Chris Hayes had a segment on the danger of famine that Europe, Asia, and Africa are likely to face with the loss of Ukraine’s wheat crop. The area under siege is often called the world’s breadbasket, since Ukraine and Russia supply almost a third of the world’s barley and wheat supply. Obviously those crops will be crushed this year, and prices are already spiking.
Continue reading →If we were willing to change, different kinds of agricultural practices could mitigate global warming. I think the thing that most drives me insane about confronting this pending destruction is that we really could be capable of fixing it, but as a species we just won’t. Support American Rivers. They do good work.
Continue reading →That in the richest country on earth we refuse to feed poor, hungry children. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that SNAP benefits will be cut automatically in November of this year, as the additional funding that had been allocated to feeding people will not be renewed by this Congress. The amount this saves is miniscule, as you can see in the graphic below. But these small amounts make a lot of difference in the lives and the nutrition of the families who need them. I know, because my mother raised us on welfare (AFDC it was, back … Continue reading →
What would you eat? What would you do without? And how would you feel if that extravagant sum was suddenly decreased to only $3.75? That’s the amount food stamp recipients will receive if Congress lowers food stamp benefits. In order to boost state Medicaid and education funds Congress has proposed to cut $26 billion from food stamp programs, sort of taking from the poor and working class in order to help the poor and working class. It’s a very odd decision, to say the least. The New York Coalition Against Hunger has a post that illustrates how much food you … Continue reading →
I am not a religious person, but I know Colbert is, so I suspect that his study of gospel informed this profound moment in his Congressional testimony on migrant workers last week. Despite our different frames, I found this bit of his statement, when he moved out of character, emotionally deep and true.
Continue reading →Inspectors at the massive factory farms which distributed millions of contaminated eggs have found many obvious problems on those farms. Visits to five Wright County Egg facilities found barns with abundant rodent holes and gaps in doors and siding where rodents, which can carry salmonella, could enter. Many live mice were spotted, according to the reports. …workers were seen moving from barn to barn without changing protective clothing or cleaning tools. All that could allow workers could track bacteria from one barn to another. The report also described pits beneath laying houses where manure was piled four to eight feet … Continue reading →
