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Farms vs Restaurants

Which is most important:  food or fuel?
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In 2005, the federal government created the Energy Policy Act, which created a Renewable Fuel Standard requiring 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be mixed into the nation’s gas tank in 2012.  As these fuels were made largerly from corn, this mandate made corn farmers very happy.
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In 2012, the United States experienced the most severe and extensive drought in 25 years.  This drought seriously affected the productivity of the nation’s agriculture, thus raising the price of farm commodities.
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Given the severe drought, government was asked to waive its renewable fuels mandate for 2012.  Saying that it could find no “severe economic harm” caused by the mandate, the government refused to grant the waiver.
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To measure the costs of this mandate for its member businesses, the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) commissioned a study by Price Waterhouse Cooper.  This study claimed the mandate could cost the restaurant industry up to $3.2 billion dollars annually.
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NCCR’s study was promptly repudiated by the Renewable Fuels Association, which said, “Clearly, Big Food and Big Oil are on the defensive.  They lost in their bid for a waiver of the RFS, so now are resorting to super-sized myths about the impact of the RFS on food prices.”
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This differernce of opinion between farmers and restauranteurs leads us to ask…
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Which is most important, food or fuel?

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WEEKLY NEWS TOPIC:  Can GMO and organic agriculture peacefully co-exist?


Like a concerned parent with scrapping siblings, the United States Department of Agriculture is determined to get biotech and organic agricultures to just get along.
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The essential problem is keeping crops that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from contaminating organic crops with their modified genes.  Organic crops are, by official government rules, not allowed to contain GMOs.  Thus if an organic crop is contaminated with GMOs, it can no longer be sold as organic.
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To determine how these disparate entities could best co-exist, USDA commissioned an advisory group, called AC21, consisting of stakeholders from both factions.  After considering the problem for some time, AC21 recommended, in essence, that all farmers should be free to grow whatever they want, and that all farmers should pay to self-insure themselves against transgenic contamination.
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In other words, AC21 recommends USDA and the biotech industry abdicate responsibility for GMO contaminations and that organic farmers insure themselves against such contaminations.   This recommendation leads one to ask…
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Can GMO and organic agricultures peacefully co-exist?

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Should Cities Encourage or Discourage Wild Animals?

WEEKLY NEWS TOPIC
Food Chain Radio Show #798 • November 17, 2012 • Sat 9AM Pacific
Michael Olson Features
James Sterba Author of Nature Wars


Which wildlife would you most like to evict from your city?

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“Look at the buck deer!”
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While walking the dog through an upscale neighborhood of Billings, Montana recently, my attention was called to a rather scruffy looking house that had obviously been abandoned some months previously.  Standing next to an open gate was the buck deer, happily eating the landscaping as if in full legal ownership of the house and its grounds.
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Having grown up in Billings on a diet rich in wild venison, the citified buck stopped me in my tracks.  We stared at each other for several long moments.  I then moved closer, expecting him to bound away.  But the buck was without fear, and did not flee.  I left him in possession of the house and all its delicious landscaping.
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Wild animals have discovered what people long ago discovered– the safety and security of living in cities.  As author James Sterba says, “It is very likely that in the eastern United States today more people live in closer proximity to more wildlife than anywhere on Earth at any time in history.”
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In fact, wildlife running wild through our communities cause an estimated $28 billion in damage every year in the United States, with $1.5 billion from deer-auto crashes alone!  This leads us ask…
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Why has so much wildlife moved into cities?
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Why are cities so welcoming of wildlife?
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Should cities encourage or discourage wild animals?   

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