Agriculture

Empty Plates

Many of us will have plenty of food on the table tomorrow.  Indeed, many of us will eat more than is really good for us.  But the U.N. reports that the global food situation is quite different, as explained by the NY Times: Global grain production will tumble by 63 million metric tons this year, …

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White paper released today on how farmers and ranchers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions

What can California’s farmers and ranchers do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? “Room to Grow: How California Agriculture Can Help Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” a new white paper released today by UC Berkeley/UCLA Schools of Law, the California Attorney General’s Office, and Bank of America, provides some answers. California agriculture is a huge industry, generating …

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Old MacDonald Had a Farm . . .

But unfortunately, the farm wasn’t as bucolic as you might imagine, as the NY Times reports: Agricultural runoff is the single largest source of water pollution in the nation’s rivers and streams, according to the E.P.A. An estimated 19.5 million Americans fall ill each year from waterborne parasites, viruses or bacteria, including those stemming from …

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GHG Emissions and Meat Production

This article in the new issue of Scientific American has an important discussion of the ways in which animal-based food production contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. From the article: Most of us are aware that our cars, our coal-generated electric power and even our cement factories adversely affect the environment. Until recently, however, the …

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