Milk is going for an even more wholesome image. The National Milk Producers Federation in the U.S. announced this week that they will produce a sustainability plan for the entire dairy industry. Not to be one-upped, the U.K. just released a “Milk Roadmap” for its dairy industry.

The industry is examining everything from the waxy boxes your milk comes in to cow releases of greenhouse gas emissions. Perhaps inspired by China’s cow energy program, the NMPF specifically addressed the potential for the dairy industry to capturing and sell methane from cow manure. Some California cows are already hooked into the energy grid.

“We want to be sure that our industry is well-positioned to take advantage of future opportunities – both in terms of credits for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as developing new products and markets for milk,” said National Milk Producers Federation CEO Jerry Kozak.

My great-grandfather owned a dairy farm in Chicago in the late 1800s, and it’s hard to say what he’d think about dairies today turning cow farts/poop into electricity. But capturing potent greenhouse gases from cows and doing something productive with them is a form of progress (albeit a strange one), and one that produces not only economic benefits, but social benefits for all through corporate environmental responsibility.

We’re hoping though, that the dairy industry does more than get their feet wet in the pool of ethics - could the “Milk Superhighway” stretch to include considerations not only for the benefit of our shared environment, but also for the benefit of the domestic beasts the industry relies on?

Via ClimateBiz

So it didn't faze you when Costco and Sam’s Club slapped a four-bag limit on 20-pound bags of rice last month.

But in Asia, where the majority of peoples’ diets consist of rice, and where over 1.7 billion people live on less than $2.00 a day, the rapid doubling in rice prices over the past six months has been devastating.

(A brief review of why food prices are rising: Increased demand for food from developing countries, droughts and floods in Australia and Asia, and conversion of agricultural land for biofuels – 25% of agricultural land was converted to biofuels last year in the U.S. alone.)

Fearing inability to feed their own citizens, many Asian countries, including India, have all but banned rice exports. In an attempt to regain control of rice supplies, some of the countries - namely Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar so far - are holding talks on how to start up a rice cartel.

The rice cartel idea was proposed by Dhanin Chearavanon - Chairman of CP, leading poultry producer in the region, and the 317th richest man in the world - to the Prime Minister of Thailand. (Hmm...he does need a lot of grain to feed those chickens and ducks.)

Officials from the OREC (yup, like OPEC, but with rice) countries have been careful to point out that the purpose of the organization would be to share marketing and production techniques to help ensure global food supplies, not limit them. 

Via The Nation (Bangkok)

Photo from Giles Orr

With rising fuel and food prices, buying local or regional food is an attractive option because of the shorter distances these goods travel. And, often times, produce sold at your nearby farmers' market was grown without oil- and natural gas-derived inputs, like pesticides and fertilizers.

But how do you gauge the "oil content" of your grocery-bought liter of orange juice?

If you live in the UK and shop at supermarket giant Tesco, just check the label. The grocery chain is beginning to label some of its brand-name products – from organic juice and potatoes to light bulbs and detergent – with their carbon footprints. The label reflects how much carbon is emitted over the life of the product, from production to distribution to disposal.

The labeling initiative is a response to consumers' demand that Tesco make an effort to challenge climate change. Tesco aims to become carbon neutral by reducing the cost of energy-efficient light bulbs, relying less on air freight, and installing more wind turbines on top of its stores.

Perhaps it's time we get on our stores' case here in the States, before we eat up our planet.

Source: The Cumberland News

Harmful bacteria in our meat. The unethical treatment of animals. Industrial manure killing cows. You've read it all here on Envirovore. How did we get into this mess and how in the world do we get out?

It's widely known that industrial animal agriculture – especially confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) – is bad for human health, our communities, and the environment. Now, two reports released this past week sum up the myriad reasons for why CAFOs stink by looking at the science and explaining everything you wanted (and didn't want) to know about industrial meat production.

CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations: The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analyzed the policies that allowed for factory farms to take over agricultural landscapes and the hefty costs to our health and pocketbooks. UCS found that between 1997 and 2005 taxpayer-subsidized grain prices saved CAFOs nearly $35 billion in animal feed.

Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America: The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production examined current industrial systems for 2 ½ years, and looked at: air quality degradation in rural communities; waste and input runoff carrying antibiotics and hormones, pesticides, and heavy metals; and stress induced by confinement, leading to food safety concerns like infection. The Pew concluded that these operations pose "unacceptable risks" to public health, the environment, and the welfare of animals.

Don't worry, both reports provide positive alternatives to the dominant system, as well as policy recommendations. So, read up, pass along, and choose your animal protein wisely.

You wouldn't think it's difficult to get local food into schools, to replace food from across state borders with food from across the street -- but it is. Some legislators acknowledge the problem and are pushing bills that encourage schools to purchase food from local farmers, as seen most recently in Maryland and Washington.

In Maryland, Senate Bill 158 would establish "Maryland Homegrown" week in cafeterias, which introduces local food into school meals and encourages field trips to area farms. And Washington State's "Local Farms-Healthy Kids" legislation would provide $570,000 in school nutrition grants to use for purchasing state-grown produce, to help improve the nutrition of school meals and support state agriculture. Both bills create a farm-to-school program within the state Department of Agriculture.

Washington can look to a working model in Olympia, where the school district there has been buying local produce for school lunches since 2002. Its commitment to local food was spurred by parents' requests, and what began at one school soon expanded to all 18 Olympia schools.

To date, there are nearly 2,000 farm-to-school programs spanning 38 states.

President Bush said yesterday that people should buy food from local farmers in the face of rising food costs. If you don't believe us, read it for yourself.

During a press conference in the Rose Garden, Bush asserted that local food purchasing would be a "very creative policy" to "deal with scarcity" and help nations become "self-sustaining and self-supporting." He went on to say, "It's a proposal I put forth that Congress hasn't responded to yet, and I sincerely hope they do."

As Grist columnist Joseph Romm asks: "What proposal did Bush put forward to Congress about local food?" (Perhaps there's something tucked away in the Farm Bill?)

We support a policy like this, President Bush. Now tell us, who's your farmer?

Last year's decline in honey bees, known as Colony Collapse Disorder, put the importance of pollinators to our food supply into the limelight. Though CCD remains somewhat of a mystery (multiple factors may be at play), one thing is for sure: widespread adoption of organic farming can only help the dire situation.

Dire? Well, yeah. Most fruit and many vegetables, as well as forage for livestock, depend on pollinators. USDA estimates that about one in every three mouthfuls we consume depends on pollination by honey bees. More than one-third of honey bees were lost this past winter.

Some of the suspects of CCD include pesticides, parasites, and viruses. The most popular theory is that pesticides are affecting bees' immune system, which then leads to infections and behavioral problems. Affected bees apparently experience disorientation, as many simply don't return to the hive.

Another culprit may be transgenic crops. One study in France links biopesticides in transgenic corn and cotton -- the Bt toxin that makes these crops insect-resistant -- to symptoms of disturbed foraging.

As the amount of farmland transitioning to organic slows in the face of high grain costs, protecting one of our most important farmworkers should not be forgotten as a reason to support widespread adoption of organic practices.

A pretty little killer is on the loose, and it looks like your future Christmas tree -- if you celebrate the holiday and indulge in decorative traditions -- could be the beneficiary. In Oregon, insect brokers and grade school children have been hard at work releasing 72,000 ladybugs onto holiday tree farms to kill harmful insects.

Why talk about Christmas trees now? Well, it's that whole “planning ahead” idea that everyone tries to tell you is such a good idea. Sustainability practices start in the production phase, so tree farmers are making decisions right now on whether they use pesticides or organic integrated-pest management measures to grow their holiday crop.

This is the first year these ladybugs have been used in the valley around Newberg, OR, and only time will tell if the ladybugs can kill off pesky mites and aphids that can devastate tree crops. If the ladybugs do their job, and tree farms resist the temptation to use chemical pesticides, those farmers can get certified under the Coalition of Environmentally Conscious Growers as a way to add sustainable -- and, therefore, market -- value to their trees.

Another plus for ladybugs: they only cost a couple hundred dollars in comparison to huge investments that chemicals often require.

Source: Statesman Journal (Oregon)