Agriculture

PEER Sues FDA for Documents on Livestock Antibiotics [1]

Under FOIA, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility requested FDA documents justifying its use of categorical exclusions to avoid assessing the environmental impact of not regulating livestock antibiotics. After FDA failed to provide any, PEER filed a lawsuit in federal district court.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [2]

Topics on the Beat:

Policy [3]

Laws & Regulations [4]

Chemicals [5]

Agriculture [6]

Visibility:

Public [7]

Read more about PEER Sues FDA for Documents on Livestock Antibiotics [1]

"Chihuahua: Where the Rain Doesn't Fall Any More" [8]

"A record drought in northern Mexico has prompted warnings that the region's climate may have changed for good."

Agriculture [6]

Climate Change [9]

Disasters [10]

Public [7]

Mexico [11]

Source: Independent [12], 07/11/2012

Read more about "Chihuahua: Where the Rain Doesn't Fall Any More" [8]

July 24, 2012

DEADLINE: EJN Fellowship for IUCN World Conservation Congress [13]

Internews’ Earth Journalism Network is organizing a Fellowship for journalists interested in agriculture — 1 each from China, India, Brazil, the US and Northwestern Mexico — to attend the IUCN World Conservation Congress being held in Jeju, Korea, September 5-12. Fellowships still available as of July 24th; apply ASAP.

Workshops and Fellowships [14]

Visibility:

Public [7]

Topics on the Beat:

Journalism & Media [15]

Agriculture [6]

Region:

South America [16]

Asia [17]

Mexico [11]

Dead Zone Pollutant Grows Despite Decades of Work: Who's the Culprit? [18]

"For two centuries, the town of Hermann has been known for the Missouri River. But now the river is making Hermann known for an unexpected reason: It is a hot spot for nitrate. Despite three decades of costly efforts to clean it up, the levels at Hermann have increased 75 percent since 1980."

Agriculture [6]

Pollution [19]

Public [7]

National (U.S.) [20]

Source: EHN [21], 07/09/2012

Read more about Dead Zone Pollutant Grows Despite Decades of Work: Who's the Culprit? [18]

"Has 'Organic' Been Oversized?" [22]

"ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michael J. Potter is one of the last little big men left in organic food. More than 40 years ago, Mr. Potter bought into a hippie cafe and 'whole earth' grocery here that has since morphed into a major organic foods producer and wholesaler, Eden Foods."

Agriculture [6]

Economy & Business [23]

Food [24]

Public [7]

National (U.S.) [20]

Source: NY Times [25], 07/09/2012

Read more about "Has 'Organic' Been Oversized?" [22]

"Searing Sun and Drought Shrivel Corn in Midwest" [26]

"HARTFORD CITY, Ind. -- Across a wide stretch of the Midwest, sweltering temperatures and a lack of rain are threatening what had been expected to be the nation’s largest corn crop in generations."

Agriculture [6]

Climate Change [9]

Public [7]

National (U.S.) [20]

Source: NY Times [27], 07/05/2012

Read more about "Searing Sun and Drought Shrivel Corn in Midwest" [26]

"Wheat, Corn Prices Climb as Heat Takes Toll on Crops" [28]

"Wheat prices rose Wednesday as the hot, dry summer continued to take its toll on crops in the U.S. and Russia."

Agriculture [6]

Climate Change [9]

Economy & Business [23]

Public [7]

International [29]

Source: AP [30], 06/28/2012

Read more about "Wheat, Corn Prices Climb as Heat Takes Toll on Crops" [28]

TOOLBOX: EWG Ag Subsidy Database a Tall Silo of Environmental Stories [31]

One starting point to covering agriculture — and the health implications of land and water use — is to follow the money using Environmental Working Group's major database tool. Any reporter covering the ag-environment link should know about it.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [2]

Topics on the Beat:

Water & Oceans [32]

Pollution [19]

Policy [3]

Health [33]

Environmental Politics [34]

Environmental Health [35]

Agriculture [6]

Visibility:

Public [7]

Read more about TOOLBOX: EWG Ag Subsidy Database a Tall Silo of Environmental Stories [31]

Senate Stifles Amendment on Crop Insurance Disclosure [36]

That left journalists and the taxpayers — for now — at least partly in the dark about where tax dollars subsidizing agriculture are really going. But disclosure advocates think they may get another opportunity when the House takes up its own version of the Farm Bill.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [2]

Topics on the Beat:

Policy [3]

Laws & Regulations [4]

Environmental Politics [34]

Economy & Business [23]

Agriculture [6]

Visibility:

Public [7]

Read more about Senate Stifles Amendment on Crop Insurance Disclosure [36]

CBS Gets 'GM' Grass Story Wrong [37]

"Perhaps you heard the story going around today. A genetically modified grass started pumping out cyanide gas, killing a herd of cattle. CBS News had the scoop, as seen at WTVR.com in Richmond: 'Genetically modified grass linked to cattle deaths.' It’s basically a story custom-built for rapid spread around the internet. And it is basically completely wrong. The grass at issue, Tifton 85, was not genetically modified at all, but rather is a hybrid."

Journalism & Media [15]

Biodiversity [38]

Agriculture [6]

Public [7]

National (U.S.) [20]

Source: Grist [39], 06/27/2012

Read more about CBS Gets 'GM' Grass Story Wrong [37]

DEADLINE: EJN Fellowship for IUCN World Conservation Congress [13]

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