US aims to create 100,000 new farmers

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Laetitia Mailhes

Occupy Monsanto Rally, The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Times Square, New York, during the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2011 Industrials conference, December 8, 2011.

Government-backed loans to new farmers have more than doubled in the past decade in the United States. The goal is to reverse a worrisome trend: U.S. Census data showed that the average age of U.S. farmers rose from 52 in 1987 to 55 in 2007. The government hopes that new census data due this year will show more young farmers, a factor that government leaders say is critical for the future of food production. Because of its focus on specialty crops and organic farming, the new generation already spells trouble for the entrenched farming industry, starting with biotech and chemical giant Monsanto… Read more about that, and about the US public policy designed to increase support to beginning farmers: Eyeing greener acres, new farmers reap growing U.S. aid (Reuters)

Good news: agriculture is getting more attention than ever before among economic leaders of the world, according to World Farmers Organization leader Robert Carlson, who attended the recent World Economic (WE) Forum in Davos, Switzerland: Carlson representing agriculture at the World Economic Forum (Farm & Ranch Guide) Bad [old] news: GMO are expected to save the day. Apparently, agroecology was never mentioned in the conversations held by the big and powerful in the Swiss Alps, despite the appearance of UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food Olivier de Schutter.

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No Nourishment To Be Found In Suffering

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Laetitia Mailhes

The Humane Society’s graphic footage of animal abuse at two industrial pig farms is making wave, and rightly so. The arrogance of the farms’ owners is unfettered, as they claim they’re not doing anything wrong, and are adhering to strict animal welfare guidelines—another way of saying that the same horrific scenes can be found at all other industrial pig farms in the country. The good news is that Walmart is getting involved, as the retail giant is eager to mitigate any damage caused to its brand and business by the bad rap of one of its pork suppliers. And so here’s the really good news: consumers do have the power to change the meat industry, and to have it improve its practices. It’s about animal welfare. It’s also about human welfare in a industry where the mistreatment of animals famously breeds the mistreatment of its workers.

Pig farms under fire after Humane Society investigation (Medill Reports)

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Public Debate Shifting On Farms Subsidies

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Laetitia Mailhes

Credit: Bob MacInnes

The budget crisis has emerged as the ideal context for a critical public debate about farm [perverse] subsidies. Here’s an enlightening article about the Farm Bill that makes the case against supporting Big Ag—in the mainstream media, no less! Farmers Making $100 Billion Don’t Need Subsidies to Grow(Bloomberg)

Purdue University scientists may have identified one of the factors that cause bee deaths around agricultural fields: neonicotinoid insecticides, which are commonly used to coat corn and soybean seeds before planting. Honeybee Deaths Linked to Seed Insecticide Exposure (Science Daily)

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European Victory Against GMO

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Laetitia Mailhes

BASF's genetically modified potato, Amflora.

BASF quit. The German chemicals and biotech giant, who had been fighting hard for 13 years to get approval for Amflora, its genetically modified starched-up potato for industrial use, is giving up on the European market for GMO (genetically modified organisms). The reason? “A lack of acceptance from the majority of consumers, farmers and politicians,” said Stefan Marcinowski, a BASF board member. “Therefore, it does not make business sense to continue investing in products exclusively for cultivation in this market.” BASF is moving its plant science headquarters from Limburgerhof, Germany, to Raleigh, North Carolina.

The decision occurred 18 months after an attempt by the European Commission to put an end to a 12-year moratorium on GM crops by allowing individual countries to decide whether or not to grow GM crops. Seemingly, that initiative is not going anywhere, and BASF decided to finally cut its losses, and move to greener pastures. The company said that it has decided to focus on “attractive markets”… in the Americas and in Asia.

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