The Issue
Environment
Farms and ranches cover more than half of all land in the United States. EWG works to keep the land productive and to protect soil, water and wildlife.
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The Latest on Environment
Despite all the attention being paid to the farm bill by political candidates, the coming elections are not likely to be decided by agricultural policy positions. In the run-up to Election Day, you might think rural voters were looking for someone to blame for Congress’ failure to pass a farm bill.
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Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, will join other experts at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club at 6 p.m. tonight for a debate on California ballot initiative Proposition 37, to require a label for foods made with genetically engineered ingredients. Tickets are still available.
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Pesticide and chemical companies battling California’s Proposition 37, to require labeling of genetically engineered foods, are telling Californians these genetically engineered foods are perfectly safe and no different from food grown naturally. But at least one corporation is delivering a very different message to corn farmers.
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In May 2009, Steve Ruh, who was then chair of the National Corn Growers Association’s Ethanol Committee, called corn ethanol the “most environmentally friendly fuel available today.”
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Americans are eating their weight and more in genetically engineered food every year, a new Environmental Working Group analysis shows.
Read MoreConsumers are asking important and legitimate questions about what they are eating and feeding to their children.
Read MoreThe Food and Environmental Reporting Network released a striking report this week (Sept.
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There’s nothing to make you feel like a dope like a bunch of experts telling you you’re wasting your money by buying organic food. And after the recent review of the issue by Stanford University scientists made national headlines – with CBS Newsdeclaring that “organic food is hardly healthier” – I even got tough questions at home about why I’m spending our much-in-demand money on organics.
Read MoreConsumers can markedly reduce their intake of pesticide residues and their exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria by choosing organic produce and meat, according to researchers at Stanford University who reviewed a massive body of scientific studies on the much-debated issue.
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As a kid, I was taught that a decent meal has carbs, veggies and meat. Tacos and burgers were my favorites. I have absolutely no interest in becoming a vegetarian.
You have the right to know what’s in the food you eat.
Read MoreEnvironmental Working Group is urging members of Congress to oppose the drought package under consideration by the House because it would make deep cuts in voluntary conservation programs.
Read MoreEnvironmental Working Group released a statement today opposing the drought disaster package proposed by House agriculture committee leaders that would be paid for with damaging and unnecessary cuts to conservation programs. Livestock and fruit and vegetable farmers who don’t have access to federal crop insurance certainly need assistance during this historic drought. But the proposal would cut the very conservation programs that help farmers mitigate severe weather conditions. This is a shortsighted and counterproductive move.
Read MoreIn the face of crippling drought across the Corn Belt, Congress is considering funding a disaster aid package with cuts to climate friendly conservation programs. Even as extreme drought wreaks havoc on crops and communities across the Midwest, government officials are now confident that they can link recent bouts of extreme weather to man-made climate change.
Read MoreAlthough the future of the farm bill remains unclear, the leadership of the House of Representatives effectively rejected a proposal by the House Agriculture Committee that would have cut nutrition assistance and environmental programs to help finance lavish new subsidies for the largest farm businesses.
Read MoreSome members of Congress appear eager to jam through a costly drought disaster relief program with a flawed farm bill. In an AgMag post entitled “Bad Ideas Spring from Drought,” Environmental Working Group’s Scott Faber points out that Congress has already provided farmers with a gold-plated disaster program called crop insurance - and it will pay farmers indemnities regardless of whether Congress passes a farm bill.
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The drought hammering farmers and communities across the Corn Belt is being used by some as an excuse to send “the worst farm bill in recent memory” to the floor of the House of Representatives. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio.) addressed those calls today, saying (mp3): “Well there’s no question that there’s a real threat throughout the Midwest because of the dry conditions. Most farmers in my district avail themselves of crop insurance. That’s why it is in the farm bill, that’s why our government subsidizes the cost of crop insurance, to encourage farmers to buy that. In most cases it should be sufficient to deal with this problem.”
Read MoreEnvironmental Working Group joined anti-hunger, public health, labor, and animal welfare groups at the National Press Club to voice deep concerns with the recently passed House Agriculture Committee 2012 farm bill.
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