Agriculture

"Mass application of nutrients causes pollution in some areas while under-use hampers food production in others."

"Fewer bees are available to pollinate California's growing almond crop. Beekeepers in the US have fewer bees this year because of drought and ongoing colony collapse disorder."

"U.S. farmers will plant crops this spring under the shadow of a persistent drought that grips prime farmland from the mississippi river to the rocky mountains, with grain supplies already tight from drought losses in 2012."

"FIREBAUGH, Calif. -- A $30 million water treatment plant rises slowly over this quiet prairie on the San Joaquin Valley's west side where nature has both blessed and cursed farmers."

"The agricultural giant Monsanto has sued hundreds of small farmers in the United States in recent years in attempts to protect its patent rights on genetically engineered seeds that it produces and sells, a new report said on Tuesday."

"The mystery of how horsemeat got into Findus beef lasagne has led to an international hunt already taking in four countries.

"Multinational food, drink and alcohol companies are using strategies similar to those employed by the tobacco industry to undermine public health policies, health experts said on Tuesday."

"There's a global campaign to force meat producers to rein in their use of antibiotics on pigs, chickens and cattle. European countries, especially Denmark and the Netherlands, have taken the lead. The U.S. is moving, haltingly, toward similar restrictions. Now the concerns about rampant antibiotic use appear to have reached China, where meat production and antibiotic use have been growing fast."

"Neal Carter wants to bring some interest and excitement to those big displays of apples in the local supermarket."

"SANDBORN, Ind. -- Farmer Hugh Bowman hardly looks the part of a revolutionary who stands in the way of promising new biotech discoveries and threatens Monsanto’s pursuit of new products it says will 'feed the world.'"