Food

In one of many last-minute actions, the Bush administration delayed a decision on a drinking water standard for the contaminant perchlorate (used in rocket fuel, explosives, fireworks, and many other industrial products, and also occurs naturally), but issued a temporary advisory recommendation. This has immediate implications for at least 31 large US utilities, and perhaps hundreds more.

Large feedlots would no longer have to report toxic emissions under a rule proposed Dec. 21, 2007, by EPA.

The Senate passed a five-year Farm Bill Dec. 14, 2007, that softened a provision imposing draconian penalties for publication of information from a federal database for tracking food animals.

Consumers looking for information on which fish may be better to eat, considering factors such as sustainability, health, or source identification, have a range of potential sources.

A judge's decision has cracked open the black box of at least one genetically engineered crop: alfalfa.

More fish in US federal marine waters have become overfished, according to NOAA's annual assessment for 2006, released June 22, 2007

Greenpeace Mexico revealed what the federal Health Secretariat knew since October: that 47 of 51 samples of US rice import shipments tested positive for contamination.

March went out like a lion for adversaries in the arena of food and pharmaceutical crop engineering.

During the past two years, and especially since last fall, strong hints of far greater than normal die-offs (of honeybees) have been appearing all over the country, in at least 24 states (map of affected states).