Washington Post: Three new installments in the paper’s excellent series “Harvesting Cash,” about federal agriculture subsidies — “Federal Subsidies Turn Farms Into Big Business,” about how the largest family farms receive the largest share of subsidies, “A Big Farm, but Not So Big It Could Get By Without Subsidies,” about the caught-in-the-middle operators who need the safety net, and “Powerful Interests Ally to Restructure Agriculture Subsidies,” about how everybody knows the subsidies system needs to be reformed in the new Farm Bill, but that will happen over the dead body of the “farm bloc.”
CattleNetwork.com: Interview with the Elzingas of Alderspring Ranch, whose grass-fed beef unexpectedly earned top honors in Slate.com’s beef taste test a few months ago. They received more orders in the four days following the article than they had in four months.
Washington Post (AP): Syngenta has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the EPA for accidentally distributing seed corn containing an unregistered genetically engineered pesticide to the U.S., Europe, and South America. The article does not mention whether suits are pending from agencies on those continents.
North Country Gazette: The Humane Society is taking a smart tactic in its wars on CAFOs and foie gras. It is suing Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a foie gras factory farm near Ferndale, NY, for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. Hudson Valley raises approximately 250,000 ducks annually, and according to the Humane Society, it operates a manure lagoon without the state’s approval and discharges wastes to a nearby pond.
Yes! magazine: A thought-provoking look at the local foodshed of an Arizona county — exactly how much meat and produce is created and then exported, with middlemen reaping the profits as local residents then import their food from elsewhere. A new study suggests the region loses $231 million of potential wealth each year thanks to the global food economy.
Chicago Tribune: Four months after the city’s foie gras ban, Chicago restaurants are still brazenly serving it.
Financial Times: The European Commission is on the last day of its annual haggling over fish quotas, which will be cut substantially next year — but not by enough to preserve stocks, scientists say.
Columbia Missourian: Pigs that have been genetically engineered to produce their own omega-3 fatty acids, similar to salmon’s, were named to Discover magazines top 100 science stories for the year. [File under “No thanks!”]
Energy Bulletin: Why Cuba has become a model for agricultural economies wishing to move away from fossil fuel inputs. A 2005 Harper’s article has more.
UC Davis Dateline: Reporting on a Michael Pollan talk in which as usual, he gets asked what he himself eats.
The New Republic*: An editorial decries the dark, fetid “jungle” state of the modern U.S. meatpacking facility, and says immigration crackdowns are not the solution — but enforcing federal laws like OSHA and union organizing might help.
New York Times (Select)**: Columnist Thomas Friedman picks “Green” as the person of the year, saying “green is the new red, white and blue.” We just wish he’d focused on a company other than Wal-Mart as his top example.
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Humor:
December 22nd, 2006 at 10:51 pm
http://www.syngenta.com/en/about_syngenta/figures.aspx
If you examine the above link, you’ll see that a 1.5 million dollar fine won’t be noticed by them; again, no real accountability for doing wrong, so no reason it won’t happen again and again.
December 23rd, 2006 at 7:35 am
Too bad this could not have happened in time to set some precedent for Percy Schmeiser. Monsanto should be paying him for messing up the seed he perfected. A fine may not be a total solution, but it is good to see these companies chastised even if it is only a slap on the wrist right now.
December 23rd, 2006 at 10:16 am
I agree the Syngenta fine is laughably ridiculous. Case should have gone before a jury.
As for Percy Schmeiser’s case, having read the court documents I think it is slightly more complicated than it was portrayed in Future of Food and by him in person. I wish I’d had time to write up his appearance at Berkeley a few months ago, and maybe someday I will.
Don’t you think the United Nations should take up the issue of genetically modified food as a human-rights issue, maybe rule it illegal to patent any living organism?
December 31st, 2006 at 12:18 pm
It is estimated a staggering $350 to $380 billion is currently allocated every year on agricultural subsidies around the world. The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture was the first time developed and developing nations addressed the issue of agricultural subsidies. A recent report by OECD member countries indicates 30% of farmers receipts come from a combination of government interventions in markets and budgetary payments. On the other hand, China (not a OECD member country) provides its farmers with around 8 % subsidy, a far lower proportion than in most OECD countries. This is significant considering the importance of agriculture to the Chinese economy; accounting for almost 15% of GDP and providing more than 40% of all jobs. Furthermore, as part of its entry to the World Trade Organisation in 2001, China it agreed to cap its support for its farmers at 8.5% of production. Without a doubt, OECD member countries including the United States, Canada and France (which is the largest recipient -22% in 2004 - of the controversial part of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy which began operating in 1962) could learn something from China in respects to agricultural subsidies.