AgClips
Recent AgClips
Tightening in the Ag Belt
Pro AG | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe record revenue growth of the last few years has given way to tightening in the U.S. agricultural industry, and analysts say these conditions could last a few years.
Many reasons persist for the tightening, such as production outpacing consumption, a strong dollar’s effect on exports, a decrease in commodity prices, and a drop in land values.
Cuba Cuts Some Food Prices, Responding to Public Complaints
ABC News | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Federal NewsThe Cuban government has announced that it is cutting prices of some basic foods by 20 percent in state-run stores. The reductions taking effect Friday address widespread complaints that state employees earning about $25 a month cannot afford many staples, including rice and cooking oil.
First U.S. Gas Shipment En Route to Europe
Wall Street Journal | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Energy NewsA tanker from Louisiana loaded with U.S. natural gas is en route to Portugal, the first shipment in a trade relationship that could shake up the European market. In Europe, American gas will add to a swell in supply in a crowded market long dominated by Russia. Analysts predict that the arrival of U.S. gas could trigger a price war, leading to lower prices for consumers that could act as a shot in the arm for the struggling European economy.
As Oil Jobs Dry Up, Workers Turn to Solar Sector
Wall Street Journal | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Energy NewsPlunging oil and gas has generated more than 84,000 pink slips in Texas, according to the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. But many rig hands, roustabouts, pipe fitters and even some engineers are finding a surprising alternative in the utility-scale solar farms rising from the desert near the border with New Mexico.
How the World Health Organization's cancer agency confuses consumers
Reuters | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Food NewsProcessed meat, such as bacon, ranks alongside plutonium as a carcinogen, according to an arm of the WHO. Here’s how such assessments happen – and what they mean.
Thanks to scientists working under the auspices of the World Health Organization, you can be fairly sure your toothbrush won’t give you cancer. Over four decades, a WHO research agency has assessed 989 substances and activities, ranging from arsenic to hairdressing, and found only one was “probably not” likely to cause cancer in humans. It was an ingredient in nylon used in stretchy yoga pants and toothbrush bristles.
Breakthrough method means CRISPR just got a lot more relevant to human health
The verge | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe gene-editing tool CRISPR may one day change the way humans approach medicine — or at least that’s how it’s been portrayed so far. But for all the talk of using CRISPR to eliminate disease, the method was never very good at doing one important thing: altering single letters of DNA.
Nebraska OKs Licenses for Immigrants Brought to U.S. Illegally
US News | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in SARL Members and Alumni NewsNebraska will allow thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to work in at least 170 professions that require state licenses including health care and education after lawmakers overrode conservative Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts' veto of the measure on Wednesday.
Judge Says Lawsuit Accusing Chipotle of Deception Over GMOs Can Go Forward
Wall Street Journal | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Food NewsThe case, filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida in September and seeking class action status, claims that Chipotle misled consumers in ads saying its food is GMO-free. Chipotle’s meat and dairy products come from animals that consume genetically modified feed, the suit alleges. A Miami judge rejected Chipotle’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. A trial date is set for November.
Whole Food Effect: When Small Food Makers Get the Call to Go Big
New York Times | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Food NewsCompanies have learned that the wxcitement of the Whole FOods effect can quickly turn to fear as they face producing and distributing their reciped at larger volumes while maintaining quality and consistency.
Firm suspends plans to build $3.3B natural gas pipeline
AP | Posted onApril 25, 2016 in Energy NewsPlans to build a $3.3 billion natural gas pipeline from New York into New England through western Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire have been suspended.