Agriculture

Clinton campaign responds to huge beef recall

Senator Hillary Clinton has responded to the animal abuse at the Hallmark/Westland slaughter house and a subsequent recall of 143 million pounds of ground beef, much of it already consumed by school children. The response reflects just how difficult it is to propose policy while responding on the campaign trail to widely publicized events.

Climate Solutions

Perhaps no industry will be more affected by climate change than agriculture. Cropping patterns, pests and plant disease, and access to water will combine to profoundly affect our ability to produce food. And rising fossil fuel prices will undoubtedgly affect fertilizer, pesticide and machinery costs for farmers.

More corn. More GMOs. More Pests?

We've written about the environmental drawbacks of major increases in corn production in the U.S., particularly related to nitrogen runoff into waterways. But another potential problem is looming.

Leveling the Playing Field

Much of the recent Farm Bill debate has focused on subsidies for rich farmers, but what about government support for some of the largest multinational agribusiness companies in the world? Research released last month suggests that stripping away direct and indirect subsidies benefitting meat and poultry companies could bring dramatic changes to our farm economy.

Agri-food in Brisbane

I spent three days at the end of November in Brisbane, a booming but still small-ish city, some 930 km North of Sydney, on Australia's east coast.

Clock Ticking on NAFTA

You may have thought NAFTA was old news. But surprisingly, over a decade later, it still has not been fully implemented. Because NAFTA was so controversial in all three countries when it came into effect in 1994, the deal delayed implementation of the final agriculture provisions until January 1, 2008. And those final provisions are a big deal - particularly for Mexico.