Scott Pruitt Putting Industry First… Let’s Not Turn a Blind Eye!

“In the four months since he took office as the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt has moved to undo, delay or otherwise block more than 30 environmental rules, a regulatory rollback larger in scope than any other over so short a time in the agency’s 47-year history, according to experts in environmental law.”

NY Times Continues to Get the Scoop on Pruitt’s Day to Day Schedule, and it’s NOT in the Public Interests

“In just the first 15 days of May, Mr. Pruitt met with the chief executive of the Chemours Company, a leading chemical maker, as well as three chemical lobbying groups; the egg producers lobby; the president of Shell Oil Company; the chief executive of Southern Company; lobbyists for the farm bureau, the toy association and a cement association; the president of a truck equipment manufacturer seeking to roll back emissions regulations for trucks; and the president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.” Read the full article here.

Food Tank Posts the Top 17 Organizations Fighting Food Waste

“Food Tank is spotlighting 17 organizations fighting hunger around the world through regenerative agriculture and agroecology: A Growing Culture, Agricultural Biodiversity Community, Bioversity International, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Food First, Green Shoots Foundation, Groundswell International, Heifer International, IFOAM Organics International, INGA Foundation, Kiss the Ground, Millennium Institute, Navdanya, Sustainable Harvest International, The Carbon Underground, The Land Institute, and The Small Planet Institute.” Read more from Food Tank here. 

Paying Tribute to Schumacher: A “Food and Agriculture Lion”

“The food and agriculture community lost a lion this week. August “Gus” Schumacher, Jr. was co-founder and founding board chair of Wholesome Wave, best known for its Double Value Coupon Program and Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program. From 1997 to 2001, Schumacher served as President Clinton’s Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He also served as Administrator of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, worked as a senior agri-lender for the World Bank, and as Commissioner of Food and Agriculture in Massachusetts. Schumacher was a member of the 21st National Academy of Sciences and received leadership awards for his important work.” – Civil Eats

Puerto Rico’s Agriculture Industry Horrifically Impacted by Maria

Carlos Flores Ortega, Puerto Rico’s secretary of the Department of Agriculture, reported that about “80 percent of the crop value in Puerto Rico was wiped out — making it one of the costliest storms to hit the island’s agriculture industry.” The NY Times reports that the country’s essentially bankrupt financial system is now exacerbated and ultimately, this dire situation will prevent any sort of quick recovery from happening ever or at all. 

Hurricane Maria left many farmers in Puerto Rico struggling; their trees torn down, their land flooded, and their cows dead or missing. NPR reports that “dairy farmers are the biggest single part of Puerto Rico’s agricultural economy” and that they account for about a third of the island’s total agricultural production. Due to strict limits on imported milk, the island’s economy is based largely on it’s own production.

Two of the biggest problems which now faces everyone on the island is the lack of gasoline and electricity. Without gasoline, people are unable to fuel their cars and travel to family or work. Without electricity, everyone must rely on their generators, which farmers say cannot last them much longer. 

The devastation of Hurricane Maria, and other natural disasters which arise as obvious symptoms from our current crisis called Climate Change, are affecting people intensely in the agricultural sector. Though there is still hope for communities affected because there are good people working together to help those that are directly impacted. A great story about nonprofit farms and greenmarkets in Houston whose mission to supply food to those in need is a prime example for dealing with these dire situations. Some might think that the answers to our problems lie in the discovery of genetically-engineered solutions, however, I believe it’s people like you and me coming together which will help save us and our planet. 

Melania Trump Does NOT Say NO to GMO, Say What? 

Not sure how I missed this, but there was some “Fake News” circulating in the media, also reported by Food Democracy NOW, that Melania Trump “banned all Monsanto products from her house.” Let’s not be be fooled!  YourNewsWire (the blog is which said to be famous for promulgating conspiracy stories) also may have falsely reported that her and her husband, our president (yuck!), are not into Big Pharma. I’ll believe it when I see the public interests reflected in healthcare policy!

And yet, some good news reported by EcoWatch… “Monsanto lobbyists were officially barred by the European Parliament on Thursday after refusing requests to participate in hearings about the U.S. corporation’s efforts to influence regulations of its controversial glyphosate within the 28-nation bloc.” This is our plight, to continue to stand against Evil Monsanto across the globe.