Agriculture

"Insect populations are suffering “death by a thousand cuts”, with many falling at “frightening” rates that are “tearing apart the tapestry of life”, according to scientists behind a new volume of studies."

"For the residents of Mead, Nebraska, the first sign of something amiss was the stench, the smell of something rotting. People reported eye and throat irritation and nosebleeds. Then colonies of bees started dying, birds and butterflies appeared disoriented and pet dogs grew ill, staggering about with dilated pupils."

"At White Oak Pastures, an eastern Georgia-based sixth-generation farm, Will Harris “went rogue” and began to transition away from industrial cattle ranching 25 years ago. Since then, Harris has been rotating organic cattle, chickens, and pigs on 3,000 acres of pasture in an effort to improve land degraded by years of conventional cotton and peanut production."

"The Trump administration gutted protections for migratory birds on Tuesday, delivering the second of two parting gifts to the oil and gas industry, which has long sought to be shielded from liability for killing birds unintentionally in oil spills, toxic waste ponds and other environmental disasters."

"California’s salmon populations have been dangerously close to extinction for decades. A new partnership may help tip the scales toward recovery."

"The world’s grasslands are an essential carbon sink, and may even be more efficient at capturing atmospheric carbon than trees. But thanks to animal agriculture and fertilizer use, they’re now producing as much greenhouse gas pollution as they sequester, according to a new study published in Nature Communications on Tuesday."

"Mexico’s main agricultural lobby on Saturday criticized the government’s decision to ban genetically modified corn, while organic growers hailed the move that should protect smaller farmers."

"Rejecting the advice of its scientific advisers, the federal government has released new dietary recommendations that sound a familiar nutritional refrain, advising Americans to “make every bite count” but dismissing experts’ specific recommendations to set new low targets for consumption of sugar and alcoholic beverages."

"In Madagascar’s deep south, 1.35 million people, including 100,000 children, could fall victim to malnutrition this year, as the worst drought in a decade grips the region.

This remote region has witnessed 16 famines since 1896, eight of which occurred in the past four decades. Most were the direct result of rainfall deficits, but misguided or failed policies have deepened the distress.

This year, with crop failures, pandemic-related restrictions curbing access to markets, and sharp increases in prices of essentials, food has remained out of reach for thousands.