Climate Food and Agriculture

More than peak oil or financial crash, I fear angry men armed to the teeth

“I urge readers to use less than lethal means when safe and practicable, but at times there is not a satisfactory substitute for well-aimed lead going down range at high velocity.” — James Rawles, SurvivalBlog With oil and food prices reaching all-time highs and food riots breaking out in the global south, a bit of […]

Study: transgenic soy brings lower yields than conventional

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) came to dominate U.S. grain agriculture over the last 12 with very little real public debate. Sure, people like me have complained loudly, and groups like Center for Food Safety have mounted forceful lobbying and public education efforts. But U.S. policymakers have ignored these criticisms and chosen to wave these epoch-making […]

It’s happening, reports The New York Sun

Is the U.S. on the brink of food rationing? Possibly. Reports The New York Sun: Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. It’s hard to know what to make of the report, though. The […]

Monsanto CEO applies for sainthood

I’m watching the CEO of Monsanto, Hugh Grant, talk about how his company is a boon to sustainability. They’re focused on reducing the footprint of agriculture and feeding the world’s hungry — especially poor African women. Oh, and also they’re dedicated to reducing water use. All the farmers that use their seeds love them, and […]

Worldwide resistance to GMOs dwindle as food bills rise

For a while now, I’ve been cautioning people that surging prices for industrial food don’t necessarily “level the playing field” for sustainably produced fare. In fact, the few giant companies that dominate the global food system are fattening themselves on higher prices, consolidating their grip over the world’s palate. Last week, new Gristmill blogger Anna […]

Food vs. fuel debate, German edition

Defending her country’s biofuel mandates in a time of global food crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently denied that turning food crops into car fuel affects prices. Those looking for reasons behind the recent spike in food prices shouldn’t blame ethanol and biodiesel makers, she argued. Instead, look at how people are eating in the […]

PETA offers $1 million for commercially viable test-tube meat

PETA thinks the idea of test-tube meat looks like a million bucks. Literally. The outspoken animal-rights group is offering a cool one mil to the “first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012.” The idea caused “a near civil war in […]

Three million more acres of industrial corn?

According to USDA projections, U.S. farmers will plant 86 million acres of corn in 2008. At any time in the last 50 years, that would be plenty. Since 1958, USDA figures tell us, farmers have broken 80 million acres only ten times. In fact, if farmers meet expectations, 2008 will rank as the second-largest planting […]

Notable quotable

"It's a crime against humanity that food should be diverted to biofuels."

-- Palaniappan Chidambaram, India's finance minister

(via)

Thirty years ago, high crop prices caused environmental destruction, too

Last week, I wrote about high crop prices that were inspiring people to make all manner of dubious land-use decisions, like plowing up environmentally sensitive land to plant environmentally destructive corn. Then I came across an interesting bit from Merchants of Grain: The Power and Profits of the Five Giant Companies at the Center of […]