Washington, D.C.— Researchers who led a comprehensive study published in Nature determined that animal migration and rising temperatures may cause virus spread to new areas, potentially to humans. The study suggests that the climate crisis had an impact on human health, and the greatest risk factor for another pandemic is climate...
Washington, D.C.—The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA) has unveiled what a press release calls an “unprecedented” set of recommendations to guide the development of federal climate policy. Rob Larew, FACA Co-chair and President of National Farmers Union, said in the press release, “Climate change is adding another enormous variable...
Silver Spring, MD—U.S. farmers harvested nearly 3.3 million acres of certified organic field crops in 2019, driven by 14% more organic field crop operations, according to a press release from Mercaris. Mercaris’ Final 2019 Acreage Report shows that the number of growers converting land to organic production “escalated significantly” over...
Kutztown, PA—The Organic Farmers Association (OFA) delivered a letter of opposition to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, according to a press release, in response to a statement made by Department Undersecretary Greg Ibach. Ibach suggested opening a dialogue regarding gene-editing in organic agriculture. The letter was signed by 79 organic farm...
Three wildfires burning through California have scorched more than 210,000 acres across the state combined, destroyed thousands of homes and structures and forced thousands more to evacuate. In Northern California, the Camp fire has ravaged the town of Paradise. According to The Los Angeles Times, the death toll from the...
The Farm Bill has passed the Senate Agriculture Committee with a 20-1 vote, with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) being the sole "no" vote after his amendment was not attached to the proposed bill. The bill will now move to a vote on the Senate floor, but Grassley may yet attempt...
Genetically modified organisms and foods were first developed forty years ago when a soil microbe called Agrobacterium tumefaciens was used to transfer foreign genes to host plants. As a result of this discovery, three years later the Supreme Court approved the patenting of genetically engineered organisms. Shortly afterwards, the first...
Washington, D.C. - As expected, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has introduced legislation that would remove hemp from the list of controlled substances and legalize it as an agricultural commodity. U.S. Representatives Jaime Comer, a Kentucky Republican, and Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, have backed the legislation. In a...
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department will allow Bayer AG to acquire Monsanto for more than $60 billion once the companies sell off some assets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal will make it the world’s biggest supplier of pesticides and seeds for farmers. Bayer CEO Werner Baumann and Monsanto...
In response to the decision of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to certify hydroponic crops and sanction "taking the soil out of organics" (Many individuals consider this to be the demise of the organic standard) scientists, consumers, farmers and those concerned about protecting the future of organics, are taking...
