EU committee opposes local bans on GMOs
A proposal to give EU nations the power to restrict or ban GMO food and feeds that are approved by the EU overall has been opposed by the Environment Committee of the European Parliament, said World-Grain. "EU members are concerned that the proposal might prove unworkable and lead to reintroduction of border controls between pro and anti-GMO countries," the article states.
War is enduring cause of hunger; one in nine undernourished
Hunger levels in 52 countries are "serious" or "alarming" despite progress in reducing food insecurity around the world, says the new edition of the Global Hunger Index. "The countries with the highest and worst GHI scores tend to be those engaged in or recently emerged from war," says the report by International Food Policy Research Institute, Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide. An unheralded achievement of recent decades, says the report, is the seeming disappearance of "calamitous famines" that kill more than 1 million people.
California is first state to regulate antibiotics in livestock
Overuse of antibiotics in livestock is "an urgent public health problem," Gov Jerry Brown said in signing a law that makes California the first state to regulate antimicrobials administered to food animals. The new law is stricter than FDA's ongoing phase-out of medically important antibiotics to promote weight gain by cattle, hogs and poultry but won’t come into play as soon. "The science is clear that the overuse of antibiotics in livestock has contributed to the spread of antibiotic resistance and the undermining of decades of life-saving advances in medicine," Brown said. "SB 27 addresses an urgent public health problem."
Brazil to hit the century mark in soybeans
Soybean growers in Brazil, driven by higher domestic prices, will expand plantings for the tenth year in a row and reap a record 100 million tonnes of the oilseed, said USDA. Brazil is second to the United States as a soybean grower but the world leader in soybean exports.
Vegetable pest spreads to Michigan
The Swede midge, an insect that damages cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and other crucifers, was found in five organic production fields in Sanilac County on the "thumb" of Michigan's lower peninsula - the first discovery of the plant pest in Michigan, said the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
First step against labeling is to show GMO food is safe – Roberts
Chairman Pat Roberts says the Senate Agriculture Committee "will prove to the American people their food is safe" before it considers legislation to over-ride state GMO food-labeling laws, said the Topeka (Kan) Capital-Journal. A committee hearing on agricultural biotechnology is scheduled for Oct 21.
Pork disappears from federal prison menus
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons, in charge of 122 federal penitentiaries with 206,000 inmates, eliminated pork from prison menus at the start of the month, says the Washington Post. A spokesman told the Post the decision was based on a survey of food preferences.
Is the check in the mail?
With commodity prices and farm income in a slump, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts called on USDA to send subsidy checks to growers due on their 2014 crops. "According to law, payments to eligible producers ... were to start on October 1 or as soon as practicable," said the Kansas Republican in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Often volatile, global food prices turn placid
World food prices are on an even keel after several years of volatility that began nearly a decade ago, two FAO economists said, crediting the strong dollar, lower petroleum prices and ample stockpiles around the globe.
World Bank-backed palm-oil projects displaced communities
In a piece that explores the dramatic expansion of palm-oil plantations in the rainforests of Indonesia, journalists Jocelyn Zuckerman and Michael Hudson detail abuses committed against the Batin Sembilan, an indigenous community in Sumatra that was forcibly resettled by the largest agribusiness in Asia, Wilmar International Limited.
Fewer students are paying for school lunches
Every school day, roughly 30 million students eat hot meals through the federally subsidized school lunch program. Participation is down by 2 million in the past four years, a decline that is part of the debate over reauthorization of child nutrition programs this year.
China to pursue richer diet despite slowing economy
Chinese consumers are eating more and more meat - per capita consumption soared by 24 percent in the past decade, says a report by PwC UK. An additional 30-percent rise would be needed to match the consumption rates in Taiwan of 74 kg a year, "a realistic long-term extrapolation."
Uncertainty over ethanol mandate hurts farm income
U.S. farm income is taking a hit due in part to EPA proposals to relax the federal mandate to mix ethanol into gasoline, said the National Farmers Union and the National Corn Growers Association.
Farm subsidies get 6.8 percent sequestration cut
The USDA will reduce farm subsidy payments by 6.8 percent "across the board, regardless of when they [farmers] came into the office," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The department mulled for several weeks how to apply budget cuts that are required under spending caps.
U.S. won’t mention soda taxes in Dietary Guidelines
The new edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the government's tips for a healthy diet, will not advocate soda taxes as a way to fight obesity, two Obama cabinet members told lawmakers, despite a suggestion that it should from the panel of experts that is helping to update the guidelines. Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said soda taxes fall outside the province of the guidelines so they will not be considered. They cited the same reason on Tuesday in excluding sustainability of food supplies as an element in recommendations for the American diet.
Froman: TPP to bring ‘significant export opportunities’ for dairy
The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact will create "significant export opportunities" for U.S. dairy products, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, and will not damage the sugar sector. During a teleconference organized by the White House, Froman repeatedly cited TPP benefits for agriculture. When a reporter described the sugar and dairy sections of TPP as "basically a wash" between greater access to overseas markets while introducing additional competition at home, Froman said on dairy, "We believe we got a good balance."
Sustainability excluded from Dietary Guidelines
Sustainability of the food supply is a critically important question but the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is not the appropriate place to discuss it, two Obama cabinet members said, bowing to months of criticism by food and ag groups. The decision by Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack overturned an initiative by the panel of experts they chose to help update the guidelines, which are the government's advice for healthful eating.
At USDA, Obama launches TPP ratification drive
President Obama traveled to the Agriculture Department headquarters on the national Mall to seek support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, one day after the pact was sealed and months before Congress will vote on it. "We are going to be talking not just to members of Congress but the American public and various constituencies, and governors, and mayors who are represented here about why this is good for their communities," Obama said.
Drought barrier remove from Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Crane crews from the California Department of Water Resources are removing a temporary rock barrier that kept salt water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, said Capital Press. The barrier was necessary due to drought that reduced water levels in the rivers, an important source of irrigation water.
Farm income under pressure into 2016, says CoBank
Bumper crops, the strong dollar and slower growth in China will combine to hold down U.S. farm income for the rest of this year and into 2016, says a CoBank report.