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Big AG

05/19/2018 / By Vicki Batts

SLAUGHTER: The USDA killed more than 1.3 million native animals last year

A branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has come under fire for the ruthless killing of wild animals. Known as the Wildlife Services, the department is responsible for millions of wildlife deaths every year — a fact that is rather ironic, given that the USDA is charged with animal welfare. The death toll […]

05/14/2018 / By Tracey Watson

Environmentalists take EPA to court to reverse its approval of Dow Chemical’s toxic “Enlist Duo” pesticide

The stated mission of the US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect both human health and the environment, ensuring that Americans have access to clean land, air and water. They also promise to review all chemicals in the marketplace for safety. More often than not, though, they have failed to uphold these lofty ideals. […]

05/08/2018 / By Vicki Batts

Agricultural waste could be contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

While there are plenty of issues within the factory farming industry, one aspect in particular could spell big trouble for us all: antibiotic overuse, and the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Literal tons of antibiotics are purchased and fed to livestock every year, around the world. Approximately 131,000 tons of antibiotics were used to treat livestock […]

04/10/2018 / By Ethan Huff

Walmart just filed six patents for robot bees – and it sounds like an episode straight out of Black Mirror

As honeybees and other vital pollinators continue their decline into what looks like total extinction, the Walmart corporation appears to be in the process of developing artificial bee “robots” that will presumably one day be used to pollinate plants in the absence of real bees, as well as identify crop damage and even spray pesticides. […]

03/22/2018 / By Vicki Batts

If the EPA allows continued use of dicamba pesticide, it could push monarch butterflies to extinction

Over the course of the next year, more than 60 million acres of the monarch butterfly’s natural habitat are expected to be sprayed with dicamba herbicide. The shocking report from the Center for Biological Diversity, a U.S. environmental group, explains that the widespread use of this toxin spells big trouble for the butterflies. The report […]

02/28/2018 / By Isabelle Z.

EPA, Monsanto face lawsuit over pesticide drift that damaged millions of acres and threatened endangered species

If a farmer wants to grow organic crops, he or she can simply elect not to use pesticides and everything should be fine, right? Unfortunately, the situation is not as straightforward as it seems as pesticide drift is thwarting well-meaning farmers’ efforts and rendering their crops entirely unusable. It’s also destroying traditional crops that were […]

01/18/2018 / By Isabelle Z.

Farming for conservation: Big Ag focuses on one crop while smaller farms integrate crops and livestock, which is healthier for the environment

In any endeavor, there’s the easy way, and then there’s the right way, and when it comes to farming, there is a steep price to pay in the long run for choosing the path of least resistance. Researchers from Iowa State University decided to carry out an economic analysis of various farming approaches to determine […]

01/01/2018 / By Tracey Watson

U.N. warns: Antibiotic use in farming is spreading via waterways, driving the superbug resistance crisis, putting millions of lives at risk

When Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic – penicillin – in 1928, the world of medicine was changed forever. His discovery led to the development of medicines that could treat cuts, abrasions and bacterial infections, saving millions, if not billions, of lives. Sadly, however, misuse and overuse of antibiotics have fostered the development of antibiotic […]

11/07/2017 / By Jhoanna Robinson

Big Ag is ruining what ground water they don’t take: Excess nitrogen reaching dangerous levels, study finds

A new study has revealed that big agriculture’s utilization of nitrogen can impact groundwater quality. A team of scientists from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the Departments of Agroecology and Environmental Science at Aarhus University were able to conclude that when farmers apply more nitrogen to lands than their crops can absorb, […]

10/16/2017 / By Isabelle Z.

Industrial agriculture practices likely to threaten world food supply through heightened risk of crop disease, study finds

Have you ever stopped to think about what would happen if wheat production ground to a halt across the world? It’s something that few people worry about, but it’s more likely than you think thanks to modern industrial agriculture practices. Many of the planet’s most widely grown varieties of wheat have been affected by new […]

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