Pandemic could increase world hunger by one fifth — UN report – July 14, 2020

Pandemic could increase world hunger by one fifth — UN report

The coronavirus pandemic will accelerate the five-year-old rise in world hunger and could add as many as 132 million people this year to the global tally of the hungry, an increase of 19 percent, said five UN agencies in a report on Monday.

 

U.S. meat production rebounds from coronavirus slowdowns

The USDA raised its estimate of red meat and poultry production from the levels it predicted after the coronavirus pandemic shut down meat plants in April and May.

 

USDA hasn’t helped small farmers in pandemic, lawmakers say

The USDA has ignored small diversified farms in its $16 billion coronavirus relief program despite specific instructions from Congress to help them, said two U.S. lawmakers on Monday.

 

TODAY’S QUICK HITS

FDA launches ‘era of smarter food safety’: The FDA outlined its “new era of smarter food safety” initiative that would leverage technology and other tools to create “a more digital, more traceable and safer food system.” (Food and Drug Administration)

 

Soda tax did its job: The 1.5 cent-an-ounce tax on sugary beverages in Philadelphia led to a sharp drop in sales in neighborhoods with a higher rate of chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes, indicating the taxes are effective at reducing sales to at-risk populations, said researchers from the University of Pennsylvania medical school. (Penn Medicine News)

 

‘Navigable Waters’ rule challenged: The South Carolina Coastal Conservation League asked a federal court to overturn the Trump administration’s new Navigable Waters Protection Rule on grounds it will remove “millions of stream miles, tens of millions of wetland acres, and important recreational lakes and drinking water reservoirs” from protection by U.S. clean water laws. (DTN/Progressive Farmer)

 

Tree-planting season at risk: The Trump administration restrictions on seasonal H-2B visas could endanger the six-month tree-planting season that begins in October because most of the work is done by foreign workers, says the forestry industry. (Politico)

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