crops

Study: How To Feed The World While Protecting The Planet

October 19, 2011

It’s estimated the global population will reach nine billion by the year 2050. With a billion people in the world are already malnourished there is concern about future food security and sustainability. An international team of scientists says there is a solution and have come up with a plan they say could feed billions of people without exhausting all of the world’s resources. The scientists say it can happen by transforming the global food system in the next 40 years  toward a more sustainable model. The scientists five point plan includes strategic use of water and nutrients, reduced food waste, croplands that are dedicated to human food production and improved crop production.

Those are just some of the conclusions of a study published by the researchers in the journal Nature. The study says agriculture is the single leading cause behind global warming and loss of ecosystem services. The team of scientists used satellite maps and on-the-ground records to compile data about crop production and environmental impacts. The images showed tens of thousands of acres of acres of forests and grasslands disappearing and converted to cropland. Worldwide, 70 percent of grassland, 45 percent of deciduous forests and 27 percent of the tropical forests have been converted to agriculture. And more than a third of the world’s cropland is dedicated to growing feed for animals and biofuels.

The researchers say the strategies they are proposing could lead to 100 to 180 percent more food available for consumption while sustaining lakes, forests and soil. The study says devoting more cropland to human food consumption could boost calories produced per person by nearly 50 percent.

 

 

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Wal Mart to Track Crop Sustainability

August 11, 2011

Wal Mart wants to know more about the food that ends up in its produce section. The supermarket giant will be asking its fresh food suppliers to provide information on the sustainability of the crops they grow. Wal Mart wants to find out the growers’ use of water, energy and fertilizer. The company also wants suppliers to measure and report the amount of waste, pesticides and refrigerants it uses.

The Packer, a produce industry publication, reports that at a recent Sustainable Food Lab Leadership Summit, Wal Mart officials also said they would be working with the Sustainability Consortium to develop a sustainable index for fresh produce. According to The Packer, Wal Mart will use information from the Stewardship Index and will ask global suppliers to complete a Sustainable Produce Assessment. A spokesperson for the Stewardship Index says it wants to establish one set of metrics for fresh produce.

The information is being collected as part of a pilot program. The company says it may expand the analysis beyond the farm to include reports from merchants and packagers.

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Report Says Regulators Knew Herbicide Caused Birth Defects

June 9, 2011

Regulators have misled the public about the safety of the world’s best-selling herbicide. That is the charge filed in a new report by a group of scientists from around the world. The report says industry regulators knew for years that a chemical used in the herbicide Roundup can cause birth defects.

The report is titled “Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark?”. It is written by a diverse group of scientists from Cambridge University, The Institute of Biology, King’s College London School of Medicine among other institutions. The scientists found industry officials, including Roundup manufacturer Monsanto, have known since the 1980′s that the chemical glyphosate causes malformations in experimental animals in high doses. Glyphosate is the chemical on which the Roundup herbicide is based.

The report also found the European Commission has known the chemical causes malformations since 2002 but did not make the information public. And as recently as last year, scientists say the German agency dealing with review of the chemical told the European Commission there was no evidence glyphosate causes birth defects.

The Huffington Post reports scientists also discovered a few months ago that genetically modified crops used in conjunction with Roundup may cause animal miscarriages. Researcher and retired Purdue University professor Don Huber asked for a moratorium on deregulating crops that are genetically altered to be immune to Roundup. Huber said his research found that the chemical glyphosate promotes soil pathogens that have increased plant diseases and reduced the bioavailability of nutrients in feed which can cause animal disorders.

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Environmental Issues Could Cause Record High Food Prices

June 1, 2011

A new report warns food prices could double in twenty years if world leaders don’t take action to address the environment and reform the global food system. The international charity Oxfam forecasts a dramatic spike in food prices because of climate change, rising energy prices, population growth and the scarcity of land and water. The new report by the group called ‘Growing a Better Future’ says the broken food system and environmental crises will create millions of hungry people and could trigger a new era of permanent food crisis. It says by 2050, demand for food will rise 70 percent while the capacity to increase food production declines.

The United Nations says world food prices climbed to a record high in February, spurring riots overseas and causing banks to raise interest rates. And the World Bank warned last month that rising food prices have pushed 44 million people into poverty since last June. The Oxfam report says the cost of key grains such as maize could rise 180 percent by 2030, with more than half of that increase the result of climate change. The report says the effects will be felt most severely by the poor who spend as much as 80 percent of their income on food.

Oxfam calls for building a multilateral system of food reserves and an end to biofuel subsidies so more crops can go toward food instead of fuel for cars. The group also calls for investing in the small farms in developing countries that feed millions of people. Oxfam is an international confederation of 14 organizations working in 98 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice.

 

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Debate Rages Over Modified Food Labels

May 26, 2011

Individual states are now leading the way on the issue of labeling genetically modified food. With no federal law on the books, 14 states are considering whether to require labeling for modified food sold within their borders. The debates are taking place as federal regulators are close to deciding whether to approve the first genetically modified animal, a salmon, for human consumption.

Genetically modified food is created when a plant or animal is given genetic material from a different source to produce a desired trait. The genetically altered salmon under consideration is an Atlantic salmon inserted with a growth hormone from a Chinook salmon to help the fish grow at twice the normal rate.

The Washington Post reports lawmakers in four states are considering genetically modified food labels that would pertain only to fish. Earlier this month, the California Assembly Health Committee approved a bill that would require genetically modified salmon in the state to contain clear and prominent labeling. In other states, including New York, legislators are considering measures that would require all foods made from genetically modified ingredients to disclose that information on the label.

Genetically altered material for use in food has skyrocketed since it was first approved in 1992. Modified ingredients from crops like corn and soybeans are present in 80 percent of conventional foods processed in the U.S. The crops grow from seeds in which DNA splicing has been used to place genes from another source into a plant. Some consumers are concerned that these kinds of changes may pose health risks and manufacturers should be required to prove genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are safe for human consumption before putting them on the market. Industry representatives say that GMOs are safe and that labeling them is unnecessary. They site a 1992 statement from the Food and Drug Administration that says there is no reason to believe GMOs differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way.

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Report Finds Alarming Rates of Soil Erosion

April 19, 2011

Some farms in the Midwest are losing precious topsoil up to 12 times faster than government estimates. That’s according to a report by the Environmental Working Group. The environmental group blames irresponsible farming practices for putting the country’s land and water at risk. Experts say erosion is a problem because it creates polluted runoff as pesticides, fertilizers and manure run into water. The report shows in 2007  alone, 10 million acres of Iowa farmland lost dangerous amounts of soil. There is little incentive for farmers to stop soil erosion as high crop prices lead farmers to plant on as much ground as possible and take fewer protective measures. Craig Cox is the lead author of the report and says “when a storm hits vulnerable or poorly protected soil, fields lose more soil in a single day than is supposed to be sustainable for the whole year, even decades.” According to the report, $51 billion dollars in spent on boosting all-out crop production in farm states. But environmental experts say 97% of soil loss could be prevented with simple conservation measures like planting grass or trees near the edge of crop fields and creating grass waterways to filter out pollutants. The Environmental Working Group recommends the USDA resume aggressive enforcement of the 1985 farm bill that requires farmers who accept subsidies to apply soil conservation  measures on vulnerable cropland. The group also says Congress should strengthen the conservation provisions when it reauthorizes the farm bill in 2012. The EWG report is based on research by scientists at Iowa State University, as well as aerial surveys and interviews with experts across the Corn Belt region.

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Organic Farmers Sue Over Genetically Modified Seed

 

April 4, 2011

A group of organic farmers and seed dealers have filed a lawsuit against global seed giant Monsanto. The group says Monsanto is threatening to monopolize food production in environmentally and socially destructive ways. The group wants a ruling that would protect organic farmers from being sued by Monsanto. The company has sued hundreds of farmers for copyright infringement before when Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds blew into the nearby fields of organic farmers. When the modified seeds contaminate organic crops they can automatically take over without the farmer knowing. Monanto’s lawsuits have claimed farmers made use of their seeds without paying the required royalties.  Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” seeds are a favorite of conventional farmers because they can withstand herbicide treatments. The lawsuit was filed by the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), an advocacy group that represents the public’s interest in the patent system. A statement from PUBPAT says the plaintiffs were forced to sue preemptively to protect themselves from being accused of patent infringement. Monsanto has released genetically modified seeds for corn, soybean, sugar beets, cotton and alfalfa. PUBPAT says the modified seeds threaten the existence of organic crop. It says when Monsanto released modified seeds for canola, organic canola became virtually extinct as a result of contamination.

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Watch for GMO's in Your Natural Cereal

Many cereals labeled ‘natural’ still contain genetically modified ingredients. That’s the finding of a survey conducted by the Organic and Non-GMO Report. More than 80 percent of soybeans and more than 70 percent of corn produced in the United States are genetically modified. The modified seeds allow farmers to plant crops that can tolerate herbicides. Several natural food manufacturers surveyed admitted that their products may contain genetically modified ingredients, including Kellogg’s Kashi brand, Mother’s Nature Cereals made by Quaker Oats and Bear River Valley Natural Cereals. Three cereal makers are having their products certified by the Non-GMO Project including Annie’s Homegrown, Barbara’s Bakery and Peace cereals.The Non-GMO Project is a voluntary program that helps food makers establish systems for preventing the risk of using genetically modified ingredients. The goal is to protect the integrity of the organic food supply. Genetic modification is a prohibited practice in organics but not a prohibited substance. There have been calls for the US Food and Drug Administration to regulate the ‘natural’ claims on food products. Critics of genetically modified crops say there was not enough done to test the safety or environmental impact of modified seeds before putting them on the market.

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Genetically Engineered Crops are Growing

The amount of land used to grow genetically engineered crops grew by about 10 percent last year with an estimated 15 million farmers growing biotech crops. The United States remains the largest user of genetically modified seeds but Brazil posted the biggest growth last year. Biotech crops are bred with other genes that allow them to tolerate weed killers or generate their own insecticide. The latest report by the International Service for the Acqusition of Agri-Biotech Applications shows genetically engineered crops cover about 10 percent of the world’s farmland, up from nothing just 15 years ago. U.S. based Monsanto and DuPont are leaders in the development of genetically altered crops that help farmers fight bugs, weed and disease. Critics say the altered seeds and plants are harmful to the environment because of increased use of herbicides, weed resistance and potential health problems for people and animals. Organic farmers also worry that the altered seeds can contaminate nearby organic farming operations. Of the four most commonly planted biotech crops there is a growing number of plantings that are genetically engineered. The report shows 81 percent of soybeans, 64 percent of cotton, 29 percent of corn and 23 percent of canola were from genetically modified seeds.

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Study Finds Alarming Decline in Bumblebees

Several species of American bees are dying off at a rapid rate, up to 96 percent in the last 10 to 15 years. That’s according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study also found the geographic range of the bees has contracted anywhere from 23 to 87 percent. Scientists are concerned about this decline because bees pollinate about 15 percent of the crops grown around the nation, worth an estimated 3 billion dollars. Bees pollinate crops like tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, blueberries and more. Researchers say there are two possible causes for the decline. One is the spread of the deadly fungus, the other is low genetic diversity which makes bees vulnerable to environmental pressures and pathogens. The three year nationwide study concentrated on eight species of North American bumblebees. The population of the four of the species were dropping dramatically, the other four were holding steady. USA Today reports that a 2007 study blamed the decline of the bee population on the use of pesticides, pollution and habitat loss. Scientists say more research is needed to identify and understand the bumblebee problem.

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