World hunger up, afflicts 820 million people
One in nine of the earth’s population is undernourished and the global hunger rate is creeping up from the low set in 2015, said five UN agencies in a report on Monday.
Labor Department to mandate digital H-2A program
The Labor Department on Monday proposed mandatory electronic filing of job orders and applications for the H-2A agricultural guest worker program, and would change the methods used to determine pay rates for the seasonal workers.
Who will reap the benefits of Mexico’s ‘miraculous’ nitrogen-fixing maize?
Last summer, researchers from Mars Inc. and UC Davis announced the “discovery” of a variety of corn grown in Oaxaca that fixes its own nitrogen through mucus-covered aerial roots. Their study, in the journal PLOS Biology, touched off a debate—in Mexico and beyond—about the effectiveness of global policies designed to safeguard the genetic resources of indigenous communities, according to the latest story, published with Yale Environment 360.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Judge slashes award in Roundup trial (Bloomberg): U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria reduced the jury award to a California man who blamed his cancer on Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller to $25.3 million from $80.3 million.
Sino-U.S. trade talks resume this week (Ag Insider): Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he expects a ministerial-level telephone call between the United States and China this week to discuss resolution of the Sino-U.S. trade war. If there is significant progress, U.S. officials will travel to Beijing.
Farm aid already delivered, says Trump (White House): The USDA has yet to announce the rules for trade war payments to farmers this year but President Trump told a White House audience, “We’re going to give them $16 billion. And we just did. Been approved. Been everything.”
Lawsuit challenges sugarcane burning (Civil Eats): A class action lawsuit in federal court accuses six sugar growers of creating health risks and damaging home values with the decades-old practice of setting fire to sugarcane fields before harvest.
Court consolidates meatpacker lawsuits (Drovers): Three class-action lawsuits that were filed against the largest meatpackers in America, claiming they suppressed cattle prices, will be consolidated and overseen by a federal court in Minneapolis.
