Forwarded with permission. Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017 More money, less accountability Alan Guebert On Jan. 5, Harvest Public Media reported that “a federal investigation has been launched into the alleged embezzlement of $2.6 million by an employee” of the Oklahoma Beef Council. According to the report, the…

My Feast of the Epiphany: Making Sense of a Changing World Jan. 6, 2017 By: Richard McCarthy, Executive Director of Slow Food USA It happens when you least expect it, an epiphany, that is. There I am, sitting in row K or L at the cinema to watch the highly-acclaimed new German comedy: Maren Ade’s…

“The times they are a-changin” in the food industry One of the themes that has been central to our analysis is consumer preference. Consumer preference has always been central to functioning markets. But, 30 years ago for farmers selling No. 2 Yellow Corn at one of the town’s elevator or hogs at one of the…

Virginia Meeting Focuses on Livestock Regulations Vic Bradshaw, Virginia Correspondent Jan 15, 2017 Updated Jan 16, 2017 TIMBERVILLE, Va. — Leaders from the Organization for Competitive Markets claim big agriculture is making large amounts of money at the expense of the American farmer and consumer. At a meeting Tuesday at the Plains District Community Center,…

OCM SAYS GIPSA DEBATE CHALLENGE UNANSWERED January 17, 2017 By kanderson@brownfieldnetwork.comFiled Under: Livestock, News Photo courtesy Kansas Livestock Association The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) says its challenge to the nation’s major livestock groups to debate the GIPSA livestock rules has gone unanswered. In late December, OCM sent a letter to the National Cattlemen’s Beef…

Bonds News | Fri Jan 13, 2017 | 3:59pm EST UPDATE 4-Brazil police raid offices in probe of Caixa loans (Adds comments from JBS, Marfrig) By Pedro Fonseca and Brad Haynes Jan 13 Brazilian police raided homes and offices on Friday in a corruption investigation of loans that state bank Caixa Econômica Federal extended to…

Acclaimed Canadian author lays out dirty back story of fossil fuel industry and government By Warren Bell in Opinion, Energy, Politics, Culture | January 16th 2017 Jessica Ernst, a former oilpatch consultant, alleges that Encana broke multiple provincial laws and regulations and contaminated a shallow aquifer on her property. File photo by Canadian Press Jessica…

An allegory and a true story By Alan Guebert, Columnist 3 hrs ago 0 The allegory: Not long ago, a man named Jim was in business with his brother Bob. Jim was the hardworking, money-making side of the firm; Bob was the always smiling, money-spending side. And, sure, Jim knew the arrangement was lopsided but…

FARM FILE: Major farm groups to Trump: Adopt GIPSA rules By Alan Guebert for The News-Sentinel Saturday, January 07, 2017 12:00 AM For almost a month now, we’ve watched what DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton calls “the visceral political fight” over three changes to livestock marketing rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s…

Monsanto’s Roundup Linked to Fatty Liver Disease Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease affects up to 90 million people in the U.S. By Lorraine Chow / EcoWatch January 12, 2017 NEW YORK CITY – MAY 23 2015: environmental activists joined a global day out against Monsanto’s GMO programs & demanding that foods be labeled. Photo Credit: a…