Agriculture

"‘Godzilla’ event currently brewing could push 50 million people into acute hunger before the end of next year"

"McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell are failing to keep up with pledges to reduce the use of antibiotics in their beef supply, according to a group of food safety advocates."

"As farmers balk at skyrocketing fertilizer costs and runoff threatens drinking water sources in Iowa, North American manufacturers are raking in cash." "The net earnings of North America’s top fertilizer producers raise questions about who benefits most from fertilizer use, an advocacy group says."

"When you buy the “Decolonize This Yard” native wildflower mix seed packet from Matiz Press in Chicago, you get much more than a lush garden" "A new generation of green thumbs are creating beautifully designed seed packets to encourage the growth of lush gardens — and social consciousness."

"Half a billion pastoralists draw on generations of knowledge to thrive on rangelands. They say protecting their way of life would help others prepare for a hotter, drier world."

"Grape growers in Mexico have a new tool to fight powdery mildew, a common fungal disease, after the country became the first in the world to approve the commercial sale of an RNA-based biofungicide." "Oifirax, created by GreenLight Biosciences, uses RNA molecules to kill the fungus responsible for powdery mildew on grapes"

"Explosive diarrhea is in the news." "Lettuce makes us sick, wastes resources and has minimal nutritional value. Why are we still consuming it?"

"At least 35,000 more people died during Europe’s four record-breaking, back-to-back heatwaves this summer than would normally be expected, according to incomplete figures from barely half the continent."

"Canada announced retaliatory tariffs as high as 50 percent on hundreds of American products on Tuesday, just days after the collapse of trade talks triggered punishing tariffs from the Trump administration." "Canada said the higher levies, on items from aluminum foil to dishwashers to fish, would help protect workers, producers and manufacturers harmed by new Trump tariffs."

"CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisc. — Ever since Jacob Leinenkugel discovered spring waters here that were pure enough to brew his famous beer, this small Wisconsin city’s devotion to clean water has been paramount. That’s why in 1997, when Chippewa Falls utility managers detected potentially dangerous concentrations of nitrates in a well supplying city water, officials acted."