delta Farm Press):
* broadband access,
* renewable energy and bio-fuels,
* regional food systems and supply chains,
* forest restoration and private land conservation, and
* ecosystem market incentives.
Read moreInterview: Author Maryn McKenna
In her book SUPERBUG (read review), Maryn McKenna discusses the rise and spread of a new and terrifying microbe, drug-resistant staph known as "MRSA." Fair Food Fight got a chance to ask McKenna some questions about the role of food, farming, and livestock antibiotics in MRSA's spread.
How Big is a “Factory Farm”?
I was reading this Introduction to a new book by journalist David Kirby called Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy and Poultry Farms on Humans and the Environment," over at Firedoglake, a book that the author says has three years of research and writing behind it. The Introduction is offered as a blog post and I highly recommend checking it out.
Big Meat Flexes on Capitol Hill: Save Our Antibiotics!
Katie Couric's CBS News series on antibiotic-use in livestock has turned up the grill under the US meat industry. This past week, Big Meat went to Washington DC to make its case that antibiotics are necessary and used responsibly in American agriculture. From Cattle Network:
