Nutrition waivers reduced child hunger, say big school districts
School nutrition officials overwhelmingly agree that USDA waivers reduced child hunger during the pandemic by making meals free to all students, said a report by the antihunger group Food Research and Action Center on Tuesday. FRAC said Congress ought to pass legislation for universal free school meals or extend the USDA waivers, due to expire on June 30, through the 2022-23 school year.
In primaries, House Ag chairman Scott coasts to nomination
House Agriculture chairman David Scott easily won nomination for his 11th term in Congress from a suburban Atlanta district, defeating three challengers during Georgia’s primary elections on Tuesday. In Arkansas, Sen. John Boozman, the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, ran away with the GOP nomination for Senate.
Fragile recovery in monarch butterfly population
The monarch butterfly is imperiled by the loss of food and habitat as well as climate change, but an expansion in its winter hibernation area was “a sign of recovery — albeit a fragile one,” WWF said in an annual survey.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Second infant formula flight: A cargo plane under contract with the Pentagon was scheduled to arrive at Dulles International Airport with 100,000 pounds of specialty infant formula on Wednesday afternoon, the second delivery through Operation Fly Formula. First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy were due to greet the flight. (FERN’s Ag Insider)
India limits sugar exports: A week after it restricted wheat exports, India said it would control sugar exports from June 1-Oct. 31 to prevent a surge in domestic food prices. India is the world’s second-largest sugar exporter. (Economic Times)
Using food as weapon: Russia is “using hunger and grain to wield power” by blockading Ukrainian ports and hoarding its own food reserves in pursuit of victory against its Black Sea neighbor, said the president of the European Commission. (Associated Press)
Beer, a GMO steppingstone: Bioceres Crop Solutions, developer of GMO wheat, is in talks with a Brazilian maker of craft beers to brew a lager with its drought- and herbicide-tolerant wheat, said Bioceres’ chief financial officer. (Bloomberg)
Bronaugh, Baldwin host roundtable: Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh was scheduled to join Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin at a roundtable on farmers’ mental health on Friday in Arlington, Wisconsin, about 20 miles north of Madison. (Ag Insider)
Carbon neutral beef? New Zealand’s leading red meat company Silver Fern Farms launched USDA-approved net zero grass-fed beef, saying it could measure how much of the carbon emitted in cattle production is being absorbed by the diverse vegetation on its farms. (Silver Fern Farms)
