World faces ‘mass climate deaths from starvation’… By disrupting food production, climate change threatens “death from starvation on a scale that no living human today has ever witnessed,” said the head of an anti-hunger foundation during a panel discussion of malnutrition on Wednesday. Lake Erie fish safe to eat, but… Continue reading

More emphasis on food regulation at FDA, says expert panel The Biden administration should restructure the FDA to give more prominence to federal regulation of the food supply, with steps that could include appointing a deputy commissioner for food or even splitting the FDA into two entities, one dealing with… Continue reading

‘Precision nutrition’ to combat diet-related diseases, says Vilsack The USDA said it would accelerate research into diet-related diseases on Monday as part of President Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” to reduce the cancer death rate by at least half over the next 25 years. “Precision nutrition,” to fine-tune individual diets for health,… Continue reading

(AG Insider) As 2022 comes to an end and with the Holidays fast approaching our planet in worse shape than it’s ever been. The challenge of slowing global warming and the environmental, economic and social devastation underway can sometimes feel like too much — too expensive, too complicated and too… Continue reading

Americans continued to eat out while filling the pantry when Covid hit Americans flooded the supermarket when the pandemic hit in early 2020, creating well-documented spot shortages of staples. But they also patronized restaurants at a steady rate in the early weeks, according to a USDA analysis of sales data,… Continue reading

Farm income jumps 14 percent to record high High commodity prices, due in part to warfare in Ukraine, will propel U.S. net farm income to a record $160.5 billion this year, despite a steep climb in expenses, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. Farm income, a gauge of profitability, would… Continue reading

Paid sick leave an issue as rail shutdown bill advances to Senate President Biden urged the Senate to vote by the end of the week to avert a nationwide rail freight shutdown that would wound the U.S. economy. On a bipartisan roll call, the House passed legislation on Wednesday to… Continue reading

Farm bill priorities: More stewardship, less reliance on subsidies The 2023 farm bill should eliminate wasteful subsidies to the biggest farmers and landowners in favor of programs that reach more producers at a lower cost, said a coalition of budget hawks, a consumer group and a small-farm advocacy organization in… Continue reading

U.S. disaster payments are needed, say organic livestock producers Abnormally high feed costs, partly the result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are ruining organic livestock producers and federal relief payments are vital to keep farmers in business, said organic trade groups and businesses. “A perfect storm of trade disruptions, international… Continue reading

Farmland values gallop higher despite interest rate increases Strong commodity prices are creating opportunities for U.S. farmers to profit despite the risks posed by drought and higher production costs, said the Ag Finance Update by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Bird flu losses break record A record 50.54 million… Continue reading