agriculture

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Most Useless College Degree Is ...

Journalism tops the list, and advertising isn't far behind

(Newser) - Parents of high school seniors take note: The Daily Beast has compiled a list of the 20 most useless college degrees, based on salaries, number of jobs available, and general trend of crappiness. The losers:
  1. Journalism: Median starting salary is $35,800; percentage change in number of jobs from 2008
...

Eric Schlosser: Critics of Foodies Who Call Them Elitist Have Things Backward
 Foodies Are Not 'Elitist'  
eric schlosser
Apr 30, 2011 11:09 AM CDT

Foodies Are Not 'Elitist'

It's their industrial critics who are guilty of that: Eric Schlosser

(Newser) - Industrial agriculture honchos like to brand foodies pushing for healthier practices as elitist, but they've got things exactly backward, writes Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser in the Washington Post . "America’s current system of food production—overly centralized and industrialized, overly controlled by a handful of companies,...

USDA Sinks $60M Into Trio of Climate Change Studies

3 projects seek adaptable agriculture for specific regions

(Newser) - The USDA is sinking $60 million into a trio of studies that will investigate how climate change affects crops and forests. The three studies will focus on specific crops in specific regions—Midwestern corn, Northwestern wheat, and pine forests in the South—and aim to help farmers and foresters continue...

Only Rich Will Eat Beef in 2050
 Only Rich Will Eat Beef in 2050 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 3, 2010 4:00 PM CDT

Only Rich Will Eat Beef in 2050

Production costs could make it the 'caviar of the future'

(Newser) - You might want to have a hamburger while you can—beef is likely to become as pricey and exclusive as caviar over the next 40 years, predicts a UN agriculture expert. The production costs of raising cows, especially for water, are just too high to accommodate inexorable rises in world...

Scandals, Cruelty, Violations at Farm Behind Egg Recall

Recall expands to 380 million eggs

(Newser) - Looking for a villain in the massive egg recall announced Wednesday? Then meet Jack DeCoster, head of Wright County Eggs. The farm provided salmonella-tainted eggs to 15 of the 25 restaurants where people have gotten sick, and has, under DeCoster’s leadership, been involved in loads of scandals and health...

Nation's Oldest Family Farm Up for Sale

Tuttles of NH have been there since 1632

(Newser) - The Tuttles of New Hampshire have been running a family farm since before the nation existed, but their 378-year-old tradition is coming to an end, the Boston Globe reports. What is billed as the country's longest continuously operating family farm is up for sale. The 134-acre property, which has become...

Global Warming Could Push 6.7M Mexicans to Migrate to US

Crop failures, cuts in food production projected to boost relocation

(Newser) - Rising temperatures due to climate change could result in mass migration from Mexico to the US, according to a study. Based on the assumption that climate projections are correct, experts estimate that up to 6.7 million Mexicans could migrate by 2080 as a result of crop failures and reduced...

Aquaponics Gaining Converts Among Gardeners

System of fish and fertilizer is catching on

(Newser) - Aquaponics—the word is a blend of hydroponics and aquaculture, the cultivation of fish—is backyard agriculture using only fish droppings as fertilizer. And it's not for everyone, at least yet. One man’s greenhouse “wouldn’t look out of place on a wayward space station where pioneers have...

At Summit, World Leaders Pledge to Help Haiti Rebuild

Gathering sees cooperation, reluctance to address endemic problems

(Newser) - World leaders at an international summit in Montreal today agreed that rebuilding Haiti will take decades. In fact, "rebuilding" is hardly the word—if successful, the state envisioned by envoys to the conference will bear little resemblance to pre-earthquake Haiti. Canadian PM Stephen Harper said the world community must...

Florida Oranges Freeze Solid
 Florida Oranges Freeze Solid 
Jan 11, 2010 4:36 PM CST

Florida Oranges Freeze Solid

Cold wave inflicts significant damage on citrus crop

(Newser) - Florida citrus growers stayed up last night spraying their crop with water, and taking other measures to prevent freezing, as arctic air threatened to inflict significant damage on the orange crop. Losses to the citrus crop may hit 10% as the state sees its worst freeze since 1989. "There'll...

Monsanto Contracts Strangle Competition: Report
Monsanto Contracts Strangle Competition: Report
investigation
Dec 14, 2009 3:53 PM CST

Monsanto Contracts Strangle Competition: Report

Licenses forbid mixing Monsanto genes with competitors'

(Newser) - Monsanto, the country’s dominant seed business, is squeezing competitors with stringent licensing agreements that protect its incredibly dominant position in the industry. Monsanto’s licenses prevent companies from breeding plants that contain both Monsanto’s genes and those of competitors, an AP investigation reveals, effectively locking competitors out of...

The Senate's Health Care Plan: Try Everything
The Senate's Health Care Plan: Try Everything
analysis
Dec 7, 2009 2:27 PM CST

The Senate's Health Care Plan: Try Everything

Pilot programs might be the best way to solve the cost problem

(Newser) - The Senate health care plan ensures universal coverage, but when it comes to controlling costs, all it offers is…pilot programs. Sounds pretty flimsy, right? “Two thousand seventy-four pages and trillions of dollars later, this bill doesn’t even meet the basic goal,” complained Mitch McConnell, “to...

'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up
 'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up 
Oct 5, 2009 12:18 PM CDT

'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up

USDA says small farms are becoming more popular even as large farms grow

(Newser) - Most evenings, Gary Mithoefer can be found at the end of a long gravel driveway off a busy highway, tending two garden plots filled with white sweet potatoes, squash, cabbages, and a dozen other vegetables still thriving in early fall. The 62-year-old, who gardens after his workday ends at his...

One Serving of Cotton, Please; Hold the Poison

Genetic engineering unlocks protein that could feed millions

(Newser) - Scientists have developed a novel genetic engineering technique that makes the protein-rich seeds of the cotton plant easily edible, Time reports. The entire plant, including the seeds, produces a toxic chemical called gossypol that protects it from insects and microbes. “People, pigs, chickens—none of us can stomach gossypol,...

Modern Farming Has Lost Its Soul
 Modern Farming Has 
 Lost Its Soul 
OPINION
Aug 23, 2009 10:56 AM CDT

Modern Farming Has Lost Its Soul

Family farms have a magic all their own—and can compete

(Newser) - We know today’s food industry cranks out “unhealthy food, mishandles waste, and overuses antibiotics,” writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times, but the heart of the matter is that today’s industrial farms have “no soul.” In a visit back to his old stomping...

Hay Rustlers Roam Wild in Texas

(Newser) - With Texas caught in the midst of a brutal drought, a new crime is on the rise: hay rustling. Hay has been disappearing from farms, depriving cattle of much-needed nourishment, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stolen hay reports remain sporadic—the Journal catches up with one farmer who lost 1,...

Newbie Farmers Pair With Old Hands

(Newser) - Matchmaking just might save the family farm, the AP reports. States such as Iowa, Virginia, and Washington have started programs pairing would-be farmers with those aiming to retire, in the hopes of beefing up independent agriculture and keeping rural areas populated. "I thought I may never get a chance...

Organic Food Won't Make You Any Healthier: UK Scientists

(Newser) - Organic food has no health benefits compared to ordinary food, according to a report commissioned by the UK’s Food Standards Agency. Reseachers looked at 55 studies on the subject from the past 50 years, and concluded that the differences, where they existed, weren’t particularly significant from a public-health...

Calif. Strawberries May Turn Toxic
 Calif. Strawberries 
 May Turn Toxic 
glossies
Jul 17, 2009 8:40 PM CDT

Calif. Strawberries May Turn Toxic

(Newser) - California appears close to producing strawberries that induce side-effects such as neurological damage and fetal loss, Gourmet reports. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is under industry pressure to approve a fumigant called methyl iodide, which rids soil of all living organisms without hurting the ozone layer. But a group of 50 scientists...

Michelle Obama's Garden: Policy Move or Photo Op?

(Newser) - Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden had its first big harvest recently, and so far, it’s the most tangible food policy move the Obama administration has delivered, Salon reports. President Obama came to office promising real reform that so far hasn’t materialized. The more patient  in the progressive food...

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