Agriculture

"The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is out with a new report this week on the world food outlook."

"The terrifying E. coli outbreak in Europe appears to have been caused by vegetable sprouts grown on an organic farm in Germany, an agriculture official said Sunday as the toll climbed to at least 22 dead and more than 2,200 sickened."

As world demand for staples like wheat, rice, corn, and soy outpaces dwindling growth in agricultural production, food prices are rising and more people are hungry. Now experts are saying that climate change is playing a bigger role than they once expected.

"Some areas in the tropics face famine because of failing food production, an international research group says."

"The bacterium that has killed more than a dozen Europeans, sickened nearly 2,000 more and raised international alarms would be legal if it were found on meat or poultry in the United States."

"Just in time for cookout season, some unsettling news arrives for guacamole and salsa lovers: Federal testing turned up a wide array of unapproved pesticides on the herb cilantro — to an extent that surprises and concerns government scientists."

"A bidding war is heating up among users of corn in the United States as livestock feeders and ethanol makers scramble to lock in supplies before extremely low stocks run dry by this summer."

"Several environmental and public health groups filed suit against the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday to try to force the government to stop farmers from routinely adding antibiotics to livestock feed to help animals grow faster."