Poor Farmers Bear The Brunt Natural Disasters In Developing Countries

Nearly a quarter of damages wrought by natural disasters on the developing world are borne by the agricultural sector, finds a new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) study released in Sendai, Japan on March 17, 2015 at the UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction. Media reports and a FAO news release said: Twenty-two percent of …

ALUMINUM CAN STUNT PLANT ROOTS IN JUST MINUTES

Scientists have discovered how aluminum, a toxic result of soil acidification, acts to reduce plant growth. The increasing human population and continuing degradation of farm soils has made food security a critical issue, says researcher Peter Kopittke of the University of Queensland School of Agriculture and Food Sciences. One-third of the world’s food-producing land has been lost in the past 40 …

USDA Whistleblowers Tell All–and You May Never Eat Bacon Again

In 2004, Elsa Murano stepped down from her post as chief of the US Department of Agriculture division that oversees food safety at the nation’s slaughterhouses. Two years later, she joined the board of directors of pork giant Hormel, a company that runs some of the nation’s largest slaughterhouses. Murano received $238,000 in compensation for her service on Hormel’s board in 2014 alone. This is a …

11% of organic farms near drilling in US, potentially 31% in future

Currently, 11% (2,140 of 19,515 total) of all U.S. organic farms share a watershed with active O&G drilling. Additionally, this percentage could rise up to 31% if unconventional O&G drilling continues to grow. Organic farms represent something pure for citizens around the world. They produce food that gives people more certainty about consuming chemical-free nutrients in a culture that is …

Big Agriculture and GMOs: The New Walking Dead

By,Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD October 22, 2014 With the passing of every month, new discoveries and findings reveal further scientific evidence that the promises of GM crops and chemical pesticides are fraudulent.  Rather the verdict is out that Big Agriculture is ravishing the planet and the health of humans and non-humans alike.  Anti-GMO advocates have been warning of …

Study: Transgenes found in small-scale farmers’ maize seed in South Africa

Genetically modified (GM) crops were introduced in South Africa in 1997. By 2013, South Africa had 2.3 million hectares of GM crops under cultivation, 78% of which was insect-resistant and/or herbicide-tolerant maize. A first study of its kind has found that GM maize has penetrated the informal seed supplies of smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study …

Food Fascists: GMO and Pesticide Manufacturers Down and Dirty

By, Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD August 12, 2014 After decades of rearing hogs, Danish farmer IbBorup Pedersen was alarmed at the growing incidence of malformations and biological defects among his newborn piglets. Deformities included gaps in piglets’ skulls, deformed bones, missing limbs and even a female piglet with testicles. Never having witnessed such large numbers of deformed pigs …

Looking for Leaders on Climate? Follow the Women Farmers

“I give you a message from my heart,” she says, “let’s move forward and work together for the benefit of everyone. And especially for those who work in the fields, as we are the ones who suffer the most.” That is the voice of Arminda, a farmer and agro-forestry advocate from Bolivia, who is among a number of women farmers …