Farm policies fuel grasslands destruction, undermine climate and biodiversity goals – May 16, 2023

Farm policies fuel grasslands destruction, undermine climate and biodiversity goals

The U.S.’s grasslands are critical habitats for pollinators and birds and hold vast amounts of carbon in their soils. But our agricultural policies — particularly the Renewable Fuel Standard and crop insurance subsidies — are incentivizing the rapid destruction of these ecosystems, the World Wide Fund for Nature said in a report published Monday.

White House boosts spending on rural electrification

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced more than $11 billion in grants and loan opportunities to expand rural electrification, which it said was the single largest investment in the sector since President Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936.

TODAY’S QUICK HITS

Prop 12, what’s next?: A specialist in animal law expects that the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold California law will result in a patchwork of laws that are likely to make national meat producers very uncomfortable. (The Conversation)

Debt proposal means sharp ag cuts: Sparing military and veterans’ health programs from spending cuts under the GOP budget proposal means other discretionary programs, like agriculture, would be cut by an average of 33 percent in 2024 and 59 percent by 2033. (CBPP)

Glyphosate in oat milk: Two out of 13 popular brands of oat milk had detectable levels of the controversial herbicide glyphosate (Environmental Health News)

Farms consolidating globally: A new study projects that the number of farms globally will shrink in half as the size of existing farms doubles by the end of the 21st century (Phys.org)

Composting cuts GHG: Composting food scraps results in 38 to 84 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than tossing them in landfills, according to a new study in the journal Scientific Reports. (Grist)

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