Must-read recap: The New Lede's top stories
Over-planting GM corn costs farmers billions; House hearing probes Biden climate spending; widespread drinking water contamination; USDA's climate webpage purge.
Over-planting of GM corn costing farmers billions, study finds
A new study adds to evidence that farmers in the US corn belt have over-planted a type of genetically modified (GM) corn, leading to estimated losses of more than $1 billion as the pests the corn was designed to repel have grown resistant over time.
The authors of the paper, published Feb. 27 in the journal Science, said their findings supported a move toward a “more diversified” seed supply.
Known as Bt corn because it contains up to five toxins produced by a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, the crop is designed to express proteins that make it toxic to certain pests, including corn rootworm. More than 85% of corn planted in the US is the Bt variety, to which various insect pests are becoming resistant. (Read the rest of the story.)
House hearing probes Biden climate spending as Zeldin threatens clawback
A Republican-led House committee last week held a hearing that scrutinized the Biden administration’s spending on energy and environmental projects, amid concerns about possible conflicts of interest and the fast pace of funds appropriated in the former president’s final months in office.
“Our concern is when you have such a large volume of money getting out the door with such tight statutory deadlines, what processes and internal controls were in place for that money going out?” Nicole Murley, Acting Inspector General for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said in the Feb. 26 House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing. “That’s always what we would call a ‘situation of risk.’”
Democrats blasted the hearing as “out of touch,” saying the real problems at hand are conflicts of interest within the Trump administration and moves to freeze federal funding and fire large numbers of government employees, including the Inspectors General of both the EPA and the US Department of Energy (DOE). (Read the rest of the story.)
New data shows widespread chemical contamination of drinking water
A newly released trove of data reveals widespread pollution of US tap water with more than 320 chemical contaminants, including industrial chemicals and farm-related pollutants.
The latest information is part of a tap water database, created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and incorporates information from nearly 50,000 water systems collected between 2021 and 2023.
Though few chemicals were found exceeding the federal government’s legally mandated maximum contaminant level (or MCL), almost all US water systems nation-wide contained at least one contaminant at levels that surpassed the health guidelines developed by EWG that are based on scientific research of the harms associated with the various contaminants.
“This is a wake-up call,” Tasha Stoiber, an EWG senior scientist, said in a statement. “Outdated federal regulations continue to leave millions of people at risk of exposure to harmful substances.” (Read the rest of the story.)
USDA’s climate webpage purge breaks laws and hurts farmers, lawsuit alleges
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) broke the law when it purged government websites of climate-related information and disabled access to key datasets, making it hard for farmers to access information on climate adaptation strategies and financial assistance, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 24 by a coalition of advocacy groups.
The “vital resources” were stripped from various USDA websites on Jan.30, shortly after President Donald Trump took office, erasing public access to information about climate-smart agriculture, forest conservation, climate change adaptation, investment in clean energy projects and other “essential information about USDA programs and policies,” the lawsuit alleges.
The case against the agency was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group. (Read the rest of the story.)
We all need to support organic regenerative farmers and ranchers, You can google and find many on line, The lack of enforcement of antitrust laws over the past 40 years has allowed many M&A leading to consolidation of our food supply in just a few big providers making them very vulnerable to supply chain issues, The majority of people used to be envolved in growing and processing our food, Now approximately 1% of the population grows our food, Most people no longer know what goes into bringing the food to the table, This is very sad because we truly are what we eat, To make more money, Big Ag abandoned farming and ranching methods that good stewards had used for generations causing destruction of the life in the soil, and health of our water and air, causing a great reduction in the health of people, other animals, insects, plants, and the symbiotic microbiomes of all LIFE. Processed food is cheap and addictive but it is destroying health from microbes all the way up to humans. Knowledge is power. Advertisers have lied to us for years selling ding dongs, twinkie’s, coke, mountain dew etc as safe. Humans need real food, grown in healthy soil, with clean water and air, with minimal processing done in a humane way, I urge everyone to support local farmers and ranchers especially those using organic regenerative techniques for your health, the health of the planet, and as a revolt agains the oligarchy.
Goes to show you shouldn't use GM modified anything! Now we have 5 toxins in our corn?!! Surely can't be good for animals or humans.