Tag: agriculture
Entrepreneurs trying to coax climate-friendly food from world's driest places
Sand + salt water + CO2 + sun = lunch? That's the formula a group of entrepreneurs in Qatar are putting to the test as they try to turn vast expanses of desert into productive farm land, carbon dioxide sinks and even successful businesses....
Uganda considering genetically modified organisms to stave off crop disaster
Genetically modified crops are powerfully controversial around the world. Recently, when GM wheat was discovered in Oregon, countries rushed to ban all wheat imports from the area. In Uganda, suspicions are high. But as the country faces critical danger to one of its staple crops, cassava, the only option may be genetics....
Farmers in Pennsylvania taking proceeds from fracking and investing in solar
Farmers around Pennsylvania, and indeed around the country are increasingly taking the money they make opening their land up to fracking and investing in renewable energy. Specifically, a number of farmers have chosen to plow their windfall into solar panels....
Climate change a persistent threat to Maasai's traditional way of life
Kenya's Maasai people have a distinct culture — distinct clothes and and habits that make them stand out among people. But that historic way of life is threatened by climate change, making their traditional lifestyle increasingly untenable....
Congress' budget bill contained protections for genetically modified food
A bill to keep the government operating through the end of September contained an unrelated provision that protects genetically modified food. While some say it's unconstitutional, a provision of the bill prohibits the courts from pulling an unsafe genetically modified product from the market....
California's immigrant farmers squeezed by Silicon Valley success
California's Asian community is fed, often quite literally, by Chinese farmers on the fringes of San Francisco. But as Silicon Valley expands, those farmers living and working on small farms near growing cities are being squeezed out by economic growth....
Immigrant farmers making inroads in Midwestern agriculture
Immigrants have been major components of the agricultural system in California and Texas for years. But recently, they've become more prevalent in the Midwest as well. Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is stepping up its outreach to them, to help them succeed....
U.S. agricultural industry hopes immigration reform fixes worker predicament
Immigration reform is a top priority for Republicans and Democrats in the current political term. Both agree that something needs to be done. Farmers and agricultural industry types hope that their agreement includes fixing the guest worker program. But some immigrant activists say that's not such a good idea....
In Kenya, urban farming changing families' reality
Livestock and cities don't often go together. Derided as causing diseases, or car accidents, there are often rules against keeping them in urban areas. But there's a movement to allow urban farming and it's changing lives in one African city in Kenya....
Canadian maple syrup heist continues to cause controversy
A maple syrup heist in Quebec threatens price controls the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers has used for some time -- and the theft occurred a year ago. The investigation continues into how one well-known buyer acquired the stolen syrup. ...
