Regulations mandating how laying hens are raised are becoming more commonplace across the globe. TheInternational Egg Commission has a database where it keeps track of each country's animal welfare legislation. Europe has very cut and drient explanation of trhe rules pertaining to how they expect all farm animals to be treated.
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People who most intensely oppose genetically modified food think they know a lot about food science, but they actually know the least, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in January in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. GMOs are widely considered safe by scientists, but opponents have said they want more science on the potential harm so that subjective arguments aren't part of the equation. [node:read-more:link]
As the Trump administration rolls back environmental and safety rules for the energy sector, government projections show billions of dollars in savings reaped by companies will come at a steep cost: more premature deaths and illnesses from air pollution, a jump in climate-warming emissions and more severe derailments of trains carrying explosive fuels. [node:read-more:link]
The United States' dairy surplus has reached a record high, rounding out at 1.4 billion pounds of cheese. Reports attempting to quantify this astonishing amount have deferred to metrics like "enough to wrap around the U.S. Capitol." Suffice to say, nobody's suggesting we could consume it all. In the past, the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
Corporations purchased 13.4 gigawatts of clean power through long-term contracts, more than doubling 2017’s total, helped by demand from new industries and previously untrodden markets. [node:read-more:link]
The Missouri Department of Conservation says more than 9,000 feral hogs were killed in the state last year. The department on Friday reported that along with partner agencies and private landowners, it killed roughly 9,300 hogs in 2018. [node:read-more:link]
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, reduced business and personal taxes with anticipated economic stimulus effects. However, this Act may worsen the trade deficit by stimulating imports, and the Congressional Budget Office forecasts it will increase the Federal fiscal budget deficit. This article reviews what is often called “America’s twin deficits” using data from the US National Income and Product Accounts, (see first Data Note and Source). The review starts with 1980, when President Ronald Reagan’s election launched the US on a fiscal policy path dominated by tax cuts. [node:read-more:link]
In an unprecedented move, the Michigan Public Service Commission has prohibited a major utility from using corporate dollars to fund nonprofit political advocacy groups.The deal with Consumers Energy follows a contentious election involving outsized spending from energy-focused nonprofit groups supporting regulated utilities. Sources say it was the commission’s attempt to rein in the practice following complaints about one group’s political spending in the 2018 election. [node:read-more:link]
Soon, the family will stop raising dairy cows because the industry is in trouble. In 2018, Wisconsin lost 638 dairy farms because of falling milk prices. And the Bishops, who farm in Iowa County, still carry debt from when hog prices tanked in the 1990s. Yet a rare opportunity has come the Bishops’ way. [node:read-more:link]
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly made rural redevelopment a central part of her first speech to lawmakers.“The majority of our 105 counties lost population last year, and for many years prior to that,” she said. “Whether it’s roads, broadband, housing, or agriculture, they need our support.”Maybe they’ll get it. The Kansas House has a new committee aimed at revitalizing rural areas. Across the state line in Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson wants $5 million to expand broadband internet. [node:read-more:link]
