‘Reuters – A federal judge on Friday banned the planting of genetically modified sugar beets engineered by Monsanto Co in a ruling that marks a major setback for the biotech giant.’
via U.S. judge bans planting of genetically engineered beets | Reuters.
‘Meat producers should use certain antibiotics only to assure animal health and stop using the drugs to increase production and promote growth, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday.’
‘…Yes, organic methods sequester more carbon dioxide than conventional ones. But the ultimate culprit behind agriculture-driven climate change isn’t carbon dioxide. Instead, it’s methane and nitrous oxide—two gasses conspicuously absent from the Rodale study. Agricultural production in the U.S. accounts for only 7 percent of overall carbon dioxide emissions. By contrast, it accounts for 19-25 percent of methane emissions and 70-75 percent of nitrous oxide emissions. Methane, according to the EPA, is 23 times more potent a GHG than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide is 310 times as potent.’
via Organic Agriculture: A Solution to Global Warming? – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com.
‘In 2008, the Rodale Institute—an organization dedicated to the promotion of organic agriculture—published a widely noted report entitled “Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming.” The takeaway was that organic agriculture, due to its reliance on biological rather than chemical methods, could substantially reduce carbon emissions generated by the agricultural sector. Rodale predicted that if the world’s 3.5 billion acres of arable land were placed under organic production, 40 percent of global carbon emissions would be immediately sequestered.’
via Organic Agriculture: A Solution to Global Warming? – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com.
‘Reuters – The European Union is to radically overhaul its approval system for genetically modified GM crops from next month, opening the way to large-scale GM cultivation in Europe, draft proposals seen by Reuters on Friday showed.’
‘Yesterday the USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service issued its decision to approve the mass-release of over a quarter of a million GE eucalyptus trees across seven states in the U.S. South Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, despite overwhelming public opposition.’
via Global Justice Ecology Project: GlobalJusticeEcology.org , Hinesburg, VT.
‘Just as the heavy use of antibiotics contributed to the rise of drug-resistant supergerms, American farmers’ near-ubiquitous use of the weedkiller Roundup has led to the rapid growth of tenacious new superweeds.’
via U.S. Farmers Cope With Roundup-Resistant Weeds – NYTimes.com.
‘(Reuters) – The dairy sector accounts for 4 percent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report.’
via Dairy sector adds 4 percent to man-made emissions: FAO | Reuters.
‘Genetically engineered crops have provided “substantial” environmental and economic benefits to American farmers, but overuse of the technology is threatening to erode the gains, a national science advisory organization said Tuesday in a report.’
via Study Finds Benefits in Modified Crops but Warns of Overuse – NYTimes.com.
‘Since grazing animals eat mostly cellulose-rich roughage while their feedlot counterparts eat mostly simple sugars whose digestion requires no rumination, the grazing animals emit two to four times as much methane, a greenhouse gas roughly 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.’
via Grass-fed beef packs a punch to environment | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters.
the essential eco-commentaries
