Today's News

10 August 2012

"We're still very strongly committed to making sure we've got rigorous organic standards that people can trust and that are helpful to farmers in helping them farm better, but where we're broadening out our approach is making the work we're doing much more accessible to non-organic farmers."
Dr Tom MacMillan, Soil Association director of innovation – Just-Food – 9 August 2012

Sustainability watch: Tom MacMillan, Soil Association
In this month's Sustainability Watch, Dr Tom MacMillan, formerly director of the Food Ethics Council and now director of innovation at the Soil Association, speaks with Ben Cooper about the Soil Association's new strategy and the UK government's Green Food Project.
Just-Food (9 Aug)

World over-using underground water reserves for agriculture
The world is depleting underground water reserves faster than they can be replenished due to over-exploitation, according to scientists in Canada and the Netherlands. The researchers, from McGill University in Montreal and Utrecht University in the Netherlands, combined groundwater usage data from around the globe with computer models of underground water resources to come up with a measure of water usage relative to supply.
Reuters (9 Aug)

Complaint filed with EU Commission about GM plant approval
Several organisations such as the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) are filing a complaint against a decision of the EU Commission to authorise a new genetically engineered Monsanto soybean. The soybeans will be mostly grown in Brazil under the brand name Intacta, the harvest will be imported to the EU for use in food and feed.
Farming Online (9 Aug)

Away from the famines, Africa confronts a new killer: obesity
In the public mind, sub-Saharan Africa is a region plagued by war, famine and disease. Now it faces a new threat – obesity. It is not a problem widely associated with a continent where millions live on less than a dollar a day. But growing rates of obesity are posing a significant risk to the health of the next generation.
The Independent (9 Aug)

Action must be taken to prevent an ever-worsening cycle of hunger
As the UK hunger summit nears, the Africa Progress Panel calls for policies that support Africa's farmers and protect its land.
The Guardian (10 Aug)

Maharashta bans Bt cotton seeds
The Maharashtra government has banned the sale and distribution of the genetically modified Bt cotton seeds of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), a partner of US multinational Monsanto, in the state with immediate effect for supplying inferior quality seeds.
The Times of India (9 Aug)

Global food prices rose by 6% in July
Extreme weather sparked a 6% rise in global food prices in July after three months of decline, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation said.
Farmers Weekly (9 Aug)

UN urges US to cut ethanol production
The UN has called for an immediate suspension of government-mandated US ethanol production, adding to pressure on Barack Obama to address the food-versus-fuel debate in the run-up to presidential elections. Most US ethanol is made from corn. The dispute over ethanol promotion pits states such as Iowa that benefit from higher corn prices – and in some cases are swing states in the election – against livestock-raising states such as Texas that are helped by lower corn prices.
Financial Times (9 Aug)

The US must take biofuel action to prevent a food crisis
The worst drought for 50 years is inflicting huge damage on the US maize crop, with serious consequences for the overall international food supply.
Financial Times (9 Aug)

Government must ‘take lead’ over renewable energy
The Government has come under pressure to provide clearer and more consistent leadership over renewable energy. More than 200 organisations have signed a letter to David Cameron and Nick Clegg following growing concerns about the slow pace and complexity of the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) policy framework.
Farmers Guardian (9 Aug)

National campaign against bog-burning to launch as grouse-shooting begins
Residents of Hebden Bridge, devastated by moorland run-off in this summer's floods, join environmental campaigners to set up Ban the Burn.
The Guardian (10 Aug)

Spinach is this year’s threat to grouse shooters’ ‘Glorious 13th’
The EU's ban on the herbicide Asulam prompts the Moorland Association to forecast doom for heather moors via a bracken invasion.
The Guardian (10 Aug)

Farming Today
Scottish gamekeepers say incidents of raptor poisoning are down but prospects for The Glorious Twelfth are poor. There's better news for the tea harvest on the Tregothnan Estate, Cornwall. And we go inside the malting house at Coors in Burton on Trent to check the quality of this year's barley.
Radio 4, listen again (10 Aug)

And finally…A night in the pig pen
The latest Camping with Pigs Weekend at Helen Browning's Eastbrook Farm runs from Thursday to Sunday, August 16 to 19. It coincides with another popular attraction at the farm, the annual Pigstock mini music and beer festival, which will be held on the Saturday.
Swindon Advertiser (9 Aug)