CRS Reports: You Paid for Them — You May As Well Read Them

May 2, 2012–Here are some recent reports by the Congressional Research Service related to the environment/energy beat. Congress does not release them to the public. We again thank the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project for doing so. 

Denver Post Exposes FDA Secrecy on Food Threats to Public Health

April 18, 2012–Reporter Michael Booth's story resurrected the old issue of whether the public has a right to know the identity and source of foods in commerce that government agencies actually know may be causing fatal illness. The FDA refused to comment on the story.

Is Documenting Cruelty to Animals a Federal Terrorist Crime?

January 12, 2012–According to the Los Angeles Times, recent directives from the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force suggest that merely filming commercial acts of cruelty to animals could be a terrorist offense — something that now can lead to indefinite military detention without trial.

Winter Farmers Markets Provide Hook for Many Ag Issues

January 4, 2012–The USDA says the number of winter farmers markets rose 38% from 2010 to 2011; 17% the year before. Coverage can include local foods, family-owned vs. corporate enterprises, validity of claims about being family-owned and/or local, food inspections, quality control, state, FDA and USDA regulations, immigration, unemployment, and career changes.

NOAA Seafood Report Released

September 28, 2011–Use the data to report for communities directly affected by fishing or, at a larger scale, as a hook to report on several other related issues. Also, research another hot topic drawing attention — mislabeling of fish species.

USDA Documents U.S. Food Deserts

May 25, 2011–USDA evaluated numerous factors for 65,000 census tracts (clickable on the mapping tool), and found that about 10% of them, home to about 13.5 million people, are food deserts where many residents have no access to a large grocery store, due to distance, lack of a vehicle, and/or low income.

Oyster Populations Have Plummeted in US and Globally

February 16, 2011–Down about 85% from their levels around 130 years ago, according to researchers from the US, China, Italy, Uruguay, and Australia, the decimation of native oysters — a contributor to healthy ecosystems and an indicator of ecosystem health — has largely been caused by overharvesting, disease, and introduction of exotic species.

Food News Hooks: Safety, Healthfulness, Availability, Cost, and More

February 2, 2011–Much of your audience likely considers food a minor issue since they see it as generally available, affordable, healthy, environmentally benign, and unrelated to issues such as national security. You can help paint a more realistic picture for them, from the global to the local.

Nearly 900 Farmers Markets Open in Winter

December 22, 2010–The US Dept. of Agriculture says that 898 of these markets are open during some or all of the winter, even in many northern states. The USDA inventory is searchable by state and city, and considerable detail is provided for each market.

Study: Fish Are Getting Whipsawed by People, Climate Change

October 27, 2010–Arizona State University researchers find a major shift in top fish predators in 36 North American waterways, resulting in reduced availability of fish caught for food or sport, and long-term changes in riparian ecology that affect both people and the rest of the environment, sometimes in unpredictable ways.