The Most Shocking in Food Politics 2016

In case you missed this shocking moments in food politics, this article sums up some of the wins and the losses in our fight for a clean and fair food system. Though most of us believe these issues are largely bipartisan, there will be several challenges to face in the upcoming year as legislators and business men wrangle some control of public policy. I believe we shall overcome, especially if we work together!

Obama Announces New Steps to Save Healthy Soils

“The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), in collaboration with Federal agencies and private-sector stakeholders, announced new steps to promote the long-term health and sustainable use of one of America’s most important natural resources: its soil.”

These actions would “advance scientific understanding of soils to better care for them and their ability to support food security, climate mitigation, ecosystem services, and public health.”

“The National Science and Technology Council’s Soil Science Interagency Working Group (SSIWG) also released a Framework for a Federal Strategic Plan for Soil Science, which aims to identify needs, gaps, and opportunities in soil science; develop opportunities for expanding soil conservation practices and enhancing soil carbon sequestration; and coordinate Federal research priorities for the future.”

– The American Society of Agronomy

If you are interested in this issue and care about the future of soil then don’t wait, take action now!

Climate Scientists Say 2016 Was the Hottest Year Ever

According to recently published reports, “climate scientists are all but assured that 2016 was the hottest year ever recorded”. In fact, 2014 and 2015 were also the hottest years since 1880.

Climate change is clearly an increasing threat to people everywhere. Thankfully many countries from around the globe (Democracy Now was there!) did convene this year at the Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh, to affectively demonstrate their implementation of the Paris Agreement as well as their “constructive spirit for multilateral cooperation” during these challenging times.