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Research shows possible connection between pesticide use and skin cancer

By Ethicurean • on March 13, 2010

Health researchers have been unable to explain why several studies have found an excess risk of melanoma and other skin cancer for farmers. Farmers spend time in the sun — which is a major risk factor — but could it be something else? New research suggests that exposure to certain pesticides could be one of the causes. Epidemiologists from the

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Why seafood wallet cards can be the wrong bait for consumers

By Marc R. aka Mental Masala • on February 25, 2010

Seafood guides and other consumer-based campaigns are an important part of the quest for sustainable seafood and healthy oceans, but so far they have not shown enough positive results: bigger efforts are needed. That’s the main conclusion of a new article, "Conserving wild fish in a sea of market-based

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What does asthma have to do with farm animals — or food?

By Marc R. aka Mental Masala • on January 18, 2010

When government officials hear the words "backyard livestock," they tend to worry about disease outbreaks and sanitation crises. And for good reason, as improperly managed animals — including dogs and cats —

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There Be Dragons: Examining the alternatives to unsustainable aquaculture fish feed

By Marc R. aka Mental Masala • on November 22, 2009

February 23, 2010 update: I discovered that the credit for the grasshopper photo was incorrect. The photo is actually from tazintosh's Flickr collection and the photo's Flickr page is

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USDA funding university research on organic

By Ethicurean • on October 30, 2009

Drop in the bucket: Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan yesterday announced that more than $19 million in grants have been awarded to universities across the country to solve critical organic agriculture issues. The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, administered by USDA's

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Flat world, fat world: Report from the Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Symposium, part 1

By Guest • on September 23, 2009

By Nicole de Beaufort On September 21, 2009 in Minneapolis, a crowd of 300 people representing more than 30 disciplines gathered for a symposium hosted by the Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Institute

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New USDA report: 36% of farmers don’t have computers

By Ethicurean • on August 17, 2009

Farm 2.0? Not so much: A report released Friday by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) tallies the numbers for farm computer usage for 2009. It finds: Only 64 percent of farms have access to a computer, leaving 36 percent with no computer access. 59 percent of all farms--so nearly

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Do I dare to eat a peach? Not a conventional one, says Tribune study

By Elanor • on August 13, 2009

Another day, another facet to the debate over whether organic produce is worth the extra moolah. Unless you've been living on a remote mountaintop with no wireless, you've probably witnessed the recent frenzy over a UK

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Concentration in the food industry not a concern, says new GAO report

By Marc R. aka Mental Masala • on August 5, 2009

In recent years, farmers have received an ever-decreasing share of the retail dollar, even during recent spikes in food prices. Some have argued that concentration in the food industry — the increase in the economic

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If biotechnology won’t feed the world, what will? Knowledge, says GE expert Doug Gurian-Sherman

By Elanor • on July 10, 2009

Earlier this week, I asked plant pathologist and molecular biologist Doug Gurian-Sherman to explain some of the science behind genetically engineered crops and their potential — or lack thereof — to feed a more populous, climate-changing

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Meaty diet found to be heavier in flame retardant PBDEs

By Ethicurean • on June 28, 2009

Free to be me and PBDE: Humans and many animals have become cocktails of chemicals, with a lifetime's "body burden" acquired from skin contact, breathing, drinking, and eating industrial materials. A newly released paper by researchers at Boston University investigates the role of diet in the body burden

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South Dakota ponders potantial conflict of interest for university presidents

By Ethicurean • on June 20, 2009

For sale: One ivory tower. Foundation needs replacing: A South Dakota state senator is pondering drafting legislation that would stop or limit university presidents in South Dakota from serving as highly paid board members for business corporations, like say, South Dakota State University President David

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“Biopesticides” are hot stuff

By Ethicurean • on June 9, 2009

Sounds good — what's the catch?: Scientists are working on natural compounds and organisms called biopesticides that control agricultural pests and don’t have adverse health effects on people. Researchers at Michigan State University recently identified two new genes and two new enzymes in tomato

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Farmed fish have low levels of PCBs and other toxins

By Ethicurean • on June 4, 2009

One win for aquaculture…some, anyway: Scientists from the Netherlands measured concentrations of several halogenated toxins in tilapia, pangasius, shrimp, salmon, trout, and shrimp that were farmed in several places around the world. Such toxins included Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine

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“The Failure of Science”: New paper makes a damning case against genetically modified food crops

By Bonnie Azab Powell • on June 3, 2009

"Doom and gloomers." That's what my father used to call people who talked about global warming not as a chance to work on their tans, but as something that ought to be keeping humankind up at night. He'd

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