Tag: food
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5 Ways Trans-Pacific Partnership Threatens Local Food
By Karen Hansen-Kuhn and Ben Lilliston Congress is quietly considering legislation that would speed the passage of two mega trade agreements, and seeks to specifically eliminate government programs that favor “localization.” The bill would give the Obama Administration what is known as “fast track” authority—meaning Congress would surrender its constitutional authority to shape trade agreements…
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5 Ways the Farm Bill Brings Home the Bacon for Big Ag
Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm Bill, which fails to make meaningful reforms to correct this imbalance in our food policy: 1. “Direct Payments” Bait and Switch The Farm Bill eliminates the “Direct Payments” program—long the poster child for wasteful agricultural subsidies, known for handing out checks to rich landowners who don’t…
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Want to Avoid GMOs? Look for This Label
What do Cheerios and apples have in common? They are the latest and very public battlegrounds for the GMO [genetically engineered organisms] debate. But these two mainstays of American childhood nutrition are headed in opposite directions. While the arctic apple, genetically modified to not brown when cut, is all but set to be approved for…
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Reports Affirm Climate Change Could Lead to Drastic Increases In Food Prices
Climate impacts are likely to lead to drastic increases in the prices of common food-stuffs over the next few decades, according to a series of new studies from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The studies strongly suggest that the agricultural industry won’t be able to adapt fast enough to the shifting climatic patterns…
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Newly Disclosed Documents Reveal Livestock Antibiotic Use by FDA Despite ‘High Risk’ to Humans
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quietly allowed 30 potentially harmful antibiotics—including 18 rated as “high risk”—to remain on the market as additives in farm animal feed and water, despite an internal review that raised significant red flags, according to agency records obtained by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The data show the…