Jeremy Bernfeld
Editor
Stories by Jeremy Bernfeld
Agriculture Secretary Lone Trump Cabinet Post Without A Nominee
And then there was Agriculture. Agriculture Secretary is the only post in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet without a nominee, mystifying many in rural America and spurring worries that agriculture and rural issues will land near the end of the line among the new president’s priorities. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, who served for all 8 years…
These Midwest Farmers Are Brewing Up Hops For Local Beer
With craft beer booming and local breweries springing up all over the country, Midwest farmers are testing out ways to play a role in the growing market and, in the process, make local beer truly local. Nearly all U.S. hops, which along with water, malt and yeast, comprise the base ingredients in beer, is grown…
Explainer: GMO Labels
There’s a heated debate happening right now about GMOs and labels. Big food companies like General Mills, Mars and Kellogg’s say they plan to put labels on their products that tell consumers whether or not the food contains ingredients derived from genetically engineered plants. So what’s the big deal? What are GMO labels, and what do they…
EPA Increases Mandate For Ethanol
The amount of ethanol blended into the U.S. fuel supply will go up under new rules issued Monday. In releasing the details of the Renewable Fuel Standard, the policy that sets the amount of biofuels oil refiners must blend into the fuel supply, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it planned to continue to increase the…
Farm groups criticize ethanol policy changes at EPA hearing
Thursday was not the day to switch places with Chris Grundler. Grundler, the director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was in charge of the EPA’s one in-person hearing about proposed changes to U.S. ethanol policy. More than 250 people signed up to speak at the hearing,…
5 things you should know about the WHO, Roundup and Cancer
As you’ve probably heard, a well-respected group of World Health Organization scientists said glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s wildly popular Roundup herbicide and its generic cousins, is probably capable of causing cancer in humans. Here are five things you should know: 1. What the report said: Roundup could cause cancer in humans. The International Agency…
Irish beef imports approved after 15-year European ban
Ireland will be the first European Union country allowed to send beef to U.S. dinner tables, more than 15 years after a deadly outbreak of mad cow disease in Europe led U.S. regulators to ban European beef imports. The ban on EU beef imports was lifted in March and Ireland’s beef production systems passed a…