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Defense policy analysis, commentary and discussion.Scientists started working back in the 1990s to genetically engineer a soybean that’s oil would be free of artery-clogging trans fats, a product farmers think will appeal to consumers as well as food-makers and fast-food chains.
The House launched into debate of more than 100 amendments to the farm bill Wednesday, but there were signs that final passage might be delayed until next week.
Farmers know they’ll lose $5 billion in annual direct payments when a new farm bill passes. But up until now, few growers have complained about that prospect, because they know they can still count on buying federally subsidized crop insurance.
Food exemptions aren’t just an issue with the proposed produce standards. The question has now come up as to whether all food producers should conduct record keeping that could make it easier for investigators to track products from farm to fork.
FOWLER, Calif. — The oranges floating through the chlorine solution in the Bee Sweet Citrus Inc. packing plant will soon be packed in boxes stamped with name brands such as Dole and then shipped off to supermarkets across the country or to destinations in Japan, South Korea and other foreign points.
When Congress overhauled the federal crop insurance system 13 years ago, lawmakers hoped it would reduce the need for rescuing farmers through multibillion-dollar bailouts.
Not many agricultural economists get asked to be on a TV comedy show, and not many would probably dare go on, if asked. But Iowa State University’s Bruce Babcock, one of the crop insurance system’s most prominent critics, showed up on “The Colbert Report” last year in the middle of the drought that devastated the Midwest corn crop.
The Humane Society of the United States is almost single-handedly changing the way farmers feed America’s appetite for bacon, ribs, holiday hams and other pork products.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, recently took a break from his long-running battles with livestock producers to set up a new branch of the Humane Society in India, an occasion that included the presence of the Dalai Lama.
A deal to avert the fiscal cliff could pave the way for the new Congress to pass a farm bill next year, House Agriculture Chairman Frank D. Lucas says.
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