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 still suffering
A new study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment shows that while Lake Erie fish fillets are safe to eat, the fish themselves may not be doing so well.
Few farmers adjust operations because of higher energy prices
Higher input costs are by far the No. 1 concern among farmers, but only a minority of them have altered their operations because of rising energy prices, according to a Purdue University poll of large-scale operators.
Update…With cover crops, the hype is outrunning the science
Update: As the hype for cover crops mounts, so does the scrutiny. New research suggests that cover crops may struggle to make a significant dent in agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. A review from earlier this year found that only a third of published studies in which researchers compared fields that were cover-cropped with those that weren’t reported significant gains in soil carbon. And in a study published last month, researchers, using satellite data, found that cash crop yields in the corn belt dropped significantly — on average 5.5 percent for corn and 3.5 percent for soybeans — on fields that were cover-cropped, compared to fields that were not.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
School meals slowdown: About 88 percent of public schools participated in school meals programs this fall, down from 94 percent last spring. Participation rates at individual schools also fell amid challenges including an end to universal meal waivers, staffing shortages, and rising costs. (K-12 Dive)
Obey child labor laws: The company accused of hiring dozens of minors to clean meat processing plants in Nebraska and Minnesota agreed in federal court to comply with child labor laws nationwide. (Meat and Poultry)
West wants drought money: The U.S. West, suffering through a “22-year mega-drought,” deserves an equal share of the $20 billion Congress appropriated for USDA climate mitigation programs, said 14 senators in a letter to the USDA. (Sen. Bennet)
Connect city farmers, buyers: A professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology is studying how to bridge the gap between Chicago’s urban farmers and its large public institutions, such as hospitals and schools, that buy a lot of food. (InsideClimate News)
Urban-rural split grows: Rural voters have become increasingly supportive of Republican congressional candidates in the past eight election cycles, with 68 percent voting for the GOP in this year’s midterm elections. (Daily Yonder)
