Tyson Foods announced it has launched a venture capital fund focused on investing, among other things, “commercializing delicious, safe and affordable alternative proteins.” Tyson will make available $150 million to the fund, which has been named Tyson New Ventures LLC. [node:read-more:link]
The way Americans view how food is created, prepared and consumed has the potential to affect the nation’s social, economic and political future, according to a new Pew Research Center report.With public tastes shifting and polarizing in the last 20 years, the research center noted that how consumers view organic and genetically modified (GM) foods are demonstrated in key behaviors and attitudes on food in general.The Pew survey found that 55 percent of Americans believe that organically grown product is healthier than conventionally grown produce, with 41 percent saying that there is no di [node:read-more:link]
Royal Dutch Shell has signed a provisional agreement to develop oil and gas fields in Iran, a move that could signal energy companies will not be deterred from doing business with the Islamic Republic despite uncertainty whether a Trump administration will scrap a nuclear deal agreed to by world powers. A spokesman for Shell said a memorandum of agreement was signed Wednesday with the National Iranian Oil Co. [node:read-more:link]
Missouri’s largest peach producer has filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Co., alleging that the biotech company bears responsibility for illegal herbicide use suspected of causing widespread crop damage in southeast Missouri and neighboring states. The suit seeks compensation for extensive damage to the farm’s peach trees suffered over the last two years — an interval which coincides with Monsanto’s release of crop varieties resistant to the herbicide dicamba. [node:read-more:link]
Ratifying the TPP would bring enormous economic and geostrategic benefits, not just to the U.S., but to all TPP partners. The agreement covers 12 countries, which together produce 40 percent of the world’s GDP. What makes TPP different from previous agreements is that it covers all products, even the most sensitive agricultural ones which have typically been excluded from previous agreements. Furthermore, TPP would also create rules for state-owned enterprises, digital trade, environmental protection, intellectual property, and much more. [node:read-more:link]
Giraffe's have been placed on the Red List of endangered species, after conservationists discovered there were fewer than 100,000 left in the wild.The animal was previously listed as ‘of least concern' but is now classed as ‘vulnerable to extinction’ after the global population plummeted by 40 per cent in the past 30 years.Giraffes are declining because of habitat loss, illegal hunting and civil unrest in the African countries where they live. Giraffe number shave dropped 30 % in last thrity years. [node:read-more:link]
More and more sectors in production agriculture are having a hard time finding help and the problem runs from coast to coast. Reports abound of crops left rotting in the fields because of a shortage of available labor to get out and harvest. The labor shortages aren’t just limited to crops, either. Feedlots across the country are having a hard time finding people to work with their livestock. The labor pains have gotten progressively worse in feedlots during the past decade. [node:read-more:link]
Gene editing is simply the latest development in the evolution of plant breeding, the head of the American Seed Trade Association said at ASTA's annual meeting today in Chicago, seeking to reassure consumers about the safety and efficacy of the new technique. “The farmer's constantly looking to grow more using less,” LaVigne said. [node:read-more:link]
A cow broke its neck and died last week after vandals let it and hundreds of other cows out of their pens at the Misty Meadow Farm and also vandalized the Wright Place Farm. Sometime between 2 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., about 500 milking cows were released from their pens. Roy said those cows were discovered by the next shift of workers arriving at the farm. All told there are 1,500 cows on the farm, Roy said. One of the cows that was released fell into a drainage hole and broke its neck. [node:read-more:link]
The GOP majority on the House Agriculture Committee released a two-year review of the program that stops short of making specific policy recommendations, but hints at areas where Republicans could focus: strengthening work requirements and perhaps issuing new ones, tightening some eligibility requirements or providing new incentives to encourage food stamp recipients to buy healthier foods. "There's nothing off the table when it comes to looking at solutions around these areas where we think improvements need to be made," the committee chairman, Rep. [node:read-more:link]
