Food & Water

New research: synthetic nitrogen destroys soil carbon, undermines soil health

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For all of its ecological baggage, synthetic nitrogen does one good deed for the environment: it helps build carbon in soil. At least, that’s what scientists have assumed for decades. If that were true, it would count as a major environmental benefit of synthetic N use…Well, that logic has come under fierce challenge from a team of University of Illinois researchers led by professors Richard Mulvaney, Saeed Khan, and Tim Ellsworth.

Redefining Sustainable Agriculture at PASA

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One almost expected to see a Monsanto executive among the honored guests and presenters at the 19th annual Farming for the Future Conference held Feb. 4 – 6 in State College, Pa. After all, the St. Louis-based agri-giant was recently named “Company of the Year” by Forbes magazine. And in its well-funded advertising campaign that strategically targets such media outlets as National Public Radio, Monsanto proclaims itself to be the very champion of sustainability.

To reduce nitrogen pollution, we need new farm policies

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Taken together, California’s dairy cows produce more than 100,000 tons of manure every day. Rocha and his fellow dairy farmers put all those cow pies to good use—as fertilizer for the fields that grow the corn that feeds their herds. It’s a perfect closed-loop system, except for one big problem: nitrogen.

Commentary: The Redundant Subsidy

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Even for staunch proponents of U.S. biofuel policy, it is hard to argue that the current subsidy on grain ethanol serves the purpose it was designed to serve. With ethanol mandates now in place in the form of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), there is a mechanism – with penalties for non-compliance – to ensure that gasoline blenders use the mandated amount of ethanol. Maintaining a subsidy on top of a mandate would be like paying people to obey the speed limit.

Food fight

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Caitlin Flanagan of The Atlantic Monthly objects to school garden programs because they take time away from the academic subjects. However, gardens can integrate academics with knowledge about food, reading & writing, entrepreneurship, and health.

ODAC Newsletter – Feb 19

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The mood amongst oil company executives meeting in London this week for the Petroleum Week conference was largely bullish, with global oil demand expected to recover this year as the world economy crawls out of recession. But the production side of the equation is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive…

Food & agriculture – Feb 18

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-Michael Pollan: Forget Nutrition Charts, Eat What Grandma Said Is Good for You
-Green Eyes On: Is Bees’ Thirst Leading to Their Demise?
-‘Old environmentalists’ are challenging an obsession with land productivity
-More biofuel waste for cows, plus a California beef packer pulls a Toyota
-Perennial Plants from Seed
-Omaha World-Herald: Kenyan farmers persevere despite cultivation challenges