"Scientists, environmentalists and farm advocates are pressing the question about whether rewards of the trend toward using more and more crop chemicals are worth the risks, as the agricultural industry strives to ramp up production to feed the world's growing population."
We've updated our "Topics on the Beat" pages with new links and an improved design. The resource aims to help reporters with quick introductions to key coverage areas, offering top SEJournal stories and the latest EJToday headlines. Visit our full set of Topics on the Beat on biodiversity, climate, disasters and hurricanes, energy, environmental justice, water & oceans, wildfire, agriculture and the food system.
Here's a list of top food stories from SEJournal.
"The Farm Bill is the Olympics of U.S. food and agriculture policy. Every five years or so this important legislation comes up for renewal and the games begin. The federal government awards medals in the form of billion-dollar budgets that will determine what foods we eat and how we grow them. The current Farm Bill is set to expire on September 30, 2012, and the debate over who will dominate the food system is well underway."
"For decades, farm bills in the U.S. Congress have supported large-scale agriculture. But with the 2012 Farm Bill now up for debate, advocates say seismic shifts in the way the nation views food production may lead to new policies that tilt more toward local, sustainable agriculture."
"NEW YORK -- A federal judge on Thursday ordered U.S. regulators to start proceedings to withdraw approval for the use of common antibiotics in animal feed, citing concerns that overuse is endangering human health by creating antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs'."
"FRESNO, Calif. -- Commercial beekeepers and environmental organizations filed a petition Wednesday, asking federal regulators to suspend use of a pesticide they say harms honeybees."
"The manufacturer of methyl iodide is pulling the controversial pesticide from the U.S. market."
On Maryland's Eastern Shore, both the Chesapeake Bay and the chicken farming industry are sacrosanct. Now a PR and fundraising war has broken out over a lawsuit pitting chicken farmers against Bay advocates.
"What was killing all those honeybees in recent years? New research shows a link between an increase in the death of bees and insecticides, specifically the chemicals used to coat corn seeds."
