By Tom Philpott
Organic agriculture is a fine luxury for the rich, but it could never feed the world as global population moves to 9 billion.
That's what a lot of powerful people -- including the editors of The Economist -- insist. But the truth could well be the opposite: It might be chemical-intensive agriculture that's the frivolous luxury, and organic that offers us the right technologies in a resource-constrained, ever-warmer near future.
That's the conclusion I draw from the latest data of the Pennsylvania-based Rodale Institute's Farming Systems Trial (FST), which Rodale calls "America's longest running, side-by-side comparison of conventional and organic agriculture." Now, Rodale promotes organic ag, so industrial-minded critics will be tempted to dismiss its data. But that would be wrong -- its test plots have an excellent reputation in the ag research community, and the Institute often collaborates with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.
Housed on Rodale's 330 acre farm, the FST compares three systems for growing corn and soy, the first two organic and the third conventional: 1) one based on rotating feed crops with perennial forage crops for cows, and fertilizing with manure; 2) another based on rotating grains with cover crops, with fertility coming from nitrogen-fixing legumes; and 3) a system reliant on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
How Can States Raise Revenue?
By Mark Brenner
The traditional union approach to budget politics is to accept the limits of what's possible-typically defined by politicians and lobbyists-and push for the best deal we can within those fiscal constraints.
Labor leans heavily on its inside game, and builds outside pressure in the form of anti-cuts coalitions that highlight the vital services public employees provide, and the harm that cuts will cause to the poor and vulnerable.
Unions may organize lobby days, but they don't do sustained member education, much less community outreach, pressure, or more militant tactics.
Raising taxes is painted as the political kiss of death, so politicians-and most unions-aim low. They avoid engaging with the deeper question of what a fair economy would look like and what role budgets play in getting us there.
The traditional union approach to budget politics is to accept the limits of what's possible-typically defined by politicians and lobbyists-and push for the best deal we can within those fiscal constraints.
Labor leans heavily on its inside game, and builds outside pressure in the form of anti-cuts coalitions that highlight the vital services public employees provide, and the harm that cuts will cause to the poor and vulnerable.
Unions may organize lobby days, but they don't do sustained member education, much less community outreach, pressure, or more militant tactics.
Raising taxes is painted as the political kiss of death, so politicians-and most unions-aim low. They avoid engaging with the deeper question of what a fair economy would look like and what role budgets play in getting us there.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Study: Organic Chicken Carries Significantly Lower Salmonella Risk
By Tom Philpott
This study from the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety came out in November and has bounced around the internet, but for some reason I'm just now noticing it. It's worth a look.
The researchers looked at broilers -- chickens raised for meat -- from "three organic and four conventional broiler farms from the same company in North Carolina," and tested their manure for salmonella. They also tested samples of their feed.
Here's what they found: 38.8 percent of the conventional birds were carrying salmonella, versus 5.6 percent for the organic birds. As for feed, 27.5 percent of the conventional feed samples were carrying the pathogen, versus 5 percent of the organic. Recall that in the vast salmonella-egg recall of last year, authorities homed in on tainted feed as the likely source of contamination.
Now for the creepy part: 39.7 percent of the salmonella found in the conventional birds had resistance to no fewer than six different antibiotics. None of the salmonella from the organic birds showed antibiotic resistance.
This study from the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety came out in November and has bounced around the internet, but for some reason I'm just now noticing it. It's worth a look.
The researchers looked at broilers -- chickens raised for meat -- from "three organic and four conventional broiler farms from the same company in North Carolina," and tested their manure for salmonella. They also tested samples of their feed.
Here's what they found: 38.8 percent of the conventional birds were carrying salmonella, versus 5.6 percent for the organic birds. As for feed, 27.5 percent of the conventional feed samples were carrying the pathogen, versus 5 percent of the organic. Recall that in the vast salmonella-egg recall of last year, authorities homed in on tainted feed as the likely source of contamination.
Now for the creepy part: 39.7 percent of the salmonella found in the conventional birds had resistance to no fewer than six different antibiotics. None of the salmonella from the organic birds showed antibiotic resistance.
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