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corn 
Tue Apr 12, 2011 at 14:58:24 PM PDT
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Back in March, Tom Philpott, a blogger at Grist, wrote that Tim Wise of Tuft Universities Global Development and Environment program had said that farm commodity subsidies cause low farm prices. The operative quotation was that, ""... by putting downward pressure on corn and soy prices, federal subsidies..." gave below cost gains to CAFOs.2 Philpott's blog was soon picked up in various places around the internet. In a google search, on about 11/20/10 I found 32 hits on this quotation. This quotation is not an accurate reflection of what Wise wrote, as I show below.
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Fri Feb 25, 2011 at 23:10:34 PM PST
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I'm doing a bit of number crunching and I figured I ought to share what I've learned with y'all. Here is Iowa by the numbers, based on the 2007 Census of Agriculture.
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Fri Feb 11, 2011 at 22:49:36 PM PST
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The Big Ag radio show, AgriTalk, has a recent show on the new GE corn Enogen, with side by side interviews of Syngenta's PR guy and a representative of the North American Millers' Association. Enogen, which was deregulated by the USDA today, is a genetically engineered variety of corn with an extra enzyme in it that makes it easier to turn into ethanol. And, while great for the ethanol industry, the new corn could be disastrous to food companies and grain millers if it finds its way into the food chain.
This show provides some new information that I had not heard before. First of all, Enogen has been approved for both the animal and human food supplies even though it is not intended for either. Therefore, if it is detected in say, taco shells, the taco shells won't have to be recalled. However, the North American Millers' Association is complaining that Syngenta never allowed them to get the necessary proof that Enogen would not be harmful to food production. Rumor has it that as little as one corn kernel in 10,000 will ruin a batch of whatever food producers are making. That's because the extra enzyme, Amylase, breaks down corn starch. Imagine baking something that calls for corn starch and accidentally having that corn starch completely break down... obviously that would impact, if not ruin, whatever you were baking. That's the gripe of the millers about this new GE corn.
If the words of Syngenta's PR guy are correct, if corn growers will get an extra $.40/bushel by growing this corn and selling it to ethanol producers, then a corn grower would have to be quite stupid to grow Enogen and then sell it into the human food supply. That said, stupidity happens. Just ask the Iowa farmer who grew non-Roundup Ready corn and, when it was about knee-high, sprayed the entire field with Roundup and killed the whole crop. That's not a made-up example. I saw the resulting field of dead corn with my own eyes.
The representative from the millers association gave an even more likely scenario, of some Enogen corn kernels remaining in a truck which is then loaded with regular non-Enogen corn, or something like that. If it happened, that would mean a very small amount of contamination, but if it only takes a small amount of contamination to make a real mess of things, you can see why they are concerned.
The reason why we are seeing so many GE crop deregulations now is because the USDA is working to finish everything before farmers buy this year's seeds. They want to allow the new biotech varieties into this crop year. Let's hope this was the last one for this year.
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Fri Feb 11, 2011 at 15:24:05 PM PST
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When I wrote an article about ethanol earlier this week, I didn't realize how timely it would be. The piece - which cites data showing that corn ethanol is not a good source of energy - was barely online for 24 hours before the USDA took yet another step toward more corn ethanol and more GMOs, deregulating a variety of GE corn designed to produce ethanol. The only plot twist is that the new GE corn isn't a Monsanto product - it's from Syngenta. And, at least some big businesses are on the anti-GMO side for a change.
The new GE corn, Enogen, is designed to require less energy to turn it into ethanol. For making ethanol with regular corn, it takes 1 unit of energy to produce 1.3 units of energy - and that's not a good deal. Scientists say that a fuel should provide 5 units of energy for every 1 required to make the fuel and transport it to the point of use. (Oil, in case you are wondering, has a 3:1 ratio, making it a better, but still bad, choice.) I have not yet seen data on what the ratio would be of Enogen, but of course, there are other concerns aside from just that.
The top concern, of course, is the mixing of Enogen with corn destined for the human food supply. That's what has food companies fighting against it (for a nice change!). This year, Enogen will only be planted in Kansas and Nebraska. And for anyone who thinks it will be effectively kept out of the human food supply, I have two words for them: Starlink Corn.
I don't have more information on this at the moment, besides a Center for Food Safety press release, posted below. But I would like to leave you with a brilliant Joan Gussow quote about biofuels from her newest book, Growing, Older:
In less than two hundred years, we have used up half the entire legacy of solar energy laid down as petroleum during the life of the planet, so the notion that we can, year by year, use contemporary solar energy to grow ourselves out of the coming petroleum shortfall is inarguably absurd. - p. 48
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Sun Dec 05, 2010 at 21:42:56 PM PST
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This is the tenth diary in a series about my recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, to meet with and learn about the Zapatistas, an indigenous insurgent movement made up of several ethnic groups, and their food and agriculture. On our fifth day, we were supposed to leave as early as possible for the long drive to Palenque. When we were invited to a ceremony put on by the students of a secondary school, we scrapped our plans and decided to stay and watch. This diary is about the students' orchard.
Previous diaries in this series:
Day 1, Part 1: My Yuppified Introduction to Chiapas
Day 1, Part 2: An Introduction to Zapatistas
Day 2, Part 1: Something's Weird in Zapatista Territory
Day 2, Part 2: Our First Day with the Zapatistas
Day 3, Part 1: A Full Day with the Zapatistas in the Highlands
Day 3, Part 2: A Trilingual, Multicultural Corn Experiment
Day 4, Part 1: Zapatista Agriculture and a Shower
Day 4, Part 2: This Corn Ain't Roundup Ready
Day 5, Part 1: Moi's Rant
(I went with the group Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works with and provides aid to the Zapatistas. Check out their website if you are interested in either traveling with them to Chiapas yourself, or simply buying some artisanal goods or coffee produced by Zapatistas. Aside from the obvious politics involved in supporting Zapatistas, you are supporting human beings who live in extreme poverty and work their asses off to educate themselves and their children and provide for basic needs like water and health care.)
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Fri Dec 03, 2010 at 09:41:28 AM PST
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This is the ninth diary in a series about my recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, to meet with and learn about the Zapatistas, an indigenous insurgent movement made up of several ethnic groups, and their food and agriculture. On our fifth day, we were supposed to leave as early as possible for the long drive to Palenque. When we were invited to a ceremony put on by the students of a secondary school, we scrapped our plans and decided to stay and watch. This diary is about a man we met and what he had to say.
Previous diaries in this series:
Day 1, Part 1: My Yuppified Introduction to Chiapas
Day 1, Part 2: An Introduction to Zapatistas
Day 2, Part 1: Something's Weird in Zapatista Territory
Day 2, Part 2: Our First Day with the Zapatistas
Day 3, Part 1: A Full Day with the Zapatistas in the Highlands
Day 3, Part 2: A Trilingual, Multicultural Corn Experiment
Day 4, Part 1: Zapatista Agriculture and a Shower
Day 4, Part 2: This Corn Ain't Roundup Ready
(I went with the group Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works with and provides aid to the Zapatistas. Check out their website if you are interested in either traveling with them to Chiapas yourself, or simply buying some artisanal goods or coffee produced by Zapatistas. Aside from the obvious politics involved in supporting Zapatistas, you are supporting human beings who live in extreme poverty and work their asses off to educate themselves and their children and provide for basic needs like water and health care.)
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Thu Dec 02, 2010 at 11:02:57 AM PST
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This is the eighth diary in a series about my recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, to meet with and learn about the Zapatistas, an indigenous insurgent movement made up of several ethnic groups, and their food and agriculture. On our fourth day, visited a former hacienda that was taken over by the Zapatistas in the 1994 revolution. We stayed there for the night, hanging out with the students and teachers of the Zapatista secondary school and checking out the corn that had just been harvested.
Previous diaries in this series:
Day 1, Part 1: My Yuppified Introduction to Chiapas
Day 1, Part 2: An Introduction to Zapatistas
Day 2, Part 1: Something's Weird in Zapatista Territory
Day 2, Part 2: Our First Day with the Zapatistas
Day 3, Part 1: A Full Day with the Zapatistas in the Highlands
Day 3, Part 2: A Trilingual, Multicultural Corn Experiment
Day 4, Part 1: Zapatista Agriculture and a Shower
(I went with the group Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works with and provides aid to the Zapatistas. Check out their website if you are interested in either traveling with them to Chiapas yourself, or simply buying some artisanal goods or coffee produced by Zapatistas. Aside from the obvious politics involved in supporting Zapatistas, you are supporting human beings who live in extreme poverty and work their asses off to educate themselves and their children and provide for basic needs like water and health care.)
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Thu Dec 02, 2010 at 06:00:00 AM PST
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This is the seventh diary in a series about my recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, to meet with and learn about the Zapatistas, an indigenous insurgent movement made up of several ethnic groups, and their food and agriculture. On our fourth day, we left the Zapatistas we had stayed with in the highlands of Chiapas and returned to the nearby town of San Cristobal. We had a plan - that might have turned into a bit of a disaster - to visit a very special place and stay there for the night. This diary is about the agriculture in the highlands and our drive back to San Cristobal (where my filthy body met a shower for the first time in a few days).
Previous diaries in this series:
Day 1, Part 1: My Yuppified Introduction to Chiapas
Day 1, Part 2: An Introduction to Zapatistas
Day 2, Part 1: Something's Weird in Zapatista Territory
Day 2, Part 2: Our First Day with the Zapatistas
Day 3, Part 1: A Full Day with the Zapatistas in the Highlands
Day 3, Part 2: A Trilingual, Multicultural Corn Experiment
(I went with the group Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works with and provides aid to the Zapatistas. Check out their website if you are interested in either traveling with them to Chiapas yourself, or simply buying some artisanal goods or coffee produced by Zapatistas. Aside from the obvious politics involved in supporting Zapatistas, you are supporting human beings who live in extreme poverty and work their asses off to educate themselves and their children and provide for basic needs like water and health care.)
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Wed Dec 01, 2010 at 12:00:00 PM PST
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This is the sixth diary in a series about my recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, to meet with and learn about the Zapatistas, an indigenous insurgent movement made up of several ethnic groups, and their food and agriculture. Our third day was our first full day with the Zapatistas. We spent it in one of their administrative centers ("caracoles") in the highlands near San Cristobal de las Casas. This diary describes our work with the agroecology team as we tried to plan an experiment using neem to help preserve corn.
Previous diaries in this series:
Day 1, Part 1: My Yuppified Introduction to Chiapas
Day 1, Part 2: Introduction to Zapatistas
Day 2, Part 1: Something's Weird in Zapatista Territory
Day 2, Part 2: Our First Day with the Zapatistas
Day 3, Part 1: A Full Day with the Zapatistas in the Highlands
(I went with the group Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works with and provides aid to the Zapatistas. Check out their website if you are interested in either traveling with them to Chiapas yourself, or simply buying some artisanal goods or coffee produced by Zapatistas. Aside from the obvious politics involved in supporting Zapatistas, you are supporting human beings who live in extreme poverty and work their asses off to educate themselves and their children and provide for basic needs like water and health care.)
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Wed Dec 01, 2010 at 06:00:00 AM PST
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This is the fifth diary in a series about my recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, to meet with and learn about the Zapatistas, an indigenous insurgent movement made up of several ethnic groups, and their food and agriculture. Our third day was our first full day with the Zapatistas. We spent it in one of their administrative centers ("caracoles") in the highlands near San Cristobal de las Casas. This diary tells about the day, and a second diary will describe our work with the agroecology team in detail.
Previous diaries in this series:
Day 1, Part 1: My Yuppified Introduction to Chiapas
Day 1, Part 2: Introduction to Zapatistas
Day 2, Part 1: Something's Weird in Zapatista Territory
Day 2, Part 2: Our First Day with the Zapatistas
(I went with the group Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works with and provides aid to the Zapatistas. Check out their website if you are interested in either traveling with them to Chiapas yourself, or simply buying some artisanal goods or coffee produced by Zapatistas. Aside from the obvious politics involved in supporting Zapatistas, you are supporting human beings who live in extreme poverty and work their asses off to educate themselves and their children and provide for basic needs like water and health care.)
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Tue Nov 30, 2010 at 12:00:00 PM PST
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This is the fourth diary in a series about my recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, to meet with and learn about the Zapatistas, an indigenous insurgent movement made up of several ethnic groups, and their food and agriculture. On our second day, we went to an indigenous market in San Cristobal de las Casas for food and then went to stay with the Zapatistas. This diary tells about our first day working with their Agroecology team.
Previous diaries in this series:
Day 1, Part 1: My Yuppified Introduction to Chiapas
Day 1, Part 2: Introduction to Zapatistas
Day 2, Part 1: Something's Weird in Zapatista Territory
(I went with the group Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works with and provides aid to the Zapatistas. Check out their website if you are interested in either traveling with them to Chiapas yourself, or simply buying some artisanal goods or coffee produced by Zapatistas. Aside from the obvious politics involved in supporting Zapatistas, you are supporting human beings who live in extreme poverty and work their asses off to educate themselves and their children and provide for basic needs like water and health care.)
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Tue Nov 30, 2010 at 06:00:00 AM PST
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This is the third diary in a series about my recent trip to Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, to meet with and learn about the Zapatistas, an indigenous insurgent movement made up of several ethnic groups, and their food and agriculture. On our second day, we went to an indigenous market in San Cristobal de las Casas for food and then went to stay with the Zapatistas. Only, when we got there, they wouldn't let us in...
Previous diaries in this series:
Day 1, Part 1: My Yuppified Introduction to Chiapas
Day 1, Part 2: Introduction to Zapatistas
(I went with the group Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works with and provides aid to the Zapatistas. Check out their website if you are interested in either traveling with them to Chiapas yourself, or simply buying some artisanal goods or coffee produced by Zapatistas. Aside from the obvious politics involved in supporting Zapatistas, you are supporting human beings who live in extreme poverty and work their asses off to educate themselves and their children and provide for basic needs like water and health care.)
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Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 22:11:37 PM PST
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This is the fourth time this year I've prepared to visit subsistence farmers in the tropics. The three previous trips have resulted in a lot of trial and a lot of error. So here's where I'm at (in case you're considering a trip to check out food systems in the Global South yourself).
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Mon Nov 15, 2010 at 23:15:32 PM PST
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I am one diary away from the end of my Bolivia series, and I'm a few days away from heading out on the road again. This time, for a trip that began with a Facebook friend request. (OK, seriously, nobody tell that to my mother.) A few weeks ago, I got a facebook friend request from a man with a thoroughly American name (Peter) whose profile said he was a Zapatista. Now, at this time, I did not know the difference between a Zapatista and a zapaterÃa. I mixed up the Zapatistas in Chiapas with the Zapotec Indians in Oaxaca (the state next to Chiapas), who were the focus of the recent Nation article Retreat to Subsistence. Well, I didn't mix them up really. I didn't read and I thought it SAID Zapotec. At any rate, I eagerly contacted him and said "Really?" Within a few Facebook messages, we made plans to meet up for coffee here in San Diego.
That happened 2 Sundays ago. He was getting ready for a trip to Chiapas over Thanksgiving, and wanted me to come along. I was interested but leaning toward saying no. I was actually dead set on saying no until my trip to Cancun for the climate summit (which I was starting to feel lukewarm about anyway) fell through. At this time, I was already deeply in debt from putting Bolivia on my credit card, and I did not know yet that my rabies treatment bills would exceed $3000 or that I had forgotten to pay my October car payment. And I was "on the verge" of starting a well-paying software consulting job, one that still might eventually happen but sure isn't happening quickly. As soon as the job started, I'd have no time for travel but plenty of money. I figured I better head to Chiapas soon, but I planned to go at New Years with a Global Exchange trip.
Then Peter started telling me about his organization (Schools for Chiapas) and about the trip. And... wow. He was going for the corn and coffee harvest, and to help with a new diabetes epidemic that had caused some deaths recently. In addition to that, there would be a workshop on a native, stingless bee (the melipona) whose numbers are in decline. The trip would finish up with a visit to ancient Mayan ruins. (And I've had a "thing" for the Mayans since about 5th grade, when my class studied them... ok, I'm a dork.)
So I'm going. We are leaving on a red-eye from Tijuana Thursday night and arriving in Chiapas on Friday morning. My brother died over Thanksgiving 2 years ago, so to be honest, the further I can get myself away from celebrating, the better. This will be great. I'll be doing something meaningful during this difficult time of year for me, and from what Peter's told me (which is a lot more than I've written here), this is going to be INCREDIBLE. I probably won't have internet while I'm in Mexico, but unless the mosquitoes eat me, I'll be back with lots of stories to tell on November 29.
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Sat Nov 06, 2010 at 06:32:37 AM PDT
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Here's where you can sign on to the main policy solution to cheap corn. We must do this now, well in advance of the next farm bill, as I explain below.
Those who have read my blogs and comments here and elsewhere will know of my concern that there is a major barrier to winning our policy fight against cheap corn and other farm program crops, against most of the main problems identified in the new food books and films, from high fructose corn syrup, to CAFOs and the global food crisis. That barrier is a misunderstanding of just what the real policy cause is.
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