Early data show Philadelphia soda tax is cutting consumption
All EPA activities will be tethered to law, says new chief Pruitt
The new EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, who sued the agency 14 times while a state attorney general, told employees they will be "tethered to the statute" when writing regulations or enforcing them, with no allowance for shortcuts or stretches of authority. During a 12-minute speech to staffers during his first day on the job, Pruitt said EPA will avoid "abuses that occur sometimes," such as "using the guidance process to do regulation" and "regulation in litigation."
Don’t want to slice your own tomato? Ask the produce butcher.
In Manhattan, Whole Foods' latest store offers customers a “produce butcher” to cut up vegetables in real time — and for a price. According to the store’s sign, the produce butcher will “julienne (long, thin matchsticks), mince, dice, chop, and slice” produce for a dollar a pound, says Modern Farmer.
Farms are eating up pollinator habitat, says study
Wild bees are disappearing in the country’s key farmlands from California to the Midwest to the Mississippi Valley, say researchers at the University of Vermont in the first study to map U.S. wild bee populations. The study found a 23-percent decline in wild bees in the contiguous U.S. between 2008 and 2013.
Trump tells ethanol conference ‘renewable fuels are essential’
As a candidate, Donald Trump supported corn ethanol and, one month after taking office, he reiterated his view, telling the National Ethanol Conference, "renewable fuels are essential to America's energy strategy." The industry is under perennial attack by the oil industry and by some environmental groups, that want to reduce or eliminate the federal mandate to use biofuels.
Scientists find enzyme that helps rice plants block arsenic
Rice tends to absorb arsenic from the soil more readily than other food crops, prompting concern about the presence of the chemical in baby food. "Scientists have identified enzymes that help rice plant roots tame arsenic, converting it into a form that can be pushed back into the soil," thereby reducing the threat to humans, says Science News.
Farm-bill coalition asks Congress, don’t cut us now, don’t cut us later
More than 500 groups across the farm, agribusiness, anti-hunger, rural-development and land-stewardship spectrum asked lawmakers in a letter to exempt farm-bill programs from spending cuts this year or next. Often called the farm-bill coalition, the groups said it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" for Congress to enact the 2018 farm bill if funding is cut from current levels.
Farm numbers dip slightly while income plunges
Three years after the collapse of commodity prices, there are only slightly fewer farms in the United States than when the seven-year boom peaked and farm income was record high, according to USDA data. The government estimated there were 2.06 million farms in 2016, down 2 percent from 2013, the same period in which net farm income, a gauge of solvency, plummeted 46 percent.
House Ag member Bustos passes on run for Illinois governor
With three other Democrats already in the race, House Agriculture Committee member Cheri Bustos said she will seek her fourth term in Congress rather than run for governor in Illinois. Her decision leaves Democrats "without a major Downstate candidate" in the gubernatorial primary to face incumbent Republican Gov Bruce Rauner in 2018, said the Chicago Tribune.
Political analyst quits Democratic Party over rural inaction
Matt Barron, the chairman of the Chesterfield Democratic Town Committee in western Massachusetts, "has resigned and left the party due to what he says is the party's blatant failure to address rural concerns," said the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Barron, who runs a political consulting business, told the newspaper in Northhampton, Mass., that he acted "after nine years of of growing frustration at the inability of the party to compete for rural and white working class voters."
Never mind the threats, U.S. corn has the lowest price in Mexico
According to one of the world's largest grain traders, the biggest advantage the United States holds in the Trump administration's war of words with Mexico is this: U.S. corn is the best deal. DTN says chief executive Soren Schroeder, of Bunge Ltd., told analysts during a teleconference, "The extent to which there is any switching that takes place to South America, frankly, it all depends on price. And at the moment, it doesn't work."
In South Sudan, 100,000 people face starvation in man-made famine
Three U.N. agencies said war and a collapsing economy have put 100,000 people at risk of starvation in South Sudan. An additional 1 million are on the brink of starvation, said the agencies, which warned, "The total number of food insecure people is expected to rise to 5.5 million at the height of the lean season in July if nothing is done to curb the severity and spread of the food crisis."
With no regulations on arsenic in food, experts suggest ‘prudent avoidance’
Arsenic’s reputation as a potent poison has been known since ancient Greeks and Romans used it to dispatch rivals. But scientists are just beginning to get a handle on the risks that come from chronic exposure to low doses of arsenic, which has complicated efforts to regulate the most common route of exposure: through diet.
Farm groups eager for Pruitt to act at EPA
Confirmed by a 52-48 Senate roll call, Scott Pruitt begins his first workday as EPA administrator today with plans to address agency employees at midday. As attorney general of Oklahoma, Pruitt sued the EPA 14 times and was a leading opponent of its Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, a regulation that is reviled by farm groups who want to see it ditched.
AEI fellow proposes multi-state test of ban on buying soda with food stamps
In the name of improving public health, the government should set up a multi-state demonstration project that bans poor people from using food stamps to buy soda and other sweetened beverages that are blamed for contributing to the obesity epidemic, said an American Enterprise Institute official.
Trump signs repeal of Obama’s stream-protection rule
Completing a two-week legislative sprint by Republicans, President Trump signed a resolution that repeals a stream-protection rule issued by the Obama administration to restrict pollution near streams and require more restoration of riparian land.
Massive vineyard seen as threat to Napa Valley’s water
A coalition of environmental groups, a homeowners’ organization and a public water agency in Napa County have filed appeals against a sprawling hillside vineyard project that they argue imperils water resources, sensitive habitat and the climate in the heart of wine country.
Sonny Perdue ‘having the time of his life’ waiting for USDA vote
President Trump's nominee for agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue of Georgia, is "having the time of his life" in meeting senators ahead of his confirmation hearing, said a transition official. The paperwork on his nomination, including the results of an ongoing background check, could be in the hands of the Senate Agriculture Committee in early March, the official estimated.
Two Senate Ag members among ‘most vulnerable’ in 2018
Study looks at high pesticide exposure, DNA change in farmworkers
Researchers say farmworkers who experience a high pesticide exposure event, such as a spill, are more likely to have molecular changes in their DNA that may lead to certain types of cancer, says Environmental Health News (EHN). The research was drawn from the long-running Agricultural Health Study of 57,000 private and commercial pesticide users in Iowa and North Carolina.