Agriculture
Certification, soil-building pushes costs of organic produce past those of industrially grown foods, but toxic chemicals aren't used, so they don't pollute air, water, soil
By Marshall Brain
The Seattle Times 2010-09-01
In "Empires of Food," authors trace old civilizations that failed because they didn't account for soil erosion, overpopulation, weather changes, relying on technology, trade instead
By Riddhi Shah
Salon 2010-08-26
Government shifting payments from farm subsidies to nutrition programs, conservation, broadband; Republican lawmaker decries influence of environmentalists, "foodies"
By Alan Bjerga
Bloomberg.com 2010-08-26
Biodiversity
Washington wheat growers, fearful that Japan won't buy Monsanto's GM wheat, may start new petition drive seeking labeling of any GM foods sold in US
By Dan Wheat
Capital Press 2010-08-26
Opinion: Biotech salmon is just starter protein in GM food revolution, but before using Frankenfish label, note that there are few aspects of food industry that remain "natural"
By Robin McKie
The Guardian (UK) 2010-08-27
FDA to begin what could be 18-month approval process for genetically modified salmon - first engineered animal destined for consumption by humans
By Barb Kiser
Nature.com 2010-08-26
Climate Change
Russians respond to slashed harvest forecasts by stocking up on staples; president says there are no grounds for rising food prices, orders agencies to monitor for gouging
By Lyubov Pronina and Ilya Arkhipov
Bloomberg.com 2010-09-02
Exports of grain, meats lead agriculture sector in otherwise lingering recession; US farmers to ship $107.5 billion in products as other countries struggle with drought, heat
By William Neuman
The New York Times 2010-09-01
Opinion: Volatility in grain prices caused by drought, flood plus population growth and emerging grain diseases - if this is pattern, or glimpse of future, it's worrying
The editors
The New York Times 2010-08-27
Conservation
Opinion: If fish can be bred commercially and marine life can be saved through scientific technique, it will help stave off food-scarcity crisis larger than any we have known
By Josh Ozersky
Time magazine 2010-09-01
Government shifting payments from farm subsidies to nutrition programs, conservation, broadband; Republican lawmaker decries influence of environmentalists, "foodies"
By Alan Bjerga
Bloomberg.com 2010-08-26
Review: "Four Fish" is marvelous exploration of contradiction that fishermen feel about saving or killing fish; a necessary book for anyone truly interested in what, how, why
By Sam Sifton
The New York Times 2010-08-01
"Potash, for all intents and purposes, is food."
Energy
Fat from surplus, spoiled, or nonfood-grade butter could add to supply of biobased fuel for diesel engines, researchers discover
By Michael Bernstein
eurekalert; American Chemical Society 2010-07-28
Moral licensing is emerging field of study that probes good/bad balance sheet in our heads that allows us to order Quarter Pounder and fries - with Diet Coke
By Michael S. Rosenwald
The Washington Post 2010-07-18
Competing interests - jobs, drinking water safety, water depletion - push Delaware River group to reconsider rules on fracking; drilling firm names chemicals it uses
By Geoff Mulvhill and Marc Levy
The Associated Press; Chicago Tribune 2010-07-14
Farm/Food Bill
Florida subdivision residents lose homes to sinkholes after farmers drain aquifers in bid to save strawberry crops from cold snap
By Barry Newman
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2010-04-19
Analysis: Obama's USDA pick hails from top corn, hog, ethanol state
msnbc
If Tom Vilsack confirmed as USDA secretary, Iowa (No. 1 in corn, hogs, ethanol) will have one of its own heading agency that dispenses federal crop subsidies, controls nearly two million acres of Iowa land, regulates state's many slaughterhouses. He's sympathetic to agribusiness giants, supports biofuels, agricultural biotechnology. And: Former governor will oversee $95 billion budget, with bulk going to nutrition - food stamps, school lunches (click 'See also').
By Philip Brasher
The Des Moines Register 2008-12-16
Opinion: Making good
Bush vowed years ago to end expensive commodities subsidies but backed down. Now, his acting secretary of agriculture vows to recommend a veto of the Senate's version of the farm/food bill. Belated action is better than none for this bill and its billions in subsidies for corn, cotton, wheat, rice and sugar that U.S. agribusiness produces to excess.
The editors
The Cincinnati Post 2007-11-08
Habitat
Deal to save Everglades more about benefits for U.S. Sugar after state officials make decisions against needs of Everglades, taxpayers
By Don Van Natta Jr. and Damien Cave
The New York Times 2010-03-07
Deep-sea trawling by fishing fleets devastating reefs untouched since Ice Age, endangering unknown species, researchers warn
By Ian Sample
The Guardian (UK) 2010-02-18
Imported goods bring rising number of invasive, destructive plants and insects
By Kris Maher
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2010-01-15
Land Quality
Opinion: Nation's 8 million acres of public rangeland should be regulated according to intensive grazing principles to turn grasslands verdant and to increase soil health
By Sara Rubin
The Atlantic 2010-06-22
Dispute over hoop houses in Wordsworth country has been transformed into a battle for the British strawberry, a 60,000-pound staple at Wimbledon
By Jamie Doward
The Guardian (UK) 2010-07-04
Practice of combining farming and trees - agroforestry - from mushroom farm to cattle grazing in thinned trees, gains followers in Missouri
By Georgina Gustin
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 2010-06-03
Pollution & Waste
Opinion: Industrial meat, egg factories excel at manufacturing cheap food, but evidence shows model is economically viable only because it passes on health costs to public
By Nicholas D. Kristof
The New York Times 2010-09-02
Safety of drinking water, stigma spur public protests against underground storage plan for CO2 waste from coal-fired power plants in Germany
By Jessica Donath
Der Spiegel 2010-08-20
California-sponsored program greatly reduces salmonella in hen houses but adds pennies to egg costs; regulatory confusion, public's desire for cheap eggs undermine safety efforts
By P.J. Huffstutter
Los Angeles Times 2010-09-01
Water
Regulators still discovering veins of pollution in groundwater, soil at abandoned chemical factory above Potomac Aquifer, a drinking water source for Delaware
By Jeff Montgomery
The News Journal (DE) 2010-07-25
Tainted groundwater, legacy of Delaware's petrochemical complexes, reaches Potomac Aquifer, which supplies drinking water for those in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey
By Jeff Montgomery
The News Journal 2010-07-25
California's patchwork regulatory efforts leave drinking water tainted by nitrates, the byproduct of nitrogen-based fertilizer, manure, wastewater treatment plants, septic tanks
By Julia Scott
San Francisco Chronicle 2010-05-17
Weather
Hunger, disease plague Pakistan's flood survivors; disaster has killed at least 1,643, displaced 6 million, done billions of damage to agriculture, infrastructure
By Zeeshan Haider
Reuters 2010-08-29
Opinion: Beyond Blanche Lincoln's back-door plan to nearly double Arkansas agriculture subsidies is funding source: raiding Section 32, used for feeding needy children
The editors
The Washington Post 2010-08-25
Political instability from lack of clean water, cholera threat, looming food shortages, price spikes, missed planting season among concerns over Pakistan's flooding disaster
By Adam B. Ellick
The New York Times 2010-08-16