"Prolonged and intense heat is part of a climate change-driven pattern of weather extremes that has also led to intense flooding and prolonged drought. For farmers, this means shorter planting windows and potential loss of crops because of periods of early-season heat followed by a freeze."
"At Ashawaug Farm in southwest Rhode Island, Dawn and Cassius Spears preserve their Indigenous knowledge of agriculture through the cultivation and keeping of three Narragansett heritage crops: white corn, succotash beans and crookneck squash."
"The legislation includes forestry and conservation provisions but steers away from issues like pesticide labeling and biofuels policy."
"The makers of popular cookware brands All-Clad and Farberware have launched an unusual legal fight against a rival whose products don’t contain “forever chemicals,” alleging the company’s ads falsely paint the presence of PFAS in its competitors’ products as toxic."
"Okra holds a special place in many African-descended communities, and a Canadian farmer with Jamaican roots is growing a very old variety"
""Fifteen countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific adopted a declaration on Wednesday to step up efforts to combat illegal fishing, a practice that experts say costs the world economy up to $50 billion annually."
"Half of the world’s children are exposed to at least three overlapping climate hazards threatening their health, education and survival, according to a Unicef report."
The news has been full of warnings about a larger-than-normal El Niño, the periodic weather pattern that portends drastic fluctuations in everything from temperatures and precipitation to ocean currents and hurricanes. The latest Issue Backgrounder takes a step back to help explain exactly how this phenomenon works and what its impacts may be, while offering a parting thought on smart coverage.
"Several newspapers across farming states have run strikingly similar opinion columns over the past month that take issue with a California law requiring farmers to provide hogs, calves and chickens with enough room to turn around, lie down and stretch."
"Some of the snacks finding their way into American pantries contain “concerning levels of additives,” according to new findings by Consumer Reports and the food-scanning app Yuka."
