Category: Food Production

Includes land- and sea-based food production.

Study: Air pollution from farms leads to 17,900 U.S. deaths per year

Washington Post: Air pollution from farms leads to 17,900 U.S. deaths per year, study finds. A first-of-its-kind study shows that lung-irritating particles from fertilizer, feed lots and manure cause thousands of premature deaths — even more than coal power plants. But using more sustainable farming practices and eating less meat could save lives.

“The odor is so offensive that we start gagging, we start coughing,” she told a congressional committee in November 2019. Herring, who died last week, said she and other residents developed headaches, breathing problems and heart conditions from the fumes.

Now, a first-of-its-kind study shows that air pollution from Duplin County farms is linked to roughly 98 premature deaths per year, 89 of which are linked to emissions directly caused by hogs. Those losses are among more than 17,000 annual deaths attributable to pollution from farms across the United States, according to research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Western Drought Is Bad. Here’s What You Should Know About It.

New York Times: The Western Drought Is Bad. Here’s What You Should Know About It. Answers to questions about the current situation in California and the Western half of the United States.

Much of the Western half of the United States is in the grip of a severe drought of historic proportions. Conditions are especially bad in California and the Southwest, but the drought extends into the Pacific Northwest, much of the Intermountain West, and even the Northern Plains.

Drought emergencies have been declared. Farmers and ranchers are suffering. States are facing water cutbacks. Large wildfires are burning earlier than usual. And there appears to be little relief in sight.

Experts with the United States Drought Monitor, a collaboration of several federal agencies and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, assess the severity of drought in a given area, ranking it from moderate to exceptional. They take many factors into account, including precipitation totals, snowpack, stream flows and soil moisture measurements, and use images from remote-sensing satellites to assess the health of vegetation.

DeSmogBlog, May 8, 2021

Articles include: Oregon Utility Using Greenwashing and ‘Renewable Natural Gas’ To Push Back on Potential Gas Bans; New Government Report Highlights Federal Failures to Oversee Offshore Drilling [report is here]; New Lawsuit Challenges ‘Fast-Track’ Permits Used for Oil and Gas Pipelines Nationwide; Over a Half-million Americans Live Near Oil Refineries With High Levels of a Cancer-causing Air Pollutant, Report Finds [report is here]; Ugandan Farmers Whose Land Will Soon Become a Crude Oil Pipeline Pathway Lose Years of Livelihood;  Climate Disinformation Database: Energy4US

Yale Climate Connections, April 30, 2021

Articles include: Major parties’ climate programs are miles apart; With seas rising, stalled research budgets must also rise; Cities’ notable efforts on climate change; Citrus farming and geothermal energy; Sea-level rise could submerge fiber optic cables, a key component of internet infrastructure; Air pollution from fossil fuels caused 8.7 million premature deaths in 2018, study finds [No study link]; Four electric cargo cycles deliver packages in Miami.

Studies: Farming, Insects, and Soil – 4 articles

CBC: How regenerative farming could help Canada meet its new carbon emission targets. Unconventional techniques can sequester carbon while improving soil.

Science Alert: ‘Wolf Packs’ of Predatory Bacteria Lurk in Our Soil, And They Play a Crucial Role. You might not have given much thought to predatory bacteria before, but a new study reveals that the behavior of these microorganisms plays a crucial part in the balance of nutrients and carbon capture in soil. The research has been published in mBio.

The Conversation: To help insects, make them welcome in your garden – here’s how. As a scientist whose research involves insects and as a gardener, I know that many beneficial insect species are declining and need humans’ help. If you’re a gardener looking for a new challenge this year, consider revamping all or part of your yard to support beneficial insects. Some gardeners choose native plants to attract and support helpful insects. Often, however, those native plants are surrounded by vast expanses of lawn.

Popular Science: Understanding plant biological clocks could boost future agriculture. Plants have their cycles, too—and knowing them could bring down how much water, fertilizer, and herbicide we use. But people aren’t the only living things with an internal clock—plants have them, too. And understanding their rhythms could make our food systems more sustainable and productive in the long run, according to a new study by British and Belgian researchers. As our climate changes, the population grows, and more resilient and sustainable food is needed, rethinking the way agriculture works is absolutely crucial for a sustainable and hunger-free world.

Daily Climate, April 29, 2021

Articles include: The climate solution actually adding millions of tons of C02 into the atmosphere; Joanne Chory is harnessing plants to stop climate change; The Exxon of green power: A Spanish company and its boss set sky-high goals; Poland clinches ′historic′ deal to phase out coal by 2049; DOE unveils grid plans to unlock renewables; A warming world threatens Colombia’s coffee future; Study: Reversing warming quickly could prevent worst climate change effects; Study: ‘Life support’ measures could buy Great Barrier Reef another two decades.

The Daily Climate, April 27, 2021

Articles include: California drought; underreporting GHGs; weather station in the Andes; 26,000 snakes; tools: graphics and climate change; deforesting Brazil; EPA and California air standards; pandemic and snow melt in SE Asia.

Paraquat Exposure Alert: Paraquat Linked to Parkinson’s Disease—Agricultural Workers Could Be Entitled to Compensation

The National Law Review: Paraquat Exposure Alert: Paraquat Linked to Parkinson’s Disease—Agricultural Workers Could Be Entitled to Compensation.

Agricultural workers who were exposed to the herbicide paraquat and have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease may have a claim for financial compensation.

With lawsuits against paraquat manufacturers already filed in multiple states, attorneys are now investigating paraquat lawsuit cases at no charge.

A paraquat toxic exposure lawsuit may be your only chance to receive the compensation you need to cover the costs of treating Parkinson’s disease.

What You Need to Know About Paraquat and Parkinson’s Disease

Dozens of countries around the world have banned the use of paraquat, a weed killer so toxic that ingesting a single sip can be deadly, according to The New York Times.

In the United States, paraquat use isn’t just legal—it’s on the rise. The total amount of paraquat usage in the U.S. doubled between 2006 and 2016, the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project reported.

Study: Monsanto Court Shenanigans, DDT, food industry

Right to Know: Some of the articles include:

Study: Climate Crisis & Food Production

The Hill: Effective and profitable climate solutions are within the nation’s farms and forests. America’s farmers, ranchers and forest managers work with the earth every day, not on just Earth Day. And natural and working lands underpin our national economy — sustaining our food supply, generating timber and providing wildlife habitat, recreation resources and environmental benefits. But we also believe these stewards of our lands and forests can — and must — find better, more productive ways to address the risks that climate change poses to our future. More innovative federal farm, forest and climate policies must help in that process. Right now, climate change poses significant risks for farmers and our forests. These include warmer temperatures and extreme weather events that can directly increase the frequency and severity of many types of disturbances, including drought, wildfire and blowdowns, as well as exacerbate pests, diseases and other agents that further increase stress on ecosystems.

Sentient Media: Climate Groups Finally Recognize the Link Between Factory Farming and Climate Change. We’re celebrating our second Earth Day in the midst of a global pandemic, which, in just one year, has redefined the word “normal” for us all. Yet COVID-19’s disruption has also afforded us an opportunity to hit the reset button and establish a resilient, sustainable new normal. We’ve long counted on environmental groups to model what this sustainable future looks like—one where single-use plastics are rare and electric vehicles are business as usual. But what about our fragile food system, which has all but crumbled under the pandemic’s weight? Does the way the climate movement eats line up with its own sustainable values?

Crucially, a global shift away from meat, eggs, and dairy isn’t just a nice gesture to the planet; it’s essential for a livable future. The EAT-Lancet Commission warns that even if net-zero carbon is achieved for every other industry by 2050 if the food system remains unchanged, we will still fail to achieve the Paris Agreement. Fortunately, a new study in Nature revealed that a worldwide plant-forward food system could likely keep us within a 1.5 ºC temperature rise because of increased “carbon sequestration through ecosystem restoration.”