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U.S. using food crisis to boost bio-engineered crops
Stephen J. Hedges, Chicago Tribune
The Bush administration has slipped a controversial ingredient into the $770 million aid package it recently proposed to ease the world food crisis, adding language that would promote the use of genetically modified crops in food-deprived countries.
The value of genetically modified, or bio-engineered, food is an intensely disputed issue in the U.S. and in Europe, where many countries have banned foods made from genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
(14 May 2008)
Indians bristle at U.S. criticism on food prices
Heather Timmons, International Herald Tribune
Instead of blaming India and other developing nations for the rise in food prices, Americans should rethink their energy policy and go on a diet, say a growing number of politicians, economists and academics here.
Criticism of the United States has ballooned in India recently, particularly after the Bush administration seemed to blame India’s increasing middle class and prosperity for rising food prices. Critics from India seem to be asking one underlying question: “Why do Americans think they deserve to eat more than Indians?”
The food problem has “clearly” been created by Americans, who are eating 50 percent more calories than the average person in India, said Pradeep Mehta, the secretary general of CUTS Center for International Trade, Economics and Environment, a private economic research organization based in India with offices in Kenya, Zambia, Vietnam and Britain.
If Americans were to slim down to even the middle-class weight in India, “many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates,” Mehta said. The money Americans spend on liposuction to get rid of their excess fat could be funneled to famine victims instead, he added.
(13 May 2008)
Jump in food prices biggest in 18 years
David Goldman, CNNMoney
… Bloated food costs contributed the most to the index’s rise [Consumer Price Index]. Seasonally adjusted food prices rose 0.9% on a month-over-month basis in April, making it the biggest jump in 18 years, according to the Labor Department. Last month’s food costs were 5.1% higher than in April 2007.
Fruit and vegetable prices rose 2% in April, and bread prices increased 1.5% in the month. The cost of bread was 14.1% higher than the year-ago period.
The index for dairy products jumped 1.2%, and milk prices rose 0.9% last month. April’s milk prices were 13.5% higher than in April 2007.
But prices for dining out grew only 0.3% in the month, as consumers held back on discretionary purchases and focused on necessities such as food from grocery stores.
(14 May 2008)
Horses abandoned in West as feed prices rise
Laura Zuckerman, Reuters
In the classic Hollywood western, a cowboy portrayed by John Wayne gallops across the sagebrush steppe and rocky ridges of the American West with only his horse for a companion.
What the films don’t show is the cowboy buying and hauling hay for his horse, or what happens to the horse when it is too aged, infirm or irascible to ride.
Those more mundane details are at the heart of a debate about growing cases of mistreatment of horses in the United States, at a time when hay and grain prices are skyrocketing and when options for disposing of unwanted horses are dwindling.
(13 May 2008)
More signs of trouble for corn
Amanda Paulson, The Christian Science Monitor
… A cold, wet spring has hindered Biehl and countless other farmers. While a good stretch of dry weather could still allow them to plant within their target window, the later the planting goes, the more likely it becomes that their harvest will be disappointing.
With corn prices already sky-high and concern rising about grain and food prices worldwide, any hiccup with this year’s crop could have serious implications. “What we’re looking at here is potentially even higher prices if there was a supply disruption,” says Chad Hart, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University in Ames.
(12 May 2008)
Rodale’s LaSalle urges expansion of organic farming to mitigate impacts of warming (video and transcript)
Monica Trauzzi, OnPoint, E&E TV
Could organic farming help to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States?
During today’s OnPoint, Timothy LaSalle, CEO of the Rodale Institute, discusses research conducted by Rodale that shows significant declines in greenhouse gas emissions when organic farming practices are used. LaSalle responds to critics who say organic farming is unsustainable and produces smaller crop yields.
He discusses the impact rising food prices may have on the future of the organic farming industry and explains what, he believes, needs to be done legislatively to help promote organic farming.
(14 May 2008)
