Today's News - 07 December 2012

 “To end hunger and malnutrition, feed the world's growing population, and safeguard our food security and environment, we must invest more in agriculture. But we must also invest better.”
José Graziano da Silva, director general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, The Guardian, 07 December 2012

Farmers are the ones ploughing money into agriculture
New data compiled for the Food and Agriculture Organisation's State of Food and Agriculture report, published on Thursday, shows that farmers are, by far, the greatest source of investment in agriculture.
The Guardian (06 Dec)

UK wild bird population declines, with specialist species suffering the most
The UK's wild bird population fell by 1.9% in 2011, with total numbers down by 13.7% since 1977. There has been significant variation between species and habitat groups, with specialist species seeing marked declines.
The Guardian (06 Dec)
Find out how organic farming is beneficial for wildlife

Soil Association launches catering mark supplier scheme
The Soil Association has launched a Catering Mark Supplier Scheme aimed at providing assurance on food and drink issues such as health, animal welfare and the environment.
Cost Sector Catering (06 Dec)
Find out more about the catering mark supplier scheme

Green thinking takes root in midst of desert in Doha climate talks
Are oil-rich Gulf states, once a byword for waste and excess, really now leading the world on sustainable development?
The Guardian (06 Dec)
Delegate in tears as climate talks face deadlock over aid for poor nations
The Times (07 Dec)

Protests as tuna fleets fail to halt overfishing in Pacific
Environmental activists protested at a meeting of Pacific tuna-fishing states that failed to agree on conservation. They want a ban on FADs — fish aggregating devices that lure tuna but endanger sharks, rays and sea turtles.
The Times (07 Dec)

Global wheat shortage puts 10p on a loaf of bread
The cost of bread, cake and pastry will rise sharply as a result of a global wheat shortage, with the price of a loaf increasing by 10p.
The Telegraph (07 Dec)

Little Me Organics drops ‘organic’ label from website after ASA ruling
The Soil Association is mentioned here. Natural baby products brand Little Me Organics has removed the word ‘organic’ from product images on its website after the Advertising Standards Agency upheld a complaint about the use of the word organic to describe a product with less than 5% organic ingredients.
Natural Products (07 Dec)

China sacks three officials for GMO rice test: Xinhua
China has sacked three officials for testing genetically modified rice on children as part of a Sino-U.S. research project, state media said on Thursday.
Reuters (06 Dec)

The savvy shopper is here to stay
In these difficult economic times, there is a tendency for food retailers to be all doom and gloom. Yet at Sainsburys, we’ve seen that having to think more carefully and thoughtfully about household spending, especially on food, has triggered a set of new, positive shopping behaviours.
The Grocer (01 Dec)

GMO foods and Prop 37's defeat: an animated infographic video
Jess Bachman, whose infographics we've featured on Boing Boing before, recently started getting into animation as a way to tell data-intensive stories. This video on food labeling, and why so many big businesses donated so many millions to defeat California's Proposition 37, is his first experiment. Please be aware, this video contains some strong language.
Boing Boing (05 Dec)

New Kroger at Cityplace focuses on organic foods, prepared meals
A new Kroger opens Friday, December 7 in the Cityplace district east of Central, and, after touring the facility in the final days of preparation, the grocery store is shaping up to be a store of a different flavor.
Pegasus News (07 Dec)

Factory farms make antibiotics weaker
The animals raised in factory farms are bred to grow faster, and a result of this over-breeding is weakened immune systems and lower genetic diversity. In order to increase profits, thousands of animals are crammed into tiny cages in which they can barely move. As a result, vast quantities of antibiotics need to be pumped into the suffering creatures to keep them alive long enough to be turned into a product.
New Internationalist (06 Dec)

The organic butcher | Heritage turkeys for Christmas
Soil Association liscencee Sheepdrove Organic Farm
http://www.sheepdrove.com/
is rearing its own heritage turkeys for Christmas once again.
Food (07 Dec)

Weather not poor disease control behind disappointing wheat yields
Lower wheat yields this harvest were more the result of lack of sunlight and crop stress than poor disease control, according to experts.
Farmers Guardian (06 Dec)

Share farming still misunderstood by industry
There are no right or wrong rules when it comes to share farming – the most important thing is to find the right person to work with.
Farmers Guardian (06 Dec)

Farming Today
As ash dieback reaches nearly 300 sites in the UK, the government reveals its latest plans for controlling the disease. A survey of Welsh hill farmers suggests that without public funds they lose on average £2000 per year. And Moira Hickey visits the Cairngorms where one farmer without a successor warns that intelligent, qualified people are deserting the uplands.
BBC Radio 4, listen again (07 Dec)

And finally… Picture desk live: the best news pictures of the day
Our photo coverage of the day's events in the UK and around the world.
The Guardian (07 Dec)