agriculture

Agribusiness Chief Slams Organics

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:56:02 -0500

by Kate Galbraith

When Michael Mack, the chief executive of Syngenta, a Swiss agribusiness giant that makes pesticides and seeds, hears people say that organic food is better for the planet, he has one response: "Au contraire."

"Organic food is not only not better for the planet," he said, in an interview at The New York Times building on Tuesday. "It is categorically worse."

8 Steps Obama Could Take to Save Our Food System

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:09:27 -0500

by Robyn O'Brien

The landscape of health has changed. No longer are our families guaranteed a healthy livelihood, not in the face of the current rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's and allergies. In the words of Elizabeth Warren, Harvard University law professor who is head of the Congressional Oversight Panel, "We need a new model," and we need a new food system. It's our health on the line.

8 Steps Obama Could Take to Save Food:

A New Report Reveals that GM Seeds Encourage Pesticides Use, Contribute to Growth of Superweeds

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:19:17 -0500

by Paula Crossfield

A new report out today, Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years [pdf] authored by Dr. Charles Benbrook, chief scientist at The Organic Center, reveals that the use of genetically modified (GM) corn, soy and cotton crops has increased the amount of pesticides used in the past 13 years by 318 million pounds.

Biotech Crops Cause Big Jump in Pesticide Use: Report

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:54:32 -0500

by Carey Gillam

KANSAS CITY - The rapid adoption by U.S. farmers of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton has promoted increased use of pesticides, an epidemic of herbicide-resistant weeds and more chemical residues in foods, according to a report issued Tuesday by health and environmental protection groups.

The groups said research showed that herbicide use grew by 383 million pounds from 1996 to 2008, with 46 percent of the total increase occurring in 2007 and 2008.

Farmers Not Invited to Food Summit?

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:53:32 -0500

by Sabina Zaccaro

ROME - World farmers are not part of the official delegations at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food summit on food security that opened here Monday. But they came anyhow to express their views, since, they say, it is their communities that are most impacted by the food crisis.

Small-scale producers from the Amazonian rainforest, from Africa, the Pacific islands and the Himalayas gathered in Rome for the Peoples' Food Sovereignty Forum (Nov. 13-17), held in parallel to the FAO meetings, to discuss the serious effects of the crisis in their communities.

Shooting Itself in the Foot, Brazil Spreads Concrete Through the Rainforest

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:32:52 -0500

by Stephanie Brault

Depletion of the Amazon Rainforest is not a new concern facing environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, and a growing number of the Amazonian indigenous peoples. For decades they have feared for the fate of the world’s most biologically diverse and species-rich hothouse. Brazil houses the largest expanse of tropical wilderness remaining on the globe, claiming 60% of the Amazon Rainforest. This is a vast and remote stretch which thirty years ago only Indians and wild animals roamed.

BP Faces Damages Claim Over Pipeline Through Colombian Farmland

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:17:39 -0500

by Diane Taylor

Ninety-five Colombian farmers are suing the oil company BP in the high court in London for allegedly causing serious damage to their land, crops and animals.

In the first case of its kind, the farmers are claiming that BP Exploration Company (Colombia) Ltd, which joined forces with Colombia's national oil company and four foreign multinational corporations in a consortium to construct the 450-mile (720km) Ocensa pipeline, caused landslides and damage to soil and groundwater, causing crops to fail, livestock to perish, contaminating water supplies and making fish ponds unsustainable.

The Obama Administration and Food, Year One

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:53:41 -0500

by Paula Crossfield

A year after America voted for the change-agent they saw in Barack Obama, advocates hoping for deep improvements in our food system can point to only a few successes, while other policies that could lead to food insecurity are brewing in back rooms.

Nearly two years ago, candidate Obama said the following in a speech at the Iowa Farmer's Union:

Monsanto and Pioneer Duke It Out Over Biotech Corn, Farmers Take the Hit

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:59:58 -0400

by Dennis Keeney

There is an old African saying "Whether elephants make love or war, the grass suffers." The two elephants in the agricultural seed business are now making real war, although they have been wary of each other for years. Monsanto, a relatively recent entry into the business, has become the "dominant male" in the battle after moving to acquire a large number of formerly independent seed companies. Pioneer, content for years to be the premiere corn breeder in the world, has

The Organic Revolution: How We Can Stop Global Warming

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:49:17 -0400

by Ronnie Cummins

"Let us not talk falsely now, for the hour is getting late."

Bob Dylan, "All Along the Watchtower"

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