Ethanol’s big, ugly baggage: With prices for corn and soybeans continuing to rise, farmers this year are expected to “pour on the inputs.” That means even more amounts of nitrogen fertilizer (derived from natural gas) and pesticides. Or, “genetically modified hybrids likely will displace some chemicals,” says an analyst. Agriculture Online
Nyet to GMOs: Moscow will introduce a voluntary system of food labels indicating that a product does not contain genetically modified ingredients, starting July 1. Vladimir Putin apparently supports the creation of GM-free zones throughout the country. Fort Wayne Sentinel
Fat pigs are happier: Animal-handling guru Temple Grandin is applauding the banishment of sow gestation crates, but warns that the pork industry will now have to address the challenge that “breeds that have had much of the fat bred out of them” are much more aggressive in group housing. But “the pigs with the fatter genetics tend to fight less. They’re fat and happy.” Meat and Poultry*
Horse course: An op-ed looks at America’s taboo against eating meat from our equine friends. Fun fact: Until the late 1970s, the Harvard Faculty Club served horse steaks as a regular menu item. New York Times
Fast times at Fast Food Junior High: Childhood obesity in the United States appears to be causing girls to reach puberty at an earlier age, says a report from the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital. Scientific American
Nuts for Brazil: Bush is seeking an ethanol “alliance” with Brazil, which is leagues ahead of other countries in production of the alternative fuel from sugarcane, which uses far less energy than corn-based ethanol. Article mentions the 54-cent-per-gallon U.S. tariff on Brazilian ethanol imports as a barrier but not the price protection U.S. sugar growers enjoy that make it uneconomical to use it for fuel. Associated Press
Vegetarians, meet your godfather: A great profile of 86-year-old Iowan agricultural pioneer Wayne Fox, who invented the extruder that allows soy to be used as a protein substitute all over the world — and possibly soon in space. Des Moines Register
OD’ed on “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”: Jon Caroll writes about his love-hate relationship with Bay Area “food cathedrals.” (DQ says: Yo Jon — come to dinner at our house and we’ll fill your ear about hog farming over pork chops.) San Francisco Chronicle
Uncle Sam’s left hand, meet right hand: The federal Conservation Reserve Program pays landowners to remove their farmland from production and put it into soil-conserving uses like grass or trees. The IRS wants to tax those who receive CRP payments under the higher self-employed rates, even if they don’t take an active part in the farm. Des Moines Register
Farm Bill thumbs-up: A KC Star editorial lauds the Bush administration’s Farm Bill proposal for, among other things, moving U.S. policy away from production subsidies by putting more emphasis on direct-income payments, rather than payments linked to the size of a crop. Kansas City Star
It’s only “natural”: The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service closes comments today on the label “natural,” which — despite consumer perception — currently means only that a product has been no more than minimally processed and that it contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or preservatives. Meanwhile, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which covers livestock production and marketing, is also looking at the label, and considering whether to require that when applied to meat, it refers to animals that have been raised without hormones or antibiotics. Meat and Poultry*
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Humor:
March 7th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Nitpick — why would you call soy a ‘protein substitute’ instead of a ‘protein source’?
March 7th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Indy: You’re quite right to nitpick. Should have said “source.” We were probably blinded by textured soy’s use in “fake meats” like Morningstar Farms’ “Chik Nuggets” — but that’s certainly not the way the rest of the world eats it.