Carbon Emissions Surpass 400 ppm

The level of heat trapping carbon dioxide has passed a long-feared milestone, reaching 400 ppm on May 9^th.? Evidence has suggested that the amount of gas in the air has not been this high for at least three million years, before humans evolved, and scientists believe the rise portends large changes in the climate and the level of the sea. China is now the largest emitter, but Americans have been consuming fossil fuels extensively for far longer, and experts say the United States is more responsible than any other nation for the high level. Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, formed 350.org as a means of building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis and push for policies?that would keep carbon emissions below 350 ppm. We are now beyond this level and the time to act is now. Whether it is through personal action, or policy making, we need to address climate change head on. Find out some of the ways you can make a difference, by clicking here.

Farmer Faces Jail for Feeding Community

On May 20th, Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger will be heading to court as he faces charges with four criminal misdemeanors that could land him in county jail for up to 30 months with fines of over $10,000. The Wisconsin Department of Agricultural Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) targeted Hershberger for supplying a private buying club with fresh milk and other farm products. DATCP has charged Hershberger with, among other things, operating a retail food establishment without a license. Hershberger provided food only to paid members in a private buying club that is not subject to state food regulations. ?There is more at stake here than just a farmer and his few customers,? says Hershberger, ?this is about the fundamental right of farmers and consumers to engage in peaceful, private, mutually consenting agreements for food, without additional oversight.? This month after the trial each day, food rights activists will gather at the Al Ringling Theater across the street from the courthouse and hear presentations by leaders in the food rights movement. Hershberger, and other farmers around the country, are facing state or federal charges against them for providing fresh foods to wanting individuals. In recent months the FDA has conducted several long undercover sting operations and raids against peaceful farmers and buying clubs that have resulted in farms shutting down and consumers without access to the food they depend on. To learn more about this unwarranted war on fresh, locally produced food, check out the documentary Farmageddon.

EPA Green-Lights New Pesticide Highly Toxic to Bees, Dismisses Concerns

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the unconditional registration of the new insecticide sulfoxaflor,?which the agency classifies as highly toxic to honey bees. Despite warnings and concerns raised by beekeepers and environmental groups, sulfoxaflor will further endanger bees and beekeeping. EPA continues to put industry interests first to exacerbate an already dire pollinator crisis.? In January, the agency proposed? to impose conditional registration on sulfoxaflor due to inconclusive and outstanding data on long-term honey bee brood impacts. Even though sulfoxaflor is highly toxic to bees, the EPA has stated that it does not demonstrate substantial residual toxicity to exposed bees Beekeepers haved warn that if the EPA approves sulfoxaflor, commercial beekeeping will be?extinct by 2018. Along with the disappearance of bees, crops such as?almonds, blueberries, apples and broccoli, that are entirely reliant upon pollination by commercial beekeepers, will increasingly diminish.

FDA Admits Chicken Meat Contains Arsenic

Attorneys at Center for Food Safety (CFS) have filed a lawsuit on behalf of CFS, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and seven other U.S. food safety, agriculture, public health and environmental groups to compel the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to respond to the groups? three year-old petition which calls for immediate withdrawal of FDA?s approval of arsenic-containing compounds as feed additives for food animals. Arsenic is commonly added to poultry feed for the FDA-approved purposes of inducing faster weight gain on less feed, and creating the perceived appearance of a healthy color in meat from chickens, turkeys and hogs. Exposure to arsenic has to been linked to several serious human health problems, including?bladder, lung, and skin cancers. The irony, and unbelievable dysfunction of our food system, is that a farmer selling fresh, raw milk to willing customers is facing jail time, yet no one working for the FDA will be punished for willingly poisoning our food system with arsenic, among other chemicals.

New York School Goes All Vegetarian

This week, The Active Learning Elementary School celebrated? its move to all-vegetarian meals five days a week. The school of nearly 400 students, from pre-kindergarten to third grade, was founded five years ago on the principle that a healthy lifestyle leads to strong academic achievement. “We decided on a vision where health and nutrition would be a part of educating the whole child,” school principal Bob Groff said. The school went meatless three days a week about a year and a half ago. Working closely with the city’s education department food program to ensure menu items met USDA standards, they officially went all-vegetarian in January. We hope to see more schools making the switch in the future.