FarmsReach

"Bayer AG is expected to complete its $60-billion-plus acquisition of Monsanto, following the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) approval the past few weeks.

This merger of two of the world’s largest and most impactful agribusiness companies will likely prove to be a watershed moment in the evolving history of food production. By pairing Monsanto’s expertise in traditionally bred and genetically modified seeds with Bayer’s robust portfolio of herbicides, fungicides, and soil nutrition treatments—not to mention consumer health brands from Alka-Seltzer to Dr. Scholl’s and Levitra—the resulting company may prove to have unprecedented influence over the way food is designed, grown, and sold."

The Monsanto brand is getting retired. That's a good thing for the GMO debate Monsanto has become a kind of shorthand, a way for consumers to express frustration about their own disempowered eating. But that became an excuse to avoid more difficult conversations.

Hot Topic: FARMLAND! Check out our 2nd interview with recently retired leaders in CA agriculture: Ed Thompson, former State Director of American Farmland Trust.

Info-packed conversation, including:
- The Climate Change-Farmland-Smart Growth connection
- CA’s new Agricultural Vision
- New regulations & policy
- Cap-and-trade funds for the future
- Promising farmland mitigation
- Pros & cons of easements
- Time-sensitive threats
- Land grabs
- The role of smaller farms in conservation
- Angel investors & new innovations
- Farmland access for new farmers
- Where our future food will be grown, and more…

Enjoy!

Transitions: Ed Thompson, former CA State Director of American Farmland Trust The second in our series of well-known leaders in the California agriculture scene who recently retired is Edward Thompson, Jr., former CA State Director of American Farmland Trust (AFT), the natio...

Check out some practical insights and advice from our interview with Shermain Hardesty, former UC Small Farm Director and advisor/consultant for farmers for over 30 years.

Some topics:
- key metrics (beyond profitability) that all small farms should be tracking
- when/whether to diversify your operation beyond raw product (e.g., processed goods, agritourism, etc.)
- services Cooperative Extension offers that small farms should take advantage of but typically don’t
- collaborative farming
- small farms serving underserved populations
- small farms’ role in the evolving food system
- finding economies of scale
- AgTech for small farms
- Cooperative Extension’s ongoing evolution

Transitions: Shermain Hardesty, UC Small Farm Program This past year we’ve seen several respected leaders in the California sustainable farming and agriculture movement retire after many years of tireless hard work. To honor them (and as an excuse to ...

Tell the USDA that you oppose the proposed withdrawal of animal welfare standards in organic...

http://cqrcengage.com/ota/home

The deadline for public comments is January 17th, 2018.

In December, the USDA announced its intention to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) Final Rule despite widespread support throughout the organic industry. The OLPP specified a set of standards for organic livestock and poultry designed to facilitate natural behaviors, minimize stress and promote well-being, and was the result of over a decade of discussion and input from the organic community.
Let's use our collective voice to defend organic! Tell the USDA that you do not support the withdrawal of the OLPP.

Visit the Organic Trade Association to make a public comment.

Introducing The Guest-imator! It’s a dinner party calculator that helps you estimate how much food to make for dinner parties, just in time for Thanksgiving, courtesy of our Save the Food campaign. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0wYITFUXLk

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/why-small-local-organic-farms-arent-the-key-to-fixing-our-food-system/2017/09/21/146f72b2-9e4d-11e7-8ea1-ed975285475e_story.html?tid=ss_fb&utm_term=.4ed197b3ea18

Perspective | Why small, local, organic farms aren’t the key to fixing our food system UNEARTHED | They can play a part in the solution, but not a big one.

A new report by Food Democracy Now! and the Detox Project,
"Glyphosate: Unsafe On Any Plate", exposes shocking levels of glyphosate contamination in popular American foods, including Cheerios, Doritos, Oreos, Goldfish and Ritz crackers and Stacy’s Pita Chips.

New scientific evidence shows that probable harm to human health could begin at ultra-low levels of glyphosate e.g. 0.1 parts per billions (ppb). Popular foods tested for glyphosate measured between 289.47 ppb and at levels as high as 1,125.3 ppb.
Click here to read the report "Glyphosate: Unsafe on Any Plate"
http://bit.ly/glyphosateFood

Take Action here: http://bit.ly/2ey7FWv
Tell the EPA to investigate the real harms from Monsanto's weedkiller glyphosate, end the collusion between regulators and Monsanto and release all the scientific data submitted for safety approvals.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.fooddemocracynow.org/images/FDN_Glyphosate_FoodTesting_Report_p2016.pdf

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