On Tuesday, July 6, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Assembly Bill No. 1437, which requires all sales in California of shell (whole) eggs for human consumption to comply with the state’s Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. This act prohibits the confinement of egg-laying hens in a manner that does not allow the birds to fully extend both wings without touching the side of an enclosure or other egg-laying hens, effectively banning the use of battery cages.

http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/california-bans-battery-cage-eggs-as-of-2015/.

As simple and humane as this sounds, it has been very controversial — opponents quibble over the language of what it means to ‘extend both wings’ — and predict the egg industry will move out of California. They resist the idea that the public is recoiling from what they are learning about how food animals live.

“Alexandra Reau, who is 14, combines a little bit of each: last year, she asked her dad to dig up a half acre of their lawn in rural Petersburg, Mich., so she could farm. Now in its second season, her Garden to Go C.S.A. (community-supported agriculture) grows for 14 members, who pay $100 to $175 for two months of just-picked vegetables and herbs.”

via Food – A Michigan Teen Farms Her Backyard – NYTimes.com.

People are exposed to arsenic primarily through diet and drinking water… rising arsenic contamination in water and food supplies threatens food security, food safety and quality, and long-term agricultural sustainability of rice crops.

In the United States, drinking water levels of arsenic are regulated at 10 parts per billion (ppb)…however, arsenic concentrations in public water systems can exceed 200 ppb in some states, including California and Alaska.

via Arsenic collects in top soil, contaminating rice, reducing yield. — Environmental Health News.

Overuse of the antibiotics helps create antibiotic-resistant strains of diseases.

The audit “shows clearly the need for quick action by Congress to place some reasonable limits on the use of antibiotics in farm animals,” says Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., who has more than 100 co-sponsors on her bill to ban seven types of antibiotics from being used indiscriminately in animal feed.

via Beef not tested for chemicals, audit says.

Groups like WWF and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have pushed companies to be more aware of their palm oil supply chains and to clean them up if they are sourcing from suppliers engaging in unsustainable practices.

http://m.greenbiz.com/17574/show/338a5d9ba922c76098c955fbd8f64033/

The Downtown Farmer’s Garden’s purpose is to provide food and inspire citizens to substitute purely ornamental plants with an edible landscapes. …growing more fruits and vegetables locally reduces energy consumption and increases the area’s self sufficiency. Growing food is a critical part of building a resource efficient Alachua County.

via Details Alachua County Florida -.

via Provide emergency financial aid to migrant agricultural farmworkers. | Pepsi Refresh Everything.

Learn more about Harvest of Hope: www.harvestofhope.net

SANTA CRUZ, CA – A University of South Florida student has discovered that a commonly used fungicide is lethal to three species of Florida’s frogs, even at concentrations previously assumed to be safe.

Taegan McMahon, A Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Interactive Biology at USF, was awarded the 2010 SAVE THE FROGS! Conference Travel Grant on June 8 for her research into chlorothalonil, one of the world’s most common – and deadly – fungicides.

The $500 prize will allow Taegan to present the results of her research at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Providence, Rhode Island this July. The award was granted by SAVE THE FROGS!, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting amphibians.

Chlorothalonil is the second most commonly used fungicide in America, and is often used by homeowners on peanuts, potatoes and tomatoes.

“People use pesticides like chlorothalonil on their gardens and many have no idea how harmful it can be,” Taegan said. “Chlorothalonil is deadly to amphibians one thousand times below the expected environmental concentration.”

Taegan added that the continued use of chlorothalonil, especially on large-scale farms, might contribute to the decline of frogs, which are vital to Florida’s ecosystems. Previous research shows that rain systems will cause the fungicide to spread far beyond areas where people originally apply it. In countries like Costa Rica, chlorothalonil poses the danger of traveling – through cloud systems – into the rainforests.

According to SAVE THE FROGS!, Amphibian populations worldwide have been declining at unprecedented rates, and up to 200 species have already completely disappeared in recent years.

“There are over 18,000 registered pesticides in the United States,” said Dr. Kerry Kriger, Founder and Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS! “Amphibians have permeable skin that absorbs the pollutants and pesticides that inevitably end up in the water bodies where they live and breed. Many of these pesticides weaken amphibians’ immune responses, and some are endocrine disruptors that actually change male frogs into females.”

Dr. Kriger, whose group is based in California, is currently working to obtain a federal ban on the use and production of Atrazine, one of the world’s most common herbicides. Atrazine has been shown to create a slew of negative effects on an array of wildlife. SAVE THE FROGS! is currently organizing the International Day of Pesticide Action, planned for Oct. 24, 2010.

“Our goal is to get 100,000 people marching through the streets of Washington DC to make sure our legislators know these chemicals don’t belong in our food and water,” said Kriger.

About SAVE THE FROGS!

SAVE THE FROGS! (http://savethefrogs.com) is America’s first and only public charity dedicated to amphibian conservation. The mission of SAVE THE FROGS! is to protect amphibian populations and to promote a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife.

“Frogs are cool and we need them! They need our help too, so let’s SAVE THE FROGS!” – A memorable quote from their website.

More than 200,000 NGOs, farmers, consumers, and organic producers have asked the USDA to prohibit genetically engineered alfalfa. Organic Consumers Association members took action against GE alfalfa, sending 36,420 letters to decision makers.

As Solicitor General, Kagan is supposed to represent the interests of the American people in matters that come before the Supreme Court. Instead, she went to bat for Monsanto.

Agriculture policy has never been used as a litmus test by Senators vetting Supreme Court nominees, but, given recent evidence that genetically engineered food causes sterility, and the damage Monsanto’s RoundUp is doing, creating herbicide-resistant super weeds and ravaging the root systems of Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” plants, Kagan’s position on agriculture policy has never been more important. President Obama’s pick is even more troubling in light of a White House panel’s warning that consumers should go organic to avoid the carcinogenic pesticides that lace conventional and genetically engineered food.

via Ronnie Cummins: Organic Consumers Oppose Kagan for Going to Bat for Monsanto.

After feeding hamsters for two years over three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups.

Scientists who discover adverse findings from GMOs are regularly attacked, ridiculed, denied funding, and even fired. When Ermakova reported the high infant mortality among GM soy fed offspring, for example, she appealed to the scientific community to repeat and verify her preliminary results. She also sought additional funds to analyze preserved organs. Instead, she was attacked and vilified. Samples were stolen from her lab, papers were burnt on her desk, and she said that her boss, under pressure from his boss, told her to stop doing any more GMO research. No one has yet repeated Ermakova’s simple, inexpensive studies.

In an attempt to offer her sympathy, one of her colleagues suggested that maybe the GM soy will solve the over population problem!

via ShowArticle – Institute for Responsible Technology.