Ethanol production in the United States may contribute to shrinking food stocks and rising food prices, experts warn. Following the food crisis of 2008, experts say the increasing dedication of crops to fuel may lead to future malnutrition and starvation around the globe.
KRUU, the solar-powered radio station, has been running a fascinating green energy series called “Dream Green” that is taking listeners all over Iowa to learn about some of the
The mid-1920s marked the beginning of chemical farming and of organic agriculture, as a result. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, educator, and agricultural specialist among other titles, believed that the burgeoning industrial food system was dangerous and functioned on misconceptions about
Organic food sales rose from 1.2 percent to 3.7 percent of all U.S. food sales from 2000 to 2009. Fruits and vegetables total 11.4 percent of all organic fruits and vegetables sold in the United States. But to organic purists, the cost of this growth may be more than just the higher prices they will
As the popularity of organic farm products soars across the U.S., an IowaWatch investigation has found that lax oversight of the industry raises questions about what the organic seal really means.
Three Kansas communities with a combined population equal to that of Lawrence are at risk of exposure to a chemical that can be 100 times more lethal than carbon monoxide. The substance is hydrofluoric acid, which is used to make high-octane gasoline, and according to worst-case estimates that oil r
NORTH LIBERTY – Lou Licht was once a polluter – aiding and abetting companies that spewed toxins into the air and water. Today he could hardly be greener. With a quick-growing, toxic-zapping tree and a patented technique, Licht cleans up the types of messes he once helped create. His professional an
The state of Iowa is failing to warn people to cut back on eating locally caught fish contaminated with mercury and other pollutants at levels the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finds too risky, an IowaWatch study has found. More than 330,000 people a year buy licenses to fish Iowa’s waters, a
For nearly a decade, the word organic has stood for all that is wholesome and pure to the health-conscious consumer. But an emerging movement of farmers who consider themselves the real organic purists are saying their methods go “beyond organic.” Although still in its infancy, adherents to beyond o
If voters approve the referendum, the next sales tax increase would generate millions of dollars for cleaning Iowa’s filthy waters, to help stop farm soil from washing into its streams and rivers and to develop new parks and trails.
