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December 1, 2008 8:06:31 AM CST

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12 Stories

 Investors Sink
 Billions in 'Green Gold' 

But some worry what happens when bottom falls out of farming

New York Times New York Times Jun 5, 08 8:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - Billions of investment dollars are pouring into agriculture as the global demand for food explodes, turning crops such as wheat, corn, and soybeans into green gold, reports the New York Times . And while the immediate impact of more money being fed into agriculture will likely result in increased food production, some critics worry the boom could go bust just as quickly. More »

More about:  food prices • agriculture • farming • investing • corn • wheat • soybeans

Mag Uses
Wheat Paper
for Green Issue

Canadian publication
is first in N. America to try forest-friendly idea

CBC (Canada) CBC (Canada) May 23, 08 8:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Canadian magazine is printing a special environmental issue on paper made from wheat straw, the CBC reports. Canadian Geographic' s "wheat sheets," made from harvest waste, will be a first for a North American magazine. Environmentalists say using wheat-straw pulp could save millions of trees every year and help farmers boost their incomes. More »

More about:  environment • Canada • publishing • magazine • wheat • straw

US Predicts Bumper Crops
Will Ease Food Crisis

Record-breaking grain harvests worldwide expected to bring prices back down

Reuters Reuters May 10, 08 9:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - Farmers worldwide will reap record-breaking harvests of wheat and rice this year, the US projects, and the news is expected to ease some of the worldwide concern about food prices. The USDA says good weather will bring bumper crops that will replenish depleted stocks, Reuters reports. Analysts warned, however, that prices will remain high for some time and that the world's poor will still need food aid. More »

More about:  agriculture • farming • crops • USDA • wheat • food supply • rice prices • wheat prices • food security • global food market

 'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms 

Wheat exports critically low as farmers flee parched land

BBC BBC May 2, 08 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The worst drought in a century has forced a tenth of Australian farmers off the land, reports the BBC. The "Big Dry" has led to parched farmland across the nation over the last seven years, accelerating the exodus from rural areas. The number of farming families in Australia has dropped by a third over the last 20 years. More »

More about:  Australia • farming • farmer • food shortage • drought • wheat • farm

UN May Cut Food Rations
for Schoolkids

Soaring food prices raise 'world's misery index,' group says

Reuters Reuters Apr 19, 08 12:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Food rations for hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren may be cut because of surging crop prices that have widened the World Food Program’s funding gap to $750 million, Reuters says. The UN food aid agency also blamed the situation on high fuel prices and reductions in new crop plantings. “The world’s misery index is rising,” the program’s top exec warned. More »

More about:  United Nations • food prices • farmer • crops • wheat • World Food Program • rice

Corn May Be Recipe for Disaster

Drought would ripple through US economy

Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Mar 3, 08 12:05 PM CST
(Newser) - The US is becoming so dependent on corn that a drought would have catastrophic effects that would ripple throughout the economy, reports the LA Times. Corn is essential as staple livestock feed, artificial sweetener, and a basic component of ethanol. A "corn shock" could lead to $5 gas and $3.50 eggs, economists warn. "We are replacing price volatility from the Middle East with Midwestern weather price volatility," said one analyst. More »

More about:  US economy • ethanol • corn • wheat • grain • corn shock • Wells Fargo & Co • Soy • corn belt • Earth Policy Institute • corn syrup

Boom Time on Heartland Farms

US farmers strike it rich satisfying ethanol, export demands

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Feb 15, 08 2:55 AM CST
(Newser) - The US economy may be teetering on a precipice but agriculture is enjoying what one industry analyst is calling a "golden age" after decades of decline, with bountiful harvests of crops and profits. The boom is fueled by the soaring demand from ethanol producers and to fill grain orders from China and India, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »

Gluten-Free Diets Gain Converts

Celiac disease, autism forced some to change; others just feel better without it

Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune Feb 1, 08 5:29 PM CST
(Newser) - The tide is turning against gluten as more people ditch the protein—found in bread and just about anything made with wheat, barley, or rye—from their diets, the Chicago Tribune reports. Adherents—and not just those suffering from celiac disease, who cannot tolerate the stuff—blame gluten for a host of ailments, from autism to fatigue to migraines. Health experts aren't convinced, but acknowledge the trend. More »

More about:  diet • autism • wheat • gluten

Starchy Foods Increase
Diabetes Risk

But adding whole grains to the diet improves the odds

Reuters Reuters Nov 27, 07 3:05 AM CST
(Newser) - African-American and Chinese women whose diets are high in starchy foods like white rice are at bigger risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, researchers have discovered. The good news is that eating whole-grain foods can help reduce the risk, according to two studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine . As an added bonus, those foods contain magnesium, which can help reduce blood pressure. More »

More about:  public health • diabetes • blood pressure • wheat • rice • black women • carbs • bread • grains • Chinese women

Market Forces Conspire Against English Breakfast

Cost of traditional meal soars with grain prices

Times (UK) Times (UK) Sep 14, 07 8:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Soaring wheat prices are rippling across the British economy and hitting hard in a very important place: the kitchen. The cost of a traditional full English breakfast is on the rise, reports the Times of London, thanks in large part to the price of the grain, which is integral not just to toast but also to animal feed. More »

More about:  milk • wheat • eggs • grain • breakfast • groceries • shortage • Britian

Foes Hungry for US Grains

Iran, Venezuela hungry for American corn, wheat

Reuters Reuters Sep 13, 07 7:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has called President Bush Satan, and Iran is that nuclear thorn in Washington's side, but neither country hesitates to import tons of grains straight from America's bread basket—especially during shortages the past few months. "They want to feed their people. They don't want to screw with that," one analyst tells Reuters. More »

More about:  Iran • Venezuela • agriculture • corn • international relations • wheat • grains

Farmers Fight
to Legalize
Pot's Cousin

Growing hemp won't harm drug war, say strapped ND growers

New York Times New York Times Jul 21, 07 5:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - The push to legalize hemp—marijuana’s less potent cousin—has some unlikely supporters: North Dakota farmers who couldn't be more conservative in every other respect, the New York Times reports . Hemp, used in clothing, lotions and even snack bars, has become especially attractive to North Dakota because of a fungus that has decimated wheat crops. More »

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