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Crop Woes

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Crop Woes

"It's the opinion of some that crops could be grown on the moon. Which raises the fear that it may not be long before we're paying somebody not to." -Franklin P. Jones

Are we reaching the brink of a food crisis? Economic growth, contamination and harsh climate change have hit crops hard around the world. China is facing food shortages and price hikes that could translate into billions of yuan, while growers in Florida are shielding crops from record cold spells that could be devastating for the economy.

Stories

Stories 21 - 40 of 65

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June 2008
- Global Food Chain Ensures Ills Never Go Out of Season
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 11, 08 1:01 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - On the heels of a tomato scare, US consumers need to look closely at the risks and ever-rising costs of the global network that supplies produce no matter the season, Tim Rutten writes in the Los Angeles Times . "When one packer's tainted produce goes to three or four countries, what would have been a local problem becomes an international one," he notes. More »
- Poor Crops Threaten to Worsen Food Crisis
  
  New York Times | Jun 10, 08 7:14 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Amid fears of looming food shortages around the world, this year’s crops aren’t providing much hope, the New York Times reports. While farmers in America have been hit with too much rain, Australian farmers are battling the effects of drought. US farmers planted 4 million more acres this year than last, but drenched fields are preventing good results. “The anxiety level is increasing,” says a grains analyst. More »
- Investors Sink Billions in 'Green Gold'
  
  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 »
- Next Resource in Crisis: Water
  
  Yale Environment 360 | Jun 4, 08 4:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - While economists and world leaders fret about the global food crisis, there is another emergency that is just as urgent: the shortage of water, writes British scientist Fred Pearce in Yale Environment 360. No longer is water "a cheap and unlimited resource," and with two-thirds of water extracted from nature used to irrigate crops, a scarcity could trigger terrible famines. More »
- Food vs. Fuel Battle Flares at UN Summit
  
  BBC | Jun 4, 08 10:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The battle over biofuels is raging at the UN’s food summit in Rome, with nations bitterly divided over whether growing corn and sugar cane for ethanol production is pushing food prices up and helping create disastrous global food shortages. On one side: Food experts who call diversion of crops to fill the fuel tanks of wealthy nations immoral. On the other: the US, Brazil, and the EU, the main players on the biofuel stage. More »
- UN Chief Urges 50% Boost in Food Production
  
  Bloomberg | Jun 3, 08 7:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon today called for a 50% rise in world food production by 2030 to fight starvation and civil unrest as the population grows. He spoke at the World Food Security conference in Rome, where world leaders are working to address the highest commodity prices in decades. Such high prices have prompted global riots. “The threats are obvious to us all,” Ban said. More »
- UN Head: Drop Policies That Up Food Prices
  
  Washington Post | Jun 2, 08 8:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will plead with world leaders at a food summit in Rome tomorrow to suspend trade restrictions, agricultural taxes, and other price controls that have helped create the highest food prices in 30 years, reports the Washington Post . Ban will also urge the US and other countries to phase out subsidies for food-based biofuels, such as ethanol, which have added to the spike in food costs. More »
- Rebate Checks Go to Gas, Food, Looming Debt
  
  New York Times | Jun 1, 08 9:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Rather than the gluttonous splurge on flat-screen TVs and foreign vacations that Uncle Sam had envisioned, most Americans are plunking their rebate checks down on exorbitant gas and food costs--and their mounting debt. “The initial sense is that people are not running out the malls,” one economist told the New York Times . The sense of restraint may fail to buoy the economy as hoped. More »
May 2008
- Save the Planet: Eat Bugs
  
  Time | May 31, 08 9:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Chowing down on creepy-crawlies is a concept that's likely to nauseate most Americans, but insect eats may be the way of the future, Time reports. The critters are rich in protein and far more efficient to raise than cows or pigs, making them a possible solution to the problem of feeding an increasingly crowded and hungry planet. More »
- Soaring Fertilizer Prices Another Cog in Food Crisis
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 27, 08 1:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Farmers worldwide are fuming over soaring fertilizer prices, the Wall Street Journal reports. Costs are 65% higher in the US than a year ago, making it difficult for farmers to boost production in response to an international food crisis. Meanwhile, fertilizer companies have reaped big profits from a cartel-based system that can leave them exempt from antitrust laws. More »
- Americans Reducing Mileage on Cars, Not Stomachs
  
  Reuters | May 21, 08 5:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Many Americans are cutting back on gas due to spiking prices, but few are eating less in response to similarly soaring food costs, a poll finds. Nearly half of respondents said they were driving less, but only 8% said they were eating less. "People have more control over gasoline. They are driving less and driving smarter," pollster John Zogby tells Reuters. More »
- As World's Belly Rumbles, Gluttonous US Tosses Food
  
  New York Times | May 18, 08 11:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Americans throw out roughly a quarter of all food available for consumption, even as grocery prices skyrocket and global riots break out over food shortages, the New York Times reports. That works out to about a pound of food every day for every American—from grocery stories tossing spoiled produce to restaurants scrapping uneaten dishes to home cooks pitching uneaten leftovers in the fridge. More »
- US Predicts Bumper Crops Will Ease Food Crisis
  
  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 »
- Shoppers Give Up Organics as Food Prices Soar
  
  Newsweek | May 9, 08 3:25 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With a gallon of organic milk costing a whopping $7 and a conventional gallon going for $2.99, cash-strapped shoppers are skipping organic groceries. That means the $19 billion industry, which has ballooned 150% since 2001, may now be shrinking, Newsweek reports. “I miss it terribly,” said one former Whole Foods regular. “But I just can’t afford it anymore. Food everywhere is so expensive.” More »
- Asia Needs Funds to Battle Food Crisis
  
  Reuters | May 5, 08 4:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Asia need funds fast to prevent billions of people from facing severe hunger, says the region's development bank. The bank today appealed for "money and ideas" to stave off poverty in the wake of rice and wheat prices doubling over the past year, reports Reuters. "The global fight against poverty will be won or lost in our region," said the bank's president. More »
- Two Shot in Somalia Food Riots
  
  BBC | May 5, 08 10:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Soldiers shot and killed at least two people in Somalia as thousands rioted over inflation and soaring food prices. A recent rash of counterfeiting has led some merchants to only accept US dollars, instead of local shillings, the BBC reports. In response, angry Somalis threw rocks and burned tires, shouting, "Down with the dollar-receivers." More »
- Food Prices May Force Cuts in Farm Subsidies
  
  Los Angeles Times | May 2, 08 2:32 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Soaring food prices are putting pressure on Congress to withdraw some of the billions in farm subsidies and ethanol incentives that have been considered politically untouchable for decades, the Los Angeles Time