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Getting Closer to a Fix for Neonics
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the sudden death of bee colonies, has huge implications for the growers of our food and public health in general.
The cause, until recently has been a deep mystery.
Now CCD researchers are finding more and more evidence pointing towards a class of pesticides—neonicotinoids or “neonics”—as at least part of the problem.
The Sugar Industry’s Influence over Science and Policy
Jonathan Gornall, a writer for The BMJ, is pointing a finger at Big Sugar for its sticky influence over scientific studies and public policy in the UK.
Gornall’s suite of studies examining the connections between private companies, scientists, universities, and policymakers in the U.K. is fairly alarming.
Healthy Soil = Healthy Planet
It’s easy to forget how inextricably connected we are to the soil.
This complex ecosystem (a teaspoon of soil can contain up to 50 billion organisms!) grows our food, fiber, and fuel filters our water eliminates toxins, sequesters C02, and performs a multitude of other functions that are vital for all life.
Four Things We Should Know About the Pizza Lobby
Tomato sauce, cheese, and money…oops, we mean dough.
These are the makings of pizza, and while its influence ignites our weaknesses for salt and fat, a powerful lobbying group, the American Pizza Community (APC) and the American Frozen Food Institute is wielding its influence in Congress.
Oh Where Oh Where Can We Turn For The Best Advice On Nutrition?
Recent political tension over U.S. nutrition recommendations shows how complicated figuring out how to eat a healthy diet can be.
Trusting only the USDA may not be the wisest thing to do.
What if the medical community were also able to give better, unbiased, science-based advice on nutrition.
You Say Potato, I Say GMO
Earlier last month, the USDA approved a GMO potato, the first of its kind in over 20 years.
This techy-tuber, called Innate and developed by the J.R. Simplot Co., has been designed to develop less acrylamide (a suspected carcinogen) when deep-fried and to resist bruising and browning.
It debuts a new era of GMOs that “aim to provide benefits to consumers, not just to farmers as the widely grown biotech crops like herbicide-tolerant soybeans and corn do…” according to Andrew Pollack of the New York Times.
An Apple a Day Can’t Keep the GMO Debate Away
After a long USDA approval process, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, a small biotech company, received the go-ahead to sell the “Arctic-Apple.”
It boasts a flesh that won’t brown or bruise as easily as traditional apples and a controversial attitude amongst consumers and apple sellers because it is a GMO.
Similar to the Innate Potato, this apple is not “transgenic.”
Are Antibiotics in Meat on the Decline?
It has been a mixed week of gains and setbacks in the meat industry for getting a handle on the issue of antibiotics in livestock.
It seems that public awareness of the dangers of pre-emptive antibiotics in livestock is growing, and it may just be a matter of time before policies change for the better.
In an attempt at a policy change for the better, the California Assembly approved SB 835, a bill that would limit the use of antibiotics.
Two Big Sweetener Industries Duke It Out In Court
When we heard that producers of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are being sued over their claim that sugar is…well, basically no different than common white cane sugar…those of us who feel passionate about limiting sugar in our diets may have gotten a rush of excitement. Yay!
Then we heard that the plaintiff was the cane sugar industry.
What?!
“Carbon Farming” Will Surprise You…And Give You Hope For The Future
The debate centering on a climate agreement in Paris this week was a reminder of the difficulty of addressing climate change.
Greenhouse gasses (GHGs) released into our atmosphere are intrinsically connected to economic productivity.
We’ve devised a world in which getting ahead is synonymous with shoving carbon into our atmosphere, so, to a lot of people, attempts to reduce GHGs feels like a limitation on economic growth.