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Pandemic Proof: S2G Ventures on Why Resilient, Sustainable And Healthy Food Systems Are More Important Than Ever
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health and economic crisis like none we have seen in our lifetime
by guest 18 May 2020
Sanjeev Krishnan
This is a guest post by Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at S2G Ventures
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health and economic crisis like none we have seen in our lifetime. In the food supply chain, this has impacted employees that ensure that food is planted, harvested, and processed, grocery shelves are stocked and food is available to all people. It takes a global village to feed the world, and we have seen selfless sacrifice and silent grit to ensure the continuity of our food system. Because, if our food supply breaks down, this pandemic may move from a crisis to a catastrophe.
Over the past several month’s several cracks have shown up in the food supply chain. The pandemic is challenging the nature of our global supply chain, stressing logistics networks, and reinforcing the importance of labor. There are concerns about food nationalism, continued access to labor, and redefining the nature of food security from global to national systems. While now is the time for urgent action – from government and private sector – there is a need for longer-term investments required for building a more innovative and resilient future food system.
Our team at S2G Ventures spent several months researching and monitoring COVID-19 and its implications to better understand these questions, keeping a close eye on the news cycle, conducting extensive desktop research, and speaking with various experts across many fields. We spoke to epidemiologists, healthcare professionals, farmers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and other investors to gather insights and develop our perspective on the implications of COVID-19 on the world of food and agriculture. We have compiled our findings into a report that explores the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic to the food and agriculture industry and identifies the areas of innovation critical to building a healthier and more sustainable food system.
As an investor in companies across all stages of the food system, we believe our role in the recovery is to ensure we build a more stable, resilient, sustainable, and healthy system. We will continue to invest in entrepreneurs and innovations that are the catalysts for meaningful progress. Below, we offer a summary of our report, which can also be downloaded in full here.
Pandemics 101: A History of Recovery & Innovation
Taking a look back in time, the world suffered a deadly pandemic in 1918. The Spanish flu, whose origin is believed to be a farm outside of Kansas City, spread quickly across the globe. Although the world was not as connected, World War I was still ongoing, and troops were being shuttled between the United States and Europe. Between 1918 and 1919, the Spanish flu is believed to have infected nearly a third of the global population and killed between three and 20 percent of those who were infected. In the end it killed between 40 and 50 million people. In the years following the Spanish flu, there was a bright period of innovation that included the adoption of the Bell telephone and modern medicine. It was an event that helped shape the future.
Between the Spanish flu and today’s pandemic, there have been seven major epidemics or pandemics. Each varies in mortality, duration, and contagion, but ultimately all come to an end. The economic recovery period that follows a pandemic-induced recession is generally different from traditional economic recessions. Pandemic-induced recession recoveries have generally seen a V-shaped recovery, while traditional recessions have varied between V-, U-, W-, and L-shaped recoveries. The global financial crisis of 2008 saw an L-shaped recovery. Typically, economic recessions have a longer duration and deeper economic consequences.
The coronavirus pandemic is unique among prior events. While many events have temporarily shut down regions, none have had the same global shutdown that we are currently facing today. So, despite being able to draw comparison and insights to learn from pandemic economics, the situation is different due to a staggering rise in globalization, digitalization across many sectors, and the rise of fiat currencies. Pandemic economic history teaches us that one of the hallmarks is that innovation plays a critical role in the future normal that emerges. As Professor Katherine A. Foss notes, “disease can permanently alter society, and often for the best by creating better practices and habits. Crisis sparks action and response.”
While the direct effect of COVID-19 is on the population – with infection rates, social distancing, and shelter-in-place restrictions and continued operations of only essential businesses – there are significant implications across many industries. The second-order consequences of coronavirus are reshaping industries, catalyzing innovation, and encouraging resilience in business planning. Although the lasting impact on many industries is unknown, we see exciting innovation accelerating across automation, telemedicine, virtual reality, and transparency systems (i.e., blockchain or similar technologies).
Everyone Eats – Pandemic Proof Demand, but Supply?
While the food and agriculture sectors are generally more resilient in bad economic situations, there are several sub-sectors that rely heavily on in-person labor and are currently strained due to the unique social distancing pressures placed on businesses. One significant pressure point is meat processors. Several large meat companies have been forced to shutter processing facilities due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Smithfield had to shut down one of its pork processing facilities that supplied roughly 5 percent of the U.S. pork supply, while JBS had to close a Pennsylvania facility that processed beef. The second-order consequence of these closures is the farmer, who may be forced now to cull their herds of cattle and hogs. The strain on this pressure point affects not only the farmer but also the consumer. Wendy’s felt the effects of this during this past week when nearly one-fifth of all 1,043 locations ran out of beef.
While it will take an extended period of time to fully understand the implications of consumer purchasing data coming out of the pandemic – more specifically if the duration of the consumer behavior shift will be a ‘fad’ or ‘trend’ – certain areas of the market are seeing a quick adoption of trends that were previously accelerating. As slaughter-house closures have increased, plant-based meats sales have jumped 200 percent. Plant-based meats remain a small portion of the market, but this is a significant and notable demand signal from consumers.
Coronavirus is notably changing how consumers shop, prepare and consume food. Between 2009 and 2018, out-of-home eating rose from 50.1 percent to 54.4 percent of the market. Now, with social distancing limited the ability to eat at restaurants, many are turning to preparing food at home or ordering delivery or takeout. And, despite food being a resilient sector, the bifurcation between grocery and foodservice has become clear.
In the grocery store, private label market-share gains are poised to accelerate, as consumers tighten spending and look for value-focused alternatives. However, we expect consumers to prioritize a balance of value and better-for-you brands instead of a complete tradeoff to value, consistent with the consumer megatrend towards better-for-you products.
Taking a step back, and observing the broader food value chain, we observed three primary delivery vulnerabilities in the food system:
1. Agricultural inputs to farms (e.g., seeds, animal feed, fertilizer, et al.)
2. Farm products to processors, packagers, spot markets and export markets
3. Food to retail distribution
This is important because the global food system relies on a just-in-time economy, where inventory levels are intentionally kept low. Meaning, that regardless if there is enough supply in existence, it may not be able to reach its proper destination if the supply chain is disrupted.
China, which provides a good example because it is further along in the lifecycle of the pandemic, has been suffering from this problem in the last several months. Upstream and downstream logistics are a major challenge; at the ports, there are thousands of frozen meat containers piling up because the trucking has effectively collapsed. Meanwhile, ports are running out of power, stoking fears that much of the food currently stored there will go bad. There is also an American company that makes immunization equipment for chicken that said their containers had been docked at Chinese ports for four weeks. Although China is doing its best to ensure that the grain planting season is not missed, the logistics of this supply chain are making it increasingly difficult.
The Future of Food – COVID-19 and Calories
While we continue to watch the situation and the strain it is placing on the food system, we view the common threat that could bridge the existing system to the future as technology. Consumer purchasing behavior coupled with innovation may drive changes in market share and pressure existing players in the market. Although we have not seen COVID-19 create a new trend, we have seen several trends that were in motion pre-coronavirus further accelerated by the pandemic, including alternative protein, indoor agriculture, digitalization of agriculture, and grocery and food as medicine.
Although animal agriculture remains a large and growing market, the pandemic has exposed challenges with the industries long production cycles, centralized production and limited processing facilities. It has allowed for faster consumer adoption of alternative proteins, including plant-based protein, fungi, algae and other biomass concepts including cellular meat. Notably, some of these technologies are further along than other, for example plant-based protein has been a trend for several years, while cellular meat remains in a research and development phase. We continue to believe that whatever the next generation of protein is, it will be driven by production speed, price and taste.
A second trend we believe is accelerating is food as an immunity. The convergence of food, science and technology may unlock this sector and usher in a new era in microbiome, functional ingredients, precision and personalized nutrition and medical foods. Prior to COVID-19, this was largely driven by nutrition-related disease, but the pandemic has exposed at-risk populations, with approximately 90 percent of hospitalized patients having one or more underlying condition, with the most common underlying condition being obesity.
Beyond specific trend acceleration, several themes emerge throughout this research that we believe may be catalyzed and emerge in a post-COVID-19 world. Digitalization will likely be driven by dis-intermediation to allow for new relationships with the consumer and to reduce risk throughout the supply chain. Decentralized food systems allow for the automation of local (alternative protein and produce) and the reshaping of complex perishable supply chains to reduce shrink and waste. They are also more omnichannel congruent as e-commerce, specifically online grocery, adoption accelerates. De-commoditization in the food supply chain, coupled with technologies that place deflationary pressure on the industry, may help catalyze breeding for attributes beyond yield (taste, protein content, et al), a return to polyculture farming and a shift from a strict focus on yield to profit per acre. Lastly, food as an immunity has the potential to bridge healthcare and food production and consumption for the treatment of specific nutrition-related chronic lifestyle diseases, as well as change the future of brands to focus on unique, functional ingredients. a
Our full report, The Future of Food in the Age of COVID, is available online.
_____________________________
Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at S2G Ventures
Sanjeev has nearly 20 years of experience in sourcing, executing, managing, and exiting venture and private equity investments, including a focus in agriculture and food companies. As Managing Director, Sanjeev is active in developing investments and managing portfolio companies including, serving on many portfolio company boards. His portfolio work ranges from genetics, crop protection, soil health, digital/IoT, crop insurance, merchandising, indoor agriculture, novel flavor, and ingredients, new protein development, unique processors, and brands that will feed this changing consumer.
He is passionate about the role of innovation, entrepreneurship, markets, and system investing as a theory of change. Sanjeev has worked in the intersection of sustainability, technology, and health in many regions, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. He has invested over $500 mm in venture and growth-stage firms throughout his career.
Sanjeev began investing as a co-founder of the life sciences practice of the IFC, the $99 billion private investment arm of the World Bank. His previous investment roles include CLSA Capital Partners, Global Environment Fund, World Bank Group’s IFC, and JPMorgan. Sanjeev is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
About S2G Ventures:
S2G Ventures (Seed to Growth) is a multi-stage venture fund investing in food and agriculture. The fund’s mission is to catalyze innovation to meet consumer demands for healthy and sustainable food. S2G has identified sectors across the food system that are ripe for change and is building a multi-stage portfolio including seed, venture, and growth-stage investments. Core areas of interest for S2G are agriculture, ingredients, infrastructure and logistics, IT and hardware, food safety and technology, retail and restaurants, and consumer brands.
For more information about S2G, visit www.s2gventures.com or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Why Growing Your Own Vegetables Is Like Printing Your Own Money
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, we're beginning to question how effective our reliance on supermarkets is...
PLANT BASED NEWS APR 21, 2020
It was fashion designer and gardening expert Ron Finley who coined the phrase 'growing your own food is like printing your own money' back in a 2013 TedTalk.
These words resonate stronger now than ever before.
As the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic continues to spread, we're beginning to question how effective our reliance on supermarkets is.
Permaculture
But urban farmer and permaculture expert Jack Hodgson is spearheading the movement to reconnect with nature, teaching people everything they need to know about growing their own vegetables.
Despite never trying an avocado until he was 24-years-old, Jack, curator of PBN Grow, now runs a market garden in Essex, England, with three simple principles: no-dig, permaculture, and bio-dynamic farming.He is also the latest to feature on the Plant Based News Podcast, hosted by PBN Co-Founder Robbie Lockie.
The pair discuss the UK's problem with food waste, how to tackle pests when growing your own vegetables, and how Brexit will affect the farming industry.
2020 Food Revolution conference
If you're interested in the power of food, why not sign-up for the free 2020 Food Revolution conference?
The nine-day virtual event, which runs from April 25- May 3, features 25 of the world's most trusted food and nutrition experts, including Dr. Greger and Dr. Barnard. The summit will present the most up-to-date research and information about food, nutrition, disease prevention, immune health, and environmental stewardship.
You can sign-up for the free online event here
Lead Photo: (Photos: Jack's Patch)
Plant Based News is a multi-award winning vegan news media & plant-based health education platform.
Hands-Free Cultivation At Fresh Local Produce of Ohio
Green Automation is proud to announce the realization of another project in North America
Green Automation Group's latest project in North America is completed. The fully automated growing system for hydroponic baby leaf lettuce has been installed at Fresh Local Produce of Ohio and is already producing fresh, tasty and sustainable leafy greens for local distribution in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.
Our Hands-Free Cultivation in the controlled environment of a greenhouse checks all the boxes for safe and sustainable growing.
WELLINGTON, FLA. (PRWEB) APRIL 06, 2020
Green Automation is proud to announce the realization of another project in North America. The installation of Green Automation’s fully automated growing system at Fresh Local Produce in Hudson, Ohio was completed this winter. Fresh Local Produce of Ohio started their production of fresh baby lettuce in February and can already be found on the shelves of several grocery stores in the area. Fresh Local Produce is selling under the brand “Free! Leafy Greens”.
The name Free! Leafy Greens is referring to everything this baby leaf lettuce is free of; Free of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, free of GMO, free of chlorine washes and even free from any hands touching the lettuce. “This is what we call Hands-Free Cultivation,” says Anthony Umina, Managing Member of Fresh Local Produce. “Food safety is at the top of everyone’s priority list today, retailers, restaurants and consumers alike. Our Hands-Free Cultivation in the controlled environment of greenhouse checks all the boxes for safe and sustainable growing” continues Umina.
“With food safety being at the focus of attention in the industry today and an essential component of any successful food production operation, we as a company are taking it upon ourselves to join the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Initiative and raise our food safety standards. By doing so we have implemented a comprehensive food safety system and are preparing for our first voluntary SQF audit to obtain the Food Safety and Quality Certification,” explains Gina Frontino, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager at Fresh Local Produce. “In addition to the food safety measures in place, the fully automated growing system brings an extra level of food safety to the operation, as it eliminates any human contact with the lettuce. No-one touches our leafy greens during the entire growing process. We like to call that Worry-Free lettuce,” says Frontino.
The company’s strong focus on responsibly and locally produced lettuce is aligning well with the ongoing trend toward and growing demand for fresh, safe and locally grown lettuce. “Our lettuce is in the stores within 24 hours of harvesting. It does not get much fresher than that, and you can taste the difference,” says Eric Highfield, Chief Agricultural Officer at Fresh Local Produce.
“When choosing the growing system for their operations, Fresh Local Produce asked the right questions,” says Patrik Borenius, CEO Green Automation Americas. “They looked at yield numbers, plant density, labor efficiency and the costs involved to achieve an economically viable operation. Our fully automated growing system with moving open-gutters achieves the highest plant density and operates efficiently on a commercial scale. Fresh Local Produce also chooses a strategic location for their greenhouse. The site is close to the interstate allowing for efficient distribution of their fresh greens and with a population of over 50 Million within 6 hrs. truck drive. In addition, low energy cost was secured at the site and there are opportunities to expand the operations at this location,” explains Borenius.
Free! Leafy Greens are grown and harvested every day, 365 days per year. The new greenhouse operation measures 2 acres and the site is prepared for future expansions. “Right now, we are ramping up the production of phase 1. We will take one step at the time and determine when the time is right to expand,” says Anthony Umina.
About Green Automation Group
Green Automation Group Ltd, headquartered in Finland, and it’s subsidiary Green Automation Americas LLC, based in Florida, develop, manufacture and market the most advanced greenhouse automation systems for lettuce and herb production. The systems are designed for commercial greenhouse operations with a growing area of 1 acre / 0.4 hectares and above. http://www.greenautomation.com
About Fresh Local Produce
Fresh Local produce of Ohio grows and distributes leafy greens under the brand “Free! Leafy Greens”. Free! Leafy Greens are hydroponically grown baby leaf lettuce locally sourced in Summit County Ohio! Our state-of-the-art greenhouse provides a perfect growing environment for our baby leaf, 365 days a year. Our mission is to show our customers what clean and responsibly produced lettuce should taste like. Currently serving OH, PA, and IN communities!
Risk of E. coli In Hydroponic And Aquaponic Systems May Be Greater Than Once Thought
A spate of foodborne illnesses in leafy greens and other produce in recent years has sickened consumers and disrupted growers and supply chains
Hye-Ji Kim (left), pictured with graduate student Seunghyun Choi, found the presence of E. coli bacteria in aquaponic and hydroponic growing systems, suggesting the bacteria could reach produce consumers. (Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A spate of foodborne illnesses in leafy greens and other produce in recent years has sickened consumers and disrupted growers and supply chains. It’s been thought that hydroponic and aquaponic systems could reduce these issues since there is little opportunity for pathogens like E. coli to contaminate the edible parts of plants.
A Purdue University study, however, has found the presence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) – the same bacteria that have made consumers of several produce products ill – in hydroponic and aquaponic growing systems. Hye-Ji Kim, an assistant professor of horticulture and the study’s corresponding author, said the findings suggest growers using these systems should be careful in handling and harvesting to avoid contamination.
“Many people think that there is no chance that E. coli could be present in these systems and that risk of contamination is low,” said Kim, whose results were published in the journal Horticulturae. “Our findings suggest there is some potential for food safety concerns. We’re not saying that these foods are unsafe, but that it’s important to handle these plants properly and carefully.”
Aquaponic and hydroponic growing systems are thought to have little risk of containing bacteria that can sicken produce consumers. After finding E. coli in both types of systems, Hye-Ji Kim suggests growers to use caution to not introduce the bacteria to their operations. (Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
The E. coli outbreaks that have occurred in recent years tend to happen in leafy greens and other vegetables grown in irrigated fields. Potential sources could be from E. coli in manure or groundwater that reaches the edible portions of plants, or from those contaminants getting to plants after root damage by wild animals.
Proponents of hydroponic and aquaponic systems suggest their growing methods would reduce or eliminate any risk of contamination. Both soilless systems, hydroponic plants are grown in water and chemical fertilizers or nutrient solutions, and aquaponic systems include the raising of fish, with fish wastewater utilized as water and nutrient source for the plants.
The fish used in aquaponic growing systems may introduce E. coli to water and potentially produce crops, and accidental contamination is possible in hydroponic systems. Hye-Ji Kim and Yi-Ju Wang (pictured) suggest growers take careful steps to ensure that these bacteria don’t reach plants that could sicken consumers. (Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
Kim, Yi-Ju Wang, a graduate student in Kim’s lab, and Amanda Deering, a Purdue clinical assistant professor of food science, set up both hydroponic and aquaponic systems for growing lettuce, tomatoes, and basil for about two months. The scientists found E. coli in both systems at the time of harvest.
In the aquaponic system, the authors believe the E. coli was introduced by the fish. The bacteria was found in the water, on plant roots, and in fish feces.
“Our separate aquaculture system confirmed that fish feces were a major source of contamination with STEC in the aquaponic system,” the authors wrote. “These results indicate that introducing contaminated fish can be a source of foodborne pathogens in aquaponics.”
The presence of E. coli in the hydroponic system, in which fish were not used, suggests that the bacteria was introduced accidentally. Kim believes it could have splashed from a nearby aquaponic system or have been introduced by a visitor who brought it in from outside the greenhouse. Either way, the presence in the system suggests that accidental contamination is a real risk.
E. coli was also found on plant roots in both systems, but the bacteria did not internalize in the plants. In other words, even with the bacteria present in water and on the roots, the edible portions of the plants were still safe to consume.
The key, Kim says, is proper handling to ensure that E. coli or other pathogens don’t make it to the edible parts of plants. Damaged roots would allow bacteria into the plants, potentially making it to edible portions internally. And the splashing of water during growing or harvesting could introduce bacteria to the edible portions of the plants.
“The best way to manage these issues is to not touch roots or water throughout production cycles. If you do, you should thoroughly wash your hands before touching the edible parts of the plants,” Kim said. “Proper sanitization of equipment is also important. And acquiring fish that do not contain E. coli would also be beneficial.”
Kim’s lab is continuing to investigate food safety risks in hydroponic and aquaponic systems. Projects include damaging roots and simulating splashes to understand how much contamination can occur.
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Purdue University College of Agriculture funded this research.
Writer: Brian Wallheimer, 765-532-0233, bwallhei@purdue.edu
Source: Hye-Ji Kim, 765-496-0122, hjikim@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: A portrait of one scientist, a picture of another scientist in the lab and a picture of a growing system are available for journalists to use via Google Drive.
ABSTRACT
The Occurrence of Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli in Aquaponic and Hydroponic Systems
Yi-Ju Wang1, Amanda J. Deering2, and Hye-Ji Kim1
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Department of Food Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Food safety concerns have been raised over vegetables and herbs grown in aquaponics and hydroponics due to the reuse of wastewater and spent nutrient solutions. This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of foodborne pathogens in greenhouse-based aquaponic and hydroponic systems. Fish feces, recirculating water, roots, and the edible portions of lettuce, basil, and tomato were collected at harvest, and microbiological analyses were conducted for the bacterial pathogens Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. Enrichments and selective media were used for the isolation, and presumptive positive colonies were confirmed by PCR. STEC was found in fish feces, in the water of both systems, and on the surface of the roots of lettuce, basil, and tomato regardless of the system. However, contaminated water did not lead to the internalization of STEC into the roots, leaves, and/or fruit of the plants. Meanwhile, L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were not present in any samples examined. Our results demonstrated that there are potential food safety hazards for fresh produce grown in aquaponic and hydroponic production systems.
Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;
Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu
Here Are The ‘Dirty Dozen’ Fruit And Vegetables Laced With Legal Pesticides — Even Organics Have Traces
Nearly 70% of the fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of legal though potentially harmful chemical pesticides even in small amounts, and a popular snack for children is another big offender
March 25, 2020
By Rachel Koning Beals
Raisins are surprise offenders this year with neurotoxic insecticide chlorpyrifos, which some research has shown can harm the nervous system in children
Nearly 70% of the fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of legal though potentially harmful chemical pesticides even in small amounts, and a popular snack for children is another big offender.
Among the top choices to limit exposure to pesticides? Avocados, asparagus, and honeydew melon.
The analysis comes from the Environmental Working Group. Each year since 2004 it has ranked its Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists and combines them as a shopper’s guide for consumers. The “dirtiest” of all is not a fresh fruit or vegetable, but a dried one — raisins. Raisins weren’t ranked on the fresh lists but their surprising results caught the attention of EWG.
Toxicologists and other researchers at EWG compare the pesticide contamination of 47 popular conventional — meaning not farmed organically — fruits and vegetables. The review is based on the results of tests by the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration of more than 43,000 samples of produce.
Environmental Working Group
Most pesticide residues the agency finds fall within government-mandated restrictions, but advocacy groups such as EWG argue “legal does not mean safe.” Before conducting its tests, USDA washes, scrubs, and peels fruits and vegetables as consumers would.
Thomas Galligan, Ph.D., a toxicologist with EWG said researchers continue to study why raisins contained higher traces of pesticides than the grapes they’re dried from, though grapes ranked on the list this year. Read more of his analysis.
Children under the age of 15 eat a total of about 208 million pounds of raisins each year, or about half of the raisins consumed in the U.S., according to Zion Market Research. The average American consumed about 1.25 pounds of raisins in 2017, the latest year for which the USDA has information. Zion’s industry analysis shows that slightly less than two-thirds of raisins are consumed as ingredients in other foods, with the rest eaten as a stand-alone snack.
“Infants, babies and young children are exquisitely vulnerable to even low levels of pesticide exposure, so it’s important parents and caregivers take steps to safeguard children from these chemicals while also providing them diets rich in healthy fruits and vegetables,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician and epidemiologist who’s director of the Program in Global Public Health and the Common Good in the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society at Boston College.
“For many Americans, choosing an all-organic diet is not possible, so [pesticide guides] can help give consumers the tools to provide their families with a mix of both conventional and organic fruits and veggies without the pesticide punch,” he said.
Environmental Working Group
Producers generally use pesticides to improve crop yield, which can hold down retail prices, which is particularly important to low-income consumers. The findings also show that even produce labeled organic can show traces of pesticide.
The EWG group highlighted two chemicals in particular. One is neurotoxic insecticide chlorpyrifos, which some research has shown can harm the brain and nervous system in children at even low levels. The chemcial was detected on 5%, or 34 out of 670 samples, of conventional raisins, and 6%, or five out of 86, of organic raisin samples.
California, where the majority of the U.S. raisin supply is produced, recently banned all uses of chlorpyrifos because of the risks it poses to both children and farmworkers. That regulatory change was not carried through to the federal level, however.
The second chemical of note is neonicotinoids, which the USDA’s tests detected on almost one-fifth of fruits and vegetables. Neonics are the fastest-growing class of insecticides, “despite a decade of research making it clear that they are highly toxic to honeybees and other pollinator species,” EWG researchers said. Some studies on human health also suggest that exposure to neonics may be harmful to the developing fetus and children, they said.
Residues of at least one of three neonicotinoid pesticides banned in the European Union — imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam — were found on more than half the U.S. samples of potatoes, spinach and lettuce tested. At least one of these neonics was also found on more than one-fourth of the samples of U.S. cherries, watermelon, and strawberries.
The Alliance for Food and Farming, which represents both organic and conventional farmers of fruits and vegetables, argues that these annual lists overstate the amount of pesticide detection on food.
“To accurately assess consumer risks from pesticides, one needs to consider three major factors – 1) the amount of residue on the foods, 2) the amount of food consumed, and 3) the toxicity of the pesticides,” said Dr. Carl Winter, professor emeritus in toxicology at the University of California, Davis.
AFF points to an analysis and a calculator from toxicologists with the University of California’s Personal Chemical Exposure Program, which found a child could eat hundreds to thousands of servings of a fruit or vegetable in a day and still not have any health effects from residues.
Experts at EWG and the AFF stressed that maintaining fruits and vegetables in daily diets is the most important goal. Sometimes budget and availability limit shopping for organic produce.
“Although we believe consumers should be concerned about pesticide residues on the food they eat, the health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure,” said Alexis Temkin, PhD, a toxicologist with EWG. “With the Shopper’s Guide, consumers don’t have to choose between pesticides and a healthy diet.”
EWG added specific guidance to its report as consumers respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
It is important to know that there is no evidence people can be exposed to the coronavirus through food, experts say. The spread pattern is quite different from foodborne pathogens like Salmonella and E.coli. That is why, even though the risks of COVID-19 are serious, consumers should continue eating plenty of healthy fruits and vegetables while in quarantine at home, the group said.
Lead photo:
Children under the age of 15 eat a total of about 208 million pounds of raisins each year or about half of the raisins consumed in the U.S. Getty Images
Major Food Shortages Possible In Asia Says "Food Industry Asia"
ASEAN Food and Beverage Alliance (AFBA), the regional associations representing Asia and ASEAN’s food and beverage (F&B) industries respectively, are jointly calling upon governments across the region to ensure the unhindered production and supply of food
30-Mar-2020 By
Jim Cornall
In light of the increasing number of nationwide lockdowns and border restrictions, Food Industry Asia (FIA) and the ASEAN Food and Beverage Alliance (AFBA), the regional associations representing Asia and ASEAN’s food and beverage (F&B) industries respectively, are jointly calling upon governments across the region to ensure the unhindered production and supply of food and beverages as each country tries to contain the outbreak of COVID-19.
READ MORE
The Climate Crisis May Have Helped Spawn Massive Locust Swarms in East Africa
East Africa is currently plagued with locust swarms of biblical proportions, but these swarms aren’t the act of an angry god. According to UN scientists, they may be a result of the human-caused climate crisis
East Africa is currently plagued with locust swarms of biblical proportions, but these swarms aren’t the act of an angry god. According to UN scientists, they may be a result of the human-caused climate crisis.
Hundreds of millions of these spooky creatures are flying across East Africa. The swarms are the worst to hit Ethiopia and Somalia in 25 years and the worst Kenya has seen in 70 years, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement. The insects are now plaguing Djibouti and Eritrea, too. By June, their numbers could grow by 500 times, and new swarms could form in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Locusts swarms aren’t by themselves unusual for the region, but last year, the East African region saw a lot of rain and eight devastating cyclones, which created the kinds of wet conditions that locusts need to breed in these numbers
.A Massive Locust Swarm Poses an 'Unprecedented Threat' to East Africa
A grim report from the United Nations warns that unusually large swarms of locusts will be…Read more
That rain came because of warming waters on the African side of the Indian Ocean; warmer waters mean more evaporation and precipitation. “That side of the ocean is much warmer than the other side, which meets with Australia and Indonesia,” Muhammad Azhar Ehsan, a research scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society who studies the climate of the region, told Earther. “So the African side saw so much rain, but Australians got a drought.” That drought, of course, has furled the apocalyptic fires the Australian continent has been dealing with since last fall.
In 2018, East Africa saw drought peppered with cyclones. “Those cyclones were really unusual—they even created rainfall in the Empty Quarter,” said Ehsan, referring to the vast desert region in the southern Arabian Peninsula. “That’s a region known for high temperatures and [being] very dry. It never gets rain.” Those cyclones, too, created an extra-long breeding season for locusts, but they mostly lived in remote areas, so humans didn’t notice them at the time.“Nobody knew about it,” Keith Cressman, the FAO’s senior locust forecaster, told Buzzfeed News. “They were increasing about 8,000-fold for those nine months, with no disturbance and no control.”Swarms of desert locusts fly up into the air from crops in Katitika village, Kitui county, Kenya on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020.Photo: Ben Curtis (AP)The locusts aren’t just scary—they’re also threatening to exacerbate food insecurity. “A small swarm covering one square kilometer can eat the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people,” the FAO said.
The creatures have already damaged pasture and croplands in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. “There are potentially severe consequences for the region where nearly 12 million people are coping with severe acute food insecurity and many rely on agriculture for their survival,” says the FAO. The recent floods and droughts had already put severe stress on agriculture, and the locusts storms are making that stress far worse.
The FAO has called for $70 million to help residents of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia limit the spread of locusts and preserve people’s livelihoods. “Timing and location are crucial. I hope we can work hard day and night so people do not lose their crops,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said in a briefing.
More money will likely be needed because the locust swarms are expected to grow. And if the Indian Ocean continues to warm, infestations like this could happen more frequently.
Dharna Noor. |. Staff writer, Earther
Lead photo: Ben Curtis (AP) | A girl tries to chase swarms of desert locusts away from her crops in Kitui county, Kenya on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020.
Coronavirus And The Water Cycle — Here Is What Treatment Professionals Need To Know
As the global health community tracks the spread of this virus, it’s important for water and wastewater professionals to keep updated on potential impacts
Guest Column | March 5, 2020
By Nicole McLellan, David Pernitsky, and Arthur Umble
As the global health community tracks the spread of this virus, it’s important for water and wastewater professionals to keep updated on potential impacts.
It's hard to miss the headlines. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or COVID-19) has dominated news cycles in recent weeks. The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling it “public enemy number one.” But what information do we have that is related to coronaviruses in water and wastewater systems? And what can water- and wastewater-system operators do to protect public health?
Modern water and wastewater treatment systems play an important role in public health protection. With the potential for environmental transmission, water and wastewater operators need to know the potential for survival of this type of virus in water and wastewater treatment systems.
Coronaviruses, named for the crown-like spikes on their surface, were first identified in the mid-1960s. Currently, seven coronaviruses are known to infect people and make them ill. Three of these — MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and COVID-19 — emerged in the last 20 years and are examples of how some coronaviruses that infect animals can evolve to infect humans. COVID-19 is a new variety of coronavirus and is an enveloped, single-stranded (positive-sense) RNA virus.
So, what is the fate of coronavirus in sewage and wastewater treatment plants? Or in the aquatic environment? And should we be worried about the efficacy of water treatment filtration and disinfection processes for coronavirus removal and inactivation?
The short answer: No — if we take proper precautions and risk considerations.
The long answer: This is a new virus without an extensive body of literature on the effectiveness of water and wastewater treatment processes. And real-life experiences will vary due to water quality and treatment plant details.
According to a 2008 University of Arizona study, coronaviruses have not been found to be more resistant to water treatment than other microorganisms such as E. coli, phage, or poliovirus — which are commonly used as surrogates for treatment performance evaluations. Results from bench-scale studies suggest that the survival of coronaviruses is temperature-dependent, with greater survival at lower temperatures. Therefore, coronavirus is expected to be reduced in raw wastewater and surface waters in warmer seasons.
How is it transmitted?
Human viruses do not replicate in the environment. For a coronavirus to be transferred via the water cycle, it must have the ability to survive in human waste, retain its infectivity, and come in contact with another person — most likely via aerosols. Findings suggest that COVID-19 can be transmitted through human waste.
Should a major virus pandemic occur, wastewater and drinking water treatment industries would face increased scrutiny. Utilities would need to respond rapidly to minimize occupational and public health risks based on the available evidence. Wastewater effluents would possibly impact recreation, irrigation, and drinking waters. While wastewater treatment does reduce virus levels, infective human viruses are often detected in wastewater treatment plant effluent.
Information for wastewater treatment plant operators
Typically, human waste entering a sewage system is carried through an underground pipe system to a municipal treatment plant. Wastewater treatment plants receiving sewage from hospitals and isolation centers treating coronavirus patients — and domestic sewage from areas of known large contamination — may have elevated concentrations of viruses. Wastewater is treated by a variety of processes to reduce the pollution impacts on nearby receiving waters (lakes, rivers) and disinfected.
Currently, major data gaps exist on the potential role of the water cycle in the spread of enveloped viruses. The lack of detection methods for these strains of viruses is a main reason this type of information is still relatively unknown. Most detection methods are designed and optimized for non-enveloped enteric viruses, and there just isn’t enough information available.
In general, secondary wastewater treatment is credited with removing 1-log (90 percent) of viruses, though broad studies suggest the level of virus removal is highly variable, ranging from insignificant to greater than 2-log removal (99 percent). Because of this variability, the primary process for the inactivation of viruses in wastewater treatment is chemical disinfection (e.g., chlorination) and/or by ultraviolet light.
Drinking water treatment is an effective barrier
Surface-water treatment plants with upstream wastewater impacts are the most susceptible to having coronavirus contamination in the raw water supply during, and after, an outbreak. Viruses are exposed to several potentially inactivating stresses in surface waters, including sunlight, oxidative chemicals, and predation by microorganisms. Generally, enveloped viruses are more susceptible to common drinking water disinfectants than non-enveloped viruses.
Based on published research, water treatment processes that meet virus removal/inactivation regulations are effective for coronavirus control.
For example, drinking water quality guidelines from Health Canada note conventional treatment with free available chlorine can achieve at least 8-log inactivation of viruses in general. Of course, disinfection performance must be continuously monitored (e.g., turbidity, disinfectant dose, residual, pH, temperature, and flow). Optimized conventional filtration can achieve 2-log (99 percent) virus removal and is just one of many processes water treatment facilities incorporate to make our water safe to drink.
Modern drinking water treatment plants are well equipped to remove and disinfect viruses through filtration and disinfection processes.
So now what?
By and large, these viruses are not considered a major threat to the wastewater and water industries due to their low concentrations in municipal wastewater and high susceptibilities to degradation in aqueous environments. According to new OHSA guidance, there is no evidence to suggest that additional, COVID-19-specific protections are needed for employees involved in wastewater treatment operations.
The WHO found that risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) has been integral to the success of response to health emergencies. Action items related to coronavirus include communicating about preparedness measures and establishing a system for listening to public perceptions to prevent misinformation.
Basic recommendations for treatment-plant operators when dealing with a potential virus outbreak
So far, this virus does not appear to survive well in the environment and can be eliminated effectively by water treatment, especially chlorination, and would pose a minimal risk through drinking water. As the outbreak continues, more water-quality experiments are needed before major conclusions can be drawn on their fate within treatment processes. While this will be tricky, especially as viruses continue to replicate and evolve, quantitative risk assessments should be a top priority for enveloped viruses in wastewater, recreational waters, and drinking water.
Treatment-plant operators can download this white paper for more details on the current state of knowledge on coronaviruses as it relates to our practice. For additional reputable and reliable sources of information that are updated frequently with technical guidance, public health information, and the latest research visit the Water Environment Federation’s coronavirus site.
Lead Photo: The spikes on the surface of coronaviruses give this virus family its name — corona, which is Latin for “crown.”
About the authors
Nicole McLellan is an environmental scientist. She has an academic background in environmental microbiology and civil engineering for drinking water treatment performance evaluations.
David Pernitsky is the global practice leader for water treatment. He has more than 25 years of environmental engineering experience, managing many challenging studies.
Arthur Umble is Stantec’s global lead for wastewater practice. He develops strategies and provides solutions for complex wastewater treatment challenges.
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Comments (9)
We must thank the authors for this sensible evaluation of the public health risks from Coronovirus Corvid 19. It would appear they are indicating that there are potential risks from Coronovirus in wastewater for example aerosols from uncovered activated sludge aeration tanks and in discharging untreated sewage into cold (bathing) water through Combined Sewer storm Overflows of which there are 31,000 in the UK alone.
Matthew· 2 weeks ago
Hmm, I have one of these uncovered sludge aeration tanks on the other side of my fence downwind of my garden and house. Seems I'm right to be concerned?
Ben Tangena· 3 weeks ago
Of course, chlorination, UV or Reverse Osmosis in drinking water treatment are effective barriers against all viruses, also coronavirus. But what will happen if such a barrier fails? Then the coronavirus can spread through the distribution system. What is the risk if you drink such contaminated water? In other words: Is the oral intake of coronavirus a significant route for infection?
1 reply · active 3 weeks ago
Vadim Malkov· 3 weeks ago
This is why we need to stick to WQ monitoring - you cannot control what you do not measure!
kondala rao g· 3 weeks ago
Very informative article and quite useful in understanding the impact of controlling corona viruses in water and wastewaters.
Very good article, very focused, especially in this time of exaggeration and disinformation. Based on what the author has stated, I would like to highly recommend the reliable and sustainable online disinfection system (directly on the water stream): BlueSense OXAQUA manufactured in the Netherlands, is a natural generator of Electrochemically Activated Water (ECA Water). This system produces hypochlorous acid (HOCI) naturally in drinking water to disinfect flows of up to 10 m3 / hour, without adding chemicals or precursors such as sodium chloride (the concentration must be greater than 20 ppm of chlorides). OXAQUA also creates a residual oxidant up to the point of use by the end-user. OXAQUA uses chlorides naturally present in water to generate up to 2 ppm of free chlorine in the form of hypochlorous acid. This strong oxidant is known to prevent the spread of bacteria, viruses, algae, and molds in drinking water and hot water systems.
Ray Walton· 2 weeks ago
This info seems to be deliberately 'suppressed' here in the UK.
Is CORONAVIRUS - COVID-19 present in Raw Sewage? …
YES…AND STILL, THE RAW SEWAGE IS BEING DISCHARGED INTO UK RIVERS, STREAMS, CANALS, SEA, ETC. BY UK PRIVATISED WATER AND SEWAGE COMPANIES NATIONWIDE AND AUTHORISED BY GOVT AND THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY… TO PROFITEER AND SAVE MONEY ON PROPER SEWAGE TREATMENT THAT WOULD SOMEWHAT LESSEN THE RISK OF SPREADING THE CONTAMINATION... THE PUBLIC PAY FOR RAW SEWAGE TREATMENT IN THEIR WATER AND SEWAGE BILLS.
Chris· 1 week ago
This comment is disturbing knowing I work with alot of people who work in the sewer still everyday even today.... I am self isolating after coming home out of country
Philip Monro· 3 days ago
Am I over concerned regarding the amount/concentration of "human sewage" if there are conference halls being filled with 2000 beds where the plumbing for that conference hall was never designed for the safe disposal/disinfection of "human sewage". Am I also being alarmist as to the low probability of the conference center's "wastewater supply AND THE MAIN DRAINS THEY ARE CONNECTED TO to being "with minimum / fast/temporary wastewater plumbing coping? FINALLY, if this error leads to massive, wider contamination (or even rupture of the system) just how will this significantly larger network of pipe-work be safely disinfected at ACCEPTABLE intervals and with potential repairs if ruptured? Dr. Philip Monro PhD
Corona-Update: French Supermarkets Heed The Call For 'Economic Patriotism'
Several weeks into this unfortunate COVID-19 situation, new developments still arise. There are the French supermarkets, heeding the call for what Le Maire termed "economic patriotism". In Germany, in places, the vegetable crops are under threat as there are no workers. Meanwhile, fruit and vegetable demand in Europe is booming.
In Canada, the pandemic also impacts economic activity and in Florida, the agricultural industry witnesses a drop in demand. In the Philippines, traders are going online to sell their mangoes, and the same might happen in India as their seems to be no demand for the Ulavapadu mangoes. This, and much more, in today's update.
France hopes people will 'buy French' as single market erodes
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire issued a rallying cry to the nation’s supermarkets on 24 March: ‘Stock French products.’
Supermarkets in France have heeded the call for what Le Maire termed "economic patriotism".
French supermarket chain Carrefour has already moved to source 95% of its fruits and vegetables from within France. The supermarket industry’s trade body, La Féderation du Commerce et de la Distribution, told French business daily Les Echos that once fresh foreign produce runs out on French supermarket shelves, it won’t be replaced.
“Delegating our food supply […] to others is madness. We have to take back control,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech just two weeks before Le Maire announced the economic measures.
But for a continent that has built an intricate agro-food market connected by cross-border supply chains, France’s plea to focus inwards for its food supply is a cause for concern for Brussels.
Also, with Covid-19 keeping foreign seasonal laborers away and time running out before fruit and vegetables rot, there has been an appeal to French people who are not currently working to help harvest crops and sow seeds. However, it has had mixed results.
A platform launched in mid-march called “Des bras pour ton assiette” has yielded around 150,000 applications so far but about 200,000 will be needed until the end of the harvest season in September, according to the FNSEA, the main agricultural sector union. The greatest need is in the South of France.
German vegetable crop threatened as virus shuts out workers
Currently, Germany’s fruit and vegetable harvest is under threat from the travel bans that are preventing Eastern Europeans from working on German farms, the BOGK association of German fruit and vegetable processors said on Monday.
Neighbouring Poland, the source of many of Germany’s seasonal workers and an important transit country for such workers from other Eastern European countries, has restricted foreigners from entering its territory in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“The bans, which are preventing foreign seasonal workers entering the country, are endangering sowing, planting and harvesting,” the BOGK association said. “What is not harvested cannot be processed ... supplies for the population would no longer be secure from summer 2020.”
Germany itself has introduced temporary border controls on its frontiers with Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, and Denmark.
Fruit and vegetable demand in Europe is booming
The demand in Europe for fruit and vegetables has seen a large increase in recent weeks, which is being attributed to the measures and restrictions in relation to Covid-19. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, outlined the increased demand at a meeting of the EU’s agriculture ministers last week.
“The consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables in the EU has been booming in recent weeks. Spain, Italy and the Netherlands report 40% increases, and Germany up to 100%. Demand is expected to stay strong during the containment period,” the commissioner explained.
However, some EU fruit exports have slowed down, particularly those destined for China. Citrus fruits from Spain have been most affected by this. Exports of these fruits from the country usually peak in March, April, and May. There appears to be limited opportunities to redirect these exports to other markets, the commissioner explained.
Statistics Canada expects COVID-19 to impact inflation
Statistics Canada expects the Corona-virus to impact inflation, already pointing downwards, as the pandemic impacts economic activity. Citing declining demand for travel and oil among other factors, the agency expects a notable impact on consumer prices for various goods in the foreseeable future.
“Because of these factors, as well as supply chain disruptions for consumer goods, temporary closures of some stores and service providers, the recent lowering of interest rates and the recent slowing of economic activity, the price effects of the outbreak could be more deeply felt in subsequent months,” it reads in an analysis of inflation figures released Friday.
Accounting for seasonal factors, inflation across Canada rose by 0.1 percent in February 2020, matching the increase in January 2020.
Florida’s agro-industry witnesses drop in demand
Those that are working in the US agricultural industry, especially those in Florida, are still feeling the impacts. The agricultural industry is the second biggest contributor to Florida's economy behind tourism. Small scale farmers across the state are seeing the biggest impacts from the pandemic.
John Hoblick, president of Florida Farm Bureau: "Smaller producers are usually a niche type producer that supply the restaurants or supply farmers markets and those because of the social aspects that we have to deal with you know have been shut down."
Another major concern comes in the form of labor. Farms who use the H2A program have seen a delay in those workers getting to our area.
Brittany Lee, a local blueberry farmer: "Our farm uses H2A contracted workers from Mexico and they have not arrived yet, which is a little stressful, but the association, Florida Farm Bureau, and Florida Fruit and Vegetable all have been working together with the US Department of Ag to expedite those worker visas for ag commodities. Last week and this week the demand is lower than the same weeks that correlate to 2019… and that’s concerning."
Moreover, the visa confusion in Mexico is keeping out agriculture workers. While it is watermelon season in Florida. But as the top U.S. watermelon-producing state prepares for harvest, many of the workers needed to collect the crop are stuck in Mexico, unable to secure visas.
Restricted visa services, quickly evolving regulations and increased border controls risk wider labor shortages in the United States produce industry that may leave grocery stores scrambling for fruits and vegetables as spring and summer harvests spread across the United States.
Washington farm industry faces logistics problems
As Spokane-area farmers have begun spring planting, apple growers set a new sales record during the panic buying as the region continues to adjust to a pandemic that has disrupted most daily lives.
But while items from flour to eggs have been flying off supermarket shelves, including a wild run on apples, that hasn’t immediately helped farmers in Washington, several industry experts said. The higher demand at grocery stores hasn’t covered the market drop for milk, beef and produce that had been sold to restaurants.
“So far, agriculture is doing better than equities,” said Randy Fortenbery, an agriculture economist at Washington State University. “But the risk is not so much what happens to prices, it’s more what happens to logistics. If we have problems getting product to port and vessels out to sea, that’s where we’ll see some potential problems.”
Guimaras, Philippines: Online selling to dispose of mangoes
The mango season in the Philippines’ island province of Guimaras finds growers denied their usual markets this year because COVID-19 has restricted tourist movements and canceled fiestas and trade fairs.
“(Mango farmers) asked for our help because they have a rich supply of mangoes but they find it difficult to sell due to the community quarantine imposed in other provinces,” Lenny S. Gonzaga, an economist at the Provincial Economic Development Office (PEDO), said last week.
Earlier this month, the provincial government banned the entry of tourists and non-essential persons following the COVID-19 outbreak. Iloilo City, the main gateway to the province, has also been placed under enhanced community quarantine to limit the movement of people.
“It has really had a huge impact on our farmers. Before the crisis, Guimaras mangoes were easy to sell and farmers had sure buyers. Now, many of their transactions were cancelled due to the travel restrictions,” Ms. Gonzaga said.
India: No demand for famed Ulavapadu mangoes in Prakasam
Mango growers in the Prakasam district are worried as the country-wide lockdown to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus coincided with the marketing of the king of fruits.
The output this year has been quite encouraging as there was good precipitation, ending five years of consecutive droughts. Flowering also occurred at the right time in December/January promising a yield of about five tonnes per acre.
But the outbreak of the dreaded disease has put paid to their hopes of reaping the benefits. Upcountry buyers, who used to make a beeline for the orchards in and around the ‘mango village’ of Ulavapadu in the district, have not turned up yet to confirm orders, a group of farmers from the village stated.
The best quality mangoes are normally moved to cities such as Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and from there to the US, Europe and West Asian countries.
Turkish citizens complain about high garlic prices
Turkish citizens who shop at the public market in Kirikkale can only buy 3 or 5 pieces while complaining about the high prices of garlic. A market tradesman who suggested that the reason for the increase in garlic prices was flooding, “Garlic is expensive because of the flooding. Because we don't have garlic in place, we are buying it for 40 liras, we sell it for 50 liras. There is no garlic anywhere in Kastamonu at the moment.
Kerala pineapple growers seek help as lockdown hits harvest
The initiative by the Indian federal government to help tomato farmers in Madhya Pradesh market their harvested stock has prompted Kerala’s pineapple growers to seek similar help from the authorities.
According to growers, around 5,000 tonnes of pineapple is ready for harvest across 45,000 acres in various parts of Kerala. However, the lockdown has adversely affected the harvest, leading to the decaying of the fruit. Around 1,000 tonnes have already rotten and the government should take urgent measures to resolve the crisis, said Baby John, president of Pineapple Growers Association Keralam.
The harvested fruit, he said, can be made available directly to the retail market in the State, which is facing a shortage of fruits and vegetables due to the disruption in cargo movement. Also, the government could consider including pineapple in the food kit being distributed to people affected by the lockdown, he added.
Union calls on the UK government to support the ferry industry
P&O Ferries is temporarily standing down 1,100 staff members in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The operator announced its decision yesterday and said it would be suspending its passenger services between Dover and Calais and focusing all its efforts on bringing in freight to the UK.
Chief executive Janette Bell said due to the pandemic, P&O Ferries was having to respond with new measures to keep the business operational and to keep freight moving.
She said: "With respect to the UK, we bring in about 15% of all the goods the country currently urgently needs. The biggest part of which is food, including fresh fruit and vegetables from southern Europe and North Africa, as well as vital medicines and medical equipment. P&O Ferries is also handling important, but hazardous goods, such as detergents and cleaning products.”
Fruit and veg group Total Produce warns about profits
Total Produce, the fruit and vegetable producer chaired by Carl McCann, has become the latest listed business to delay its planned shareholder meeting as it warned that full-year earnings, though expected to be “satisfactory” were now likely to be lower than in 2019.
In a Covid-19 update, the company said the spread of the coronavirus pandemic was having an increasingly significant impact on the global economy in the three weeks since it published its full-year results. At that time, Mr McCann had said the outbreak was not expected to have any material impact on Total Produce’s business, though he conceded it was too early to form a “definitive view.” However, the company said on Friday that its supply chains were functioning “adequately” and remained open in all its markets.
How the coronavirus crisis is affecting food supplies
Like other parts of the global economy, food supply chains have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and empty supermarket shelves have become a symbol of the crisis.
An in-depth article about the way panic buying in some countries has led to some grocery staples like pasta and flour being sold out in supermarkets in recent weeks. Retailers say they are able to replenish most products while bakery and pasta firms in Europe and North America have cranked up production.
Food firms say panic purchases are subsiding once households have stocked up and as they adjust to lockdown routines. However, shoppers may have to get used to less varied or more local food offerings. Logistical snags from closed borders to reduced workforces are putting strain on usual supply routes, particularly for fresh produce.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned that any rush by importers to buy staples could fuel global food inflation, despite ample reserves of staple crops. Swings in commodity markets are not necessarily passed on in prices of grocery goods, as food firms typically buy raw materials in advance. Some poorer countries also have subsidized food programs that ensure price stability.
Prices of fruit and veg in Argentina went up considerably
Since the implementation of the quarantine due to the coronavirus crisis last week, the prices of the basic Argentinian food basket saw some significant increases, especially those of basic products such as meat, fruit, and vegetables.
The increases occurred precisely in the items where demand was more concentrated and where the measurement of prices is more difficult since purchases are made in local shops, where controls are usually more lax.
Juan Ignacio Paolicchi, an economist with the consulting firm Eco Go, explains that “this is an atypical month in which there was a change in relative prices. “The consumption basket changed as demand fell in some segments that are not essential,” he says.
The Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) and the Ministry of Domestic Trade reported the results of the controls in different shops. “There were 1,605 price control and supply operations in shops during the first nine days of compulsory social isolation, in which violations of up to 100% of the audits carried out in one day were recorded”.
Davao City to buy vegetables off Filipino farmers
The Davao City government will buy the produce of vegetable farmers to help them cope up with the loss of income due to the community quarantine imposed amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, Mayor Sara Duterte said Monday. She has stated that the vegetables from the affected farmers will be distributed to the residents for free. Duterte noted that several farmers have already complained that their livelihood had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The demand for vegetables from restaurants has significantly declined after the city was placed under community quarantine on March 15, she said, citing their complaints. “The city agriculturist will buy the vegetables from the farmers since they have an issue with demand. Most restaurants only retained their take-out and food delivery services. In effect, there are fewer customers, and so they only buy fewer vegetables from the farmers,” Duterte explained.
Meanwhile, other sources point to a possible food shortage looms in parts of the Philippines. Faced with a looming food crisis, as the financial assistance promised by the Philippine government has yet to reach them, people in various parts of Luzon are left to their own devices to stave off hunger. A local government plans to distribute repacked vegetable seeds to help households grow "survival gardens".
Cambodian banana exports booming despite pandemic
Cambodia exported 72,182 tonnes of fresh yellow bananas to international markets during the first three month of this year, a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report said. Most of the bananas were exported to China, with the rest being shipped to Vietnam and Japan. Cambodia’s yellow banana exports to China have increased rapidly since the first shipment of bananas was sent in mid-2019.
Last year, Cambodia exported a total of 157,812 tonnes of yellow bananas and on average, it exports an average of more than 795 tonnes of bananas per day, the report said. Hun Lak, the director of Longmate Agriculture Co Ltd, which invests in 1,000ha of banana plantations in Kampot province, told The Post on Monday that China is the biggest market for his company.
India: Mother Dairy supplies 250 tonnes of fruits & vegetables
Mother Dairy on Monday supplied around 250 tonnes of fruits and vegetables to its retail stores ‘Safal’ across Delhi-NCR to meet local demand amid the nationwide lockdown, a senior company official said. Last week, the company had double its supply of fruits and vegetables in the Delhi-NCR at over 300 tonnes per day, as customers began panic-buying of household essentials after the announcement of the 21-day nationwide lockdown.
“We have supplied around 250 tonnes of fruits and vegetables today (Monday). The supply has come down from over 300 tonnes last week as panic-buying has stopped but still, it is more than normal,” PTI quoted Sood as saying.
Now that local vendors have the permission to sell fruits and vegetables in colonies, the demand at Safal stores has normalized. Due to the sufficient amount of supply of all vegetables in the local markets the prices of veggies like potatoes, tomatoes, and cauliflowers, too have come down.
Live streaming boosts Chinese farm produce sales
When Hangzhou Women’s Federation visited Dayang Town in Jiande County in late February, officials found that around 900 tons of mandarin oranges were difficult to sell because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. To help local farmers with their produce, the federation launched online sales on Taobao Live, a popular streaming platform. So far, the federation has held six sales promotions, resulting in online sales of 865 tons of Dayang’s mandarin oranges.
Produce from Tonglu, Jiande, Chun’an and Lin’an counties and Fuyang District have also been featured with sales worth 4 million yuan (US$ 563,500) in just nine days. The federation has established a department to direct live stream projects, inviting industry insiders and Internet celebrities to train women farmers.
“We hope more Internet celebrities will join the federation’s live stream activities. That is our responsibility to give a boost to public service projects, especially those related to women and children,” said Zhang Dayi, who has 11.72 million followers on social media.
Fruit exporters urge Thai growers to maintain sanitary standards
“Despite the Covid-19 crisis having a large negative impact on the economy, exports of fresh fruit from Thailand are still operational as demand from China continues, fruit exporters have urged Thai growers to ensure higher sanitary standards to protect the industry from the effects of the pandemic.” This from the president of Thai Fresh Fruit Traders and Exporters Association, Paiboon Wongchotesathit.
To safeguard the export market, Paiboon urged exporters to apply high sanitary standards to ensure that the shipments are not tainted with the Covid-19 virus, especially fruit like durian, longan, and mangosteen which are the main fruits that Thailand imports. He also asks exporters to make sure that workers wear face masks and to supply hand gel for food pickers and packers so their hands are frequently cleansed.
“If the workers are infected and transmit the virus to customers through droplets on products, the whole export industry will be ruined. Fruit exports, especially durian, will be able to achieve growth this year because Chinese consumers are likely to cut back on travel and focus on import and export.”
Mettupalayam auction halted; 80 tons of garlic with no takers
The Mettupalayam auction of garlic has come to a halt amid the Indian lockdown. Traders and farmers find it difficult to arrive for auction, and the regular procedures don’t hold, said garlic traders association president N.S.V. Arumukham.
Under usual circumstances, the garlic procured on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday would be stored separately. On Sunday, auctions are then held at six centers and garlic will be exported to other places. On an average 320 tons of garlic is auctioned where 200 farmers and around 350 traders attend.
At last Sunday's auction, 200 tons of garlic were sold. The remaining 80 tons have piled up with no takers.
Empty shelves incite some Brits to grow their own vegetables
Supermarket store shelves stripped of essentials and rationing of food delivery slots have brought the sustainability of UK supplies into question. Countries worldwide announcing nationwide lockdowns and workers falling ill or being forced to self-isolate have raised questions about where Britain’s produce comes from and who gets it to the supermarkets.
Over half of the UK’s food is produced by suppliers within the country, helping to lessen the impact of any potential disruption to shipping from overseas. Even so, the country is still reliant on the EU for over a quarter of its imports.
Some Britons are taking matters into their own hands. Sales of fruit and vegetable seeds have skyrocketed as people locked down in their own homes look for a productive way to fill their time and gardens, according to the Royal Horticultural Society.
Countries might start hoarding food, threatening global trade
It’s not just grocery shoppers who are hoarding pantry staples. Some governments are moving to secure domestic food supplies during the coronavirus pandemic. Kazakhstan, one of the world’s biggest shippers of wheat flour, banned exports of that product along with others, including carrots, sugar and potatoes. Vietnam temporarily suspended new rice export contracts. Serbia has stopped the flow of its sunflower oil and other goods, while Russia is leaving the door open to shipment bans and said it’s assessing the situation weekly.
To be perfectly clear, there have been just a handful of moves and no sure signs that much more is on the horizon. Still, what’s been happening has raised a question: Is this the start of a wave of food nationalism that will further disrupt supply chains and trade flows?
Korea’s Gangwon potatoes more popular than ever
Since securing a box of face masks during the coronavirus outbreak has become an impossible feat these days, some people have settled instead for a box of potatoes. To be exact, 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of potatoes for just 5,000 won ($4.10). The race to buy potatoes from Gangwon began with an idea thought up at the Gangwon Provincial Office in early March.
Governor Choi Moon-soon hosted a meeting at the office early in the month and told his staff about how many potato farmers in Gangwon no longer had retail partners due to school cafeterias remaining closed and local restaurants faring poorly in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. According to the provincial government, there were as many 11,000 tons of potatoes harvested in October and November of 2019 that needed to be sold by April, when the next batch of potatoes needed to be planted.
In order to meet the heightened demand from consumers, the provincial government eventually secured 8,000 to 10,000 boxes a day. They still sold out within minutes.
Road Haulage and Freight Lobby gets official recognition for logistics workers
Official confirmation of the importance of logistics in this stressful time was given today in a letter from the Department for Transport clarifying that the essential roles played by road haulage drivers and others in the freight supply chain will not be interfered by officialdom who may otherwise misinterpret government guidelines about travel and work.
The letter, outlining that all travel related to the operation of logistics or necessary travel by logistics workers to places of work such as distribution centers is considered ‘essential travel’ in the context of current restrictions, was delivered to the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and the Freight Transport Association (FTA), both of whom have been closely involved in lobbying and advising the government on the specialties of their respective members.
Possible advantages of COVID 19 for the industry
Companies linked to agriculture, as providers of technology, services, training or knowledge, will see their demand redoubled by the entry of new actors to the undertakings of agricultural projects.
The world is in the midst of a systemic crisis. However, this is not an impediment to reflect and evaluate in a primary way the possible scenarios that can be created in the near future according to the behavior of society and the development of the pandemic.
At first glance, there is a consensus that the production, transport, distribution, and supply of agricultural food is a strategic and vital element for human survival, and, detaching from this, fresh and healthy foods are those that are privileged for consumption.
Companies linked to agriculture, as providers of technology, services, training or knowledge, will also see their demand redoubled by the entry of these new actors to the undertakings of agricultural projects.
WVDA works with local impacted producers and farmers
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) is working with local producers and farmers impacted by COVID-19 by facilitating communication between producers and potential buyers. Business development and marketing staff have received calls from multiple producers are who experiencing a surplus of food or other burdens due to the pandemic. To assist these affected businesses, the Department will provide an on-going directory to those who are interested in being connected with a local, West Virginia farmer and their availability of food.
“We are early in the growing season but many of our West Virginia farmers have lost potential buyers with the shutdown of business such as restaurants. That does not mean there is a lack of need within the food supply but an indication that many businesses have opted to close their businesses to help reduce the spread of the virus. Our hope is to connect those with food to those who need it,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt.
Publication date: Tue 31 Mar 2020
Locusts Are Ravaging The Horn of Africa—The Coronavirus Is Making Things Worse
For months, hundreds of millions of locusts have been flying across East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, forming the largest swarms seen in decades
Dharna Noor
March 30, 2020
For months, hundreds of millions of locusts have been flying across East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Middle East, forming the largest swarms seen in decades. New swarms are continuing to spread from Kenya to Iran, and the worst swarms—those over the Horn of Africa—are multiplying quickly.
The bugs pose an unprecedented threat to nutrition and health in the region, which faces extreme poverty, ongoing violent conflict, and limited healthcare infrastructure. Now the covid-19 pandemic is making it more difficult to quell the swarms, creating a nightmarish situation.“Obviously, the challenge for the international community will be to address the humanitarian needs of multiple layers of need and competing crises all over the globe,” Cyril Ferrand, the FAO’s East Africa resilience team leader, told Earther. “That’s the danger of the current situation where we have huge demands for assistance, combined with the fact that with COVID-19, even the northern hemisphere is quite affected economically.
”The Climate Crisis May Have Helped Spawn Massive Locust Swarms in East Africa
East Africa is currently plagued with locust swarms of biblical proportions, but these swarms…
While COVID-19 is a growing concern in East Africa, the locusts have been an ongoing crisis for months. A swarm that covers a square kilometer of land can eat the same amount of food in a single day as 35,000 people. The Horn of Africa—which includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, the Sudan, and Uganda—is already one of the world’s most food-insecure regions. More than 40 percent of the population is undernourished, and in Eritrea and Somalia, that rises to 70 percent.
Right now, a new generation of locusts is taking flight, interrupting farmers’ planting season. And the next generation of locusts is expected to form swarms just as crops are ready to be harvested.“
The threat to food security is unprecedented,” Keith Cressman, the senior locust forecaster at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told Earther. “The timing is really not very good.”Now, covid-19 is being added to the mix as it begins to spread across the region. It not only threatens health by itself. The pandemic is also interfering with efforts to stop the locust swarms.
The most effective way to quell the spread of the locusts is to spray pesticides from aircraft. Cressman said those efforts were already underway in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya before the COVID-19 pandemic reached the region.
But further operations could be hampered by COVID-19 related restrictions. Shipping costs have increased, and some of the region’s airports and borders are closed, making it more difficult to transport supplies. Ferrand told Earther that in addition to supplies, experts that have been traveling to the region from Australia and Europe also facing travel restrictions, which “will indeed impact” the amount of help local governments can expect.“Suppliers of motorized sprayers and pesticides are [also] facing major challenges with limited airfreight options to facilitate delivery.. .purchased orders were placed a few weeks ago and pesticides expected last week in Kenya have been delayed by 10 days,” he said.
The FAO has appealed for $153 million to help control the swarms and has received $110 million so far, according to Cressman.“If you consider that there’s an awful lot of other things going on in the world at the moment, that’s not bad,” he said.
As governments try to contain covid-19 and the impacts the virus is having on the economy, it’s important to remember that the locust swarms won’t stop for the covid-19 pandemic. Without that aid package, local governments won’t have the resources to put a stop to the spreads. By summer, the swarms could grow by 500 times.
“How do we respond to the needs of the European countries and North American countries as well as the humanitarian and development assistance that is still so necessary in the continent of Africa?”
Ferrand said. “This is the challenge that we will have to face in 2020.”
Dharna Noor | Staff writer, Earther
Lead photo: Getty
Shipping Firms Warn of Risk To Food Supplies
Britain’s food imports could be cut off without more long-term support for shipping companies and fast-track coronavirus testing for maritime staff, the Government has been told
Sailings Could Be Cut As Ferry Companies Face A Cash Crisis That Will Force Layoffs
By Lizzy Burden and Alan Tovey, INDUSTRY EDITOR
21 March 2020
Britain’s food imports could be cut off without more long-term support for shipping companies and fast-track coronavirus testing for maritime staff, the Government has been told.
Half of Britain’s food is imported and there has been a spike in supplies from Europe as shoppers panic buy.
Boats carrying trucks packed with food keep shelves stocked but sailings could be cut as ferry companies face losses because of a collapse in passengers which makes running services that also carry freight viable.
The UK Chamber of Shipping, whose members include operators such as Brittany Ferries, P&O and Stena, said some sailings are “ghost ships”.
Bob Sanguinetti, chief executive of the industry group, said: “State support on wages to avoid layoffs is helpful but we’re facing a long-term issue. We don’t know how long it will be sustainable to run services which are losing money but are vital to supply the food and materials the country needs.”...
To continue reading
4 Ways To Avoid Picking Up Germs At The Grocery Store
Believe it or not, your local food mart may be germier than a public restroom. That's right — from bacteria to viruses, grocery stores can expose you to a plethora of potential pathogens
By Jaime Osnato
March 17, 2020, Medically Reviewed by Jennifer Logan, MD, MPH
Believe it or not, your local food mart may be germier than a public restroom. That's right — from bacteria to viruses, grocery stores can expose you to a plethora of potential pathogens.
Your local supermarket may be a hotbed of germs, but shopping smart can help prevent you from getting sick.
Credit: miljko/E+/GettyImages
Whether you're trying to avoid the common cold or stay safe from the novel coronavirus, taking these four precautions can help protect your health on your next food run.
1. Be Careful With Carts
At the grocery store, the first thing you touch — the shopping cart — may be the most perilous when it comes to picking up pathogens.
A study conducted in Spain found that 41 percent of shopping cart handles and 50 percent of cart baskets (where children usually sit) were contaminated by enterobacteria (which are associated with intestinal diseases) while coliforms (which often originate from feces) were lurking on almost 26 percent of handles and 46 percent of baskets, per December 2018 research published in the Journal of Applied Animal Research.
Similar results were found in American grocery stores. A December 2012 study in Food Protection Trends detected coliforms — including E. coli — on 72 percent of shopping carts. Researchers noted that this finding indicated far greater bacterial levels than those discovered in public restrooms. Eww.
According to the authors' hypothesis, these bacteria may have stemmed from contact with raw foods (think: meat), bird poop (while the carts were stored in parking lots), consumers' dirty hands and leaky diapers.
Not only is this super gross, but exposure to these bacteria can cause infections. To avoid this gaggle of germs altogether, consider using your own portable cart for grocery shopping. But if that's not possible, you can still take a few precautions to lower your risk.
"Wipe down the shopping cart handle (and the child seat) with disinfectant before you use it while also minimizing hand-to-face contact as you move through the store," suggests Jason Kindrachuk, PhD, a virologist at the University of Manitoba in Canada. And at the end of your trip, wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds or clean them with a good alcohol-based sanitizer.
Related Reading
4 Ways to Avoid Picking Up Germs at a Restaurant
2. Skip the Self-Checkout
Self-checkout may be super convenient, but it's also a surefire way to make contact with meddling microbes, University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba, PhD, tells LIVESTRONG.com.
Just imagine all the grimy hands that have touched the screen throughout the day. This germy picture grows even grislier if you consider that most people don't follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for proper hand-washing practices (ICYMI, the CDC recommends scrubbing with soap and water for 20 seconds).
"Wash [your hands] with soap and water as soon as you have the chance. Hand sanitizers and wipes carry a convenience factor, but their effectiveness can be hindered depending on how dirty or oily your hands are."
Indeed, an April 2013 study published in the Journal of Environmental Health found that only a measly 5 percent of bathroom users washed their hands long enough to effectively kill germs that can cause disease. And it gets worse: A whopping 33 percent skipped the soap and 10 percent didn't even bother washing their dirty mitts at all.
Needless to say, this hideous hand hygiene can transform your self-checkout kiosk into a breeding ground for germs. But if you're in a pinch and must use it, always apply an alcohol-based hand sanitizer afterward, Gerba says, adding that sanitizers with at least 60 to 70 percent alcohol work best against viruses.
"That said, make sure to wash with soap and water as soon as you have the chance. Hand sanitizers and wipes carry a convenience factor, but their effectiveness can be hindered depending on how dirty or oily your hands are," Kindrachuk adds.
Tip
In addition to reducing hand-to-face touching, be mindful of how often you're touching your smartphone while out and about. And don't forget to sanitize your device, too — here's when and how to do that.
Opt for packaged cheeses over slices from the deli counter.
Credit: ShotShare/iStock/GettyImages
3. Ditch the Deli Counter
You might have heard that eating processed lunch meats can increase your cancer risk, but you might not know that cold cuts can make you sick in other ways, too.
A November 2014 study published in the Journal of Food Protection found that almost 10 percent of samples from 30 delis — including swabs from surfaces like meat slicers and counters where food is prepared — tested positive for the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.
If ingested, these bacteria can cause diarrhea or an upset stomach in healthy people but may result in more serious systemic infections in the elderly, children, pregnant women and individuals with weakened immune systems.
For this reason, the CDC recommends those who are at higher risk avoid eating foods like lunch meats, cold cuts and other deli meats (unless cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F).
If you're devoted to the deli counter, the CDC says you can take the following steps to help prevent Listeria infection:
Be careful not to let juice from lunch meat spill onto other foods, utensils, and food preparation surfaces.
Wash your hands after prepping deli-sliced meats and cheeses.
Once opened, don't store packages of deli-sliced meat any longer than three to five days in the fridge.
4. Say no to the Salad Bar and Free Samples
There's nothing like walking through grocery store aisles to make your belly grumble. On an empty stomach, you may be tempted to reach for those free cheese samples or make a quick stop at the salad bar. But that's not the best idea when you're avoiding germs.
Even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration publishes a Food Code, or guide health authorities can use to ensure places that serve food like grocery stores are following proper safety rules and protocol, your local salad bar still may not be safe from contamination.
Case in point: An August 2016 study published in the Journal of Food: Microbiology, Safety & Hygiene found that E. coli can be easily transferred to a person's hands while using salad tongs.
The same goes for those yummy-looking free finger foods. They may look appetizing to the naked eye, but what about under a microscope? You just don't know if anyone with unclean hands has touched them, i.e., if they're crawling with critters that could potentially make you sick.
Moral of the story: Save the salads and snack bites for your home kitchen where you can ensure they're prepared in a sanitary way.
Concerned About COVID-19?
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Lawsuit Demands USDA Stop Certifying Hydroponic Foods as 'Organic'
Hydroponics is a type of farming or gardening that uses water (rather than soil) as a growth medium for a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other plants—including cannabis. Hydroponic growth can be accomplished indoors with the addition of commercially available lighting, nutrients, and other materials
Dirt Farmers Want The Feds To Stack The Deck in Their Favor.
BAYLEN LINNEKIN | 3.14.2020
(Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press/Newscom)
Earlier this month, a group of organic farmers and advocates sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the agency's certification of some hydroponic produce as "organic." The suit seeks to bar the USDA from awarding its organic seal to hydroponically raised foods.
Hydroponics is a type of farming or gardening that uses water (rather than soil) as a growth medium for a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other plants—including cannabis. Hydroponic growth can be accomplished indoors with the addition of commercially available lighting, nutrients, and other materials.
The suit was filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS)—a "litigious" California-based nonprofit that boasts nearly a million members—along with a handful of organic farmers and the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association. CFS petitioned the USDA early last year, asking the agency to develop rules that would prohibit organic certification of hydroponic operations. The agency denied the petition in June.
The suit alleges that the USDA's actions fly in the face of the 1990 law that established the agency's authority over the labeling of organic foods. That argument hinges in large part on the language around fostering soil fertility in the 1990 law, the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), which gave rise to the USDA's certification program. Under the law, which refers to "soil" only a handful of times, farmers must have in place an "organic plan [which] shall contain provisions designed to foster soil fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content of the soil." A farmer raising crops she wishes to market under the USDA's organic seal must submit its organic plan to a certifying body such as Oregon Tilth.
That group, the nation's first organic certifying body, was established in the early 1970s. The word "tilth" refers to soil quality.
"Organic farmers and consumers believe that the Organic label means not just growing food in soil, but improving the fertility of that soil," says Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, in a release announcing the lawsuit. "USDA's loophole for corporate hydroponics to be sold under the Organic label guts the very essence of 'Organic.'"
According to the handful of farmers who are part of the lawsuit—and who grow a host of organic fruits and vegetables, many of them having done so for decades—they're facing stiff competition from (typically) larger hydroponic farmers, who incur lower costs to grow the same food and can, therefore, offer more value to consumers for the same products.
What exactly is "organic"? For regulatory purposes, the term refers as much to what doesn't go into producing a particular food as what does go into it. As I explained in a 2016 column, under USDA rules the term "organic" refers to foods that are produced 1) "without excluded methods;" 2) " using allowed substances;" and 3) under the oversight of a USDA-authorized organic certifying agent.
The hydroponic-organic fight dates back to at least 2010, according to Food Dive, a news website that has a helpful chronology on the fight.
As I detailed in 2016, the Cornucopia Institute, which promotes organic foods, had recently filed a complaint with the USDA over hydroponic organics.
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"It's not hard to make the case that soil is as central to the concept of 'organic' as any other idea or thing," I wrote. "On the other hand, it's also not hard to make the case that soil isn't central to the concept of what is and isn't organic. While most of our food is grown in soil, only a small percentage of that food is 'organic' under USDA rules. In other words, whether or not food is grown in soil tells us little that's useful about whether that food is 'organic' or not."
When I last wrote about this issue, the Boston Globe editorial board had just weighed in on the debate over hydroponics and organics. Step off, the paper told the USDA.
"It would be better for the authorities to focus on ensuring the safety of food and the accuracy of label information about things like nutrition and allergens, while letting consumers figure out for themselves what organic means to them," write the Globe's editors.
That latter point is so important—and something USDA rules simply don't allow for. It's also just one of the many flaws inherent in the USDA's oversight of organic food. For example, I detail the arguments of several leading supporters of organic foods who are also leading critics of the USDA's organic labeling program in my book, Biting the Hands that Feed Us: How Fewer, Smarter Laws Would Make Our Food System More Sustainable
If CFS and its fellow plaintiffs lose, then the result will likely be more innovation, more competition, and lower costs for consumers. The USDA's organic seal has very little integrity to begin with. Allowing hydroponic crops to be certified as organic—while not as welcome as would be getting the USDA out of the organic-labeling business altogether—won't damage that integrity any further.
BAYLEN LINNEKIN is a food lawyer, scholar, and adjunct law professor, as well as the author of Biting the Hands that Feed Us: How Fewer, Smarter Laws Would Make Our Food System More Sustainable (Island Press 2016).
ORGANIC FOODDEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUREREGULATIONFOOD LABELING
Coronavirus Shows The Importance of Local, Efficient Agriculture
This pandemic shows that we need to invest in local agriculture to boost our supply of local, reliable food. Aquaponics, hydroponics, and controlled-environment agriculture can produce large amounts of food with minimal space and resources
By Brian Filipowich
The coronavirus outbreak is already disrupting international travel and trade. The pandemic could impact the global food supply chain and leave some populations without adequate nutrition.
Aquaponic system at the University of the District of Columbia
This pandemic shows that we need to invest in local agriculture to boost our supply of local, reliable food. Aquaponics, hydroponics, and controlled-environment agriculture can produce large amounts of food with minimal space and resources. These water-based growing methods do not require soil and can be practiced from arid deserts to urban rooftops.
Hidden Cost of the Global Food Supply Chain
Our modern food system involves long travel distances and several steps along the supply chain. The average head of lettuce in the U.S. travels approximately 1,500 miles. Over 90% of our seafood is imported.
The coronavirus is exposing one major hidden cost of our global system: it is at risk from disruptions like pandemics, extreme weather events, military events, and economic or political upheavals. As the climate changes, these extreme events are more likely.
How does this hidden cost of the global food supply chain manifest itself?
An American consumer can find similar prices for a tomato grown 100 miles away and a tomato grown in another country 2,000 miles away. But during a global travel ban or category 5 hurricane, your local tomato will still be there. How do we account for this benefit during the good times, so that there are enough local growers to support us during possible disruptions?
Aquaponics, Hydroponics, and Controlled-Environment Agriculture
The problem is that with a changing climate, water shortages, and growing population, there is less land to grow for more people. Deserts, freezing climates, and urban areas do not have the arable soil to grow a meaningful amount of their own food to achieve food security.
Aquaponics is a food production method integrating fish and plants in a closed, soil-less system. This symbiotic relationship mimics the biological cycles found in nature. Benefits include dramatically less water use; no toxic chemical fertilizers or pesticides; and no agriculture discharge to air, water or soil.
Hydroponics is the practice of growing plants in water-based systems with externally supplied nutrients.
Controlled-Environment Agriculture (CEA) is the practice of raising crops in a protected, optimal environment like a greenhouse.
These growing methods maximize the amount of crops that can be produced per square area per year. Plants can be grown densely and quickly because conditions are ideal and roots are delivered exactly what they need. And controlled-environments allow for year-round production.
Aquaponics brings the added benefit of fish – an efficient supply of animal protein. It takes 30 pounds of feed to produce a one-pound steak, only 2 pounds for a one-pound tilapia filet. Fish can be grown densely and indoors, compared to the large operations required for beef, pork, and poultry.
Economies across the globe must find ways to value the hidden benefits of local, efficient agriculture to encourage more local growing. There will always be another coronavirus-type event, let’s make sure we have a reliable supply of local food for it.
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has the Coronavirus outbreak affected your aquaponic growing?
How Grocery Stores Are Trying To Prevent ‘Panic Buying’ As Coronavirus Causes Stockpiling, Emptying Shelves
As an outbreak of a new coronavirus causes some U.S. customers to fill up shopping carts and thin out store shelves, industry groups and experts say grocers can tamp down on “panic buying” by planning ahead and trying to stay stocked
March 2, 2020
KEY POINTS
A food retail trade group published a guide to help retailers prepare for changes to customers’ shopping habits, such as increased use of self-checkout or demand for food handlers to wear masks.
Experts say grocery stores can help by accelerating shipments and holding back some items as centralized stock.
Stores could also consider rationing the number of each item that customers can buy.
As an outbreak of a new coronavirus causes some U.S. customers to fill up shopping carts and thin out store shelves, industry groups and experts say grocers can tamp down on “panic buying” by planning ahead and trying to stay stocked.
Grocery stores, including Costco stores, have seen a spike in sales of household items like hand sanitizer, face masks and cases of bottled water in recent weeks. Sales of shelf-stable grocery items, including fruit snacks, dried beans and pretzels, are on the rise, too, according to late-February data from Nielsen.
At U.S. stores, sales of fruit snacks were up by nearly 13%, dried beans were up 10% and pretzels were up 9% in the week that ended Feb. 22, according to Nielsen data. Sales of energy drinks, pet medicine, vitamin supplements and first-aid kits also saw sales spike.
Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations at food retailer trade group FMI, said U.S. shoppers have focused on buying items for prevention and preparedness. Now, in some parts of the country, they are shifting to response mode. He said they’re buying longer-lasting grocery items, such as canned goods and frozen fruits and vegetables.
He said retailers are doing their best to predict and respond to such shifts.
“We have to try to understand what consumers are thinking before they think of it,” Baker said. “In an event like this, you have to quickly adapt to whatever consumer demand is,” he said. “And in a moment of crisis, you have some idea of the demand that may peak, but you don’t know the magnitude to which they’ll peak and the geographies where they’ll peak.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier Monday said there are about 91 confirmed or presumed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. Many of those individuals contracted the virus while they were traveling. However, about 26 cases are either confirmed or presumed to be from human-to-human transmission in the U.S. At least six people in the U.S. have died, with the majority of those deaths in the Seattle area.
On Friday, the industry group published a 16-page guide to help retailers prepare for potential changes to shopping habits. For example, the industry group said shoppers may consolidate grocery trips, with fewer visits and bigger baskets. They may prefer self-checkout and online grocery delivery. And they may have new expectations for neighborhood grocery stores, such as seeing all food handlers wearing masks and gloves and having antibacterial wipes available for use in stores.
Grocery delivery companies Instacart and FreshDirect have both reported a surge in business. Instacart said in a statement Monday that it’s had more demand than usual for bottled water, hand sanitizer and other household essentials. FreshDirect said Friday that it had delivery delays and increased demand for fresh seafood, fresh chicken, baby food and household cleaning products.
On his own weekend grocery shopping trip in northern Virginia, Baker said he saw plenty of shoppers and thinned-out shelves of antibacterial hand soap and hand sanitizer.
“It’s not often you have to reach to the back of the shelf to get Lysol hand wipes,” he said.
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Scott McKenzie, global intelligence leader at Nielsen, said consumer behavior with the coronavirus roughly mirrors grocery shopping ahead of extreme weather events like hurricanes or snowstorms. With the coronavirus, however, he said shoppers are especially interested in packaged products and items that haven’t traveled far.
He said sales of fresh food items like fruits and vegetables and imported items, such as European cheeses and meats, are likely to take a hit in the U.S. On the other hand, he said, local items and sealed goods, such as granola bars, will likely gain popularity.
Cornell University business professor Karan Girotra, who studies the grocery supply chain, said stores can limit “panic buying” by reassuring customers they are prepared and have adequate supply. He said they should accelerate imports and hold back items in centralized stock, so they can send additional supply to stores and regions of greatest need. He said stores could also consider rationing the number of each item that customers can buy.
He said the coronavirus has caused “a supply side and demand side shock,” but he worries the most about customers’ fears exacerbating the problem.
“It’s like having a bank run,” he said. “If people really start panicking and start stocking up on things, then I think all bets are off. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Lead Photo: Clorox Liquid Bleach products in short supply at a Target store in Hackensack, N.J. Fahiemah Al-Ali | CNBC
— CNBC’s Courtney Reagan contributed to this report.
Food Safety At Plenty
Our crops are grown in a hermetically sealed environment that sits within a highly controlled space designed with the highest possible food safety in mind
READING TIME | 10 MINUTES
February 26th, 2020
By Plenty Farms
At Plenty, health is our number one priority. We grow healthy food to nourish healthy people, and foster a healthier planet. As a vertical farming company that functions as both a grower and a manufacturer of food, Plenty cannot seek to restore human health without also seeking to improve and advance food safety in the agricultural industry. That means growing the tastiest and safest produce by monitoring exactly what and who goes into Plenty plants — and just as importantly, by controlling what we keep out of them.
Plenty produce doesn’t have to be washed before eating because our crops are already clean when they’re harvested. So they are ready to eat as soon as you purchase them from your local grocery store. Plenty crops are grown clean: no pests, no pesticides, no chemical sprays, no exposure to potential sources of contaminants like contaminated water or debris, and therefore, no need to wash them at home. We don’t have to spray any pesticides or other chemicals on our crops because Plenty’s high level of control over everything coming in and out of our vertical farms means there’s minimal risk of pests getting to our produce in the first place. Not to mention, the fact that we grow indoors means our plants aren’t impacted by Mother Nature.
Our crops are grown in a hermetically sealed environment that sits within a highly controlled space designed with the highest possible food safety in mind. Though Plenty produce is already at a very low risk for encountering pests, we operate an extensive integrated pest monitoring program that includes ultraviolet lights outside of our farms, air curtains on every door to control the air that enters and leaves our growing rooms, filters on all of our HVAC systems, as well as extensive pest monitoring performed on a regular basis.
And because Plenty plants aren’t exposed to pests, there’s no reason for us to ever spray them with pesticides. Which means those non-existent pesticides never need to be washed off — not by you nor by us.
Leafy greens have long been considered a high-risk crop because they’re usually eaten raw. Typically, after a bunch of kale, or a head of lettuce is bought from the grocery store, it’s taken home, given a quick rinse, and put on a plate to be eaten. And while rinsing produce is a habit that’s likely been ingrained in most consumers since they were old enough to reach the sink, it is not, in fact, a particularly effective habit. At best, washing produce with water simply knocks down the population of any existing pathogen, but to truly clean something harmful like E. coli off of a plant, you would need a chemical to interfere.
As that’s not likely a science experiment you’d like to perform every time you make a salad; leafy greens should be arriving to your kitchen ready-to-eat, free of all pests, pathogens and pesticides. Traditionally, the way to mitigate the risk of contamination in leafy greens has been by performing a triple-wash on them between harvest and sale. Triple-washing involves a pre-wash, a saline wash, and bathing the greens in a sanitizing solution like chlorine. Not only do leafy greens lose flavor and texture, but in the effort to reduce pathogens, bathing greens also runs the simultaneous risk of spreading any existing pathogens even further if performed incorrectly.
The more a crop is handled after harvesting it, especially by humans, the more likely cross-contamination is to occur. The triple-wash process means that after harvest, an outdoor-grown leafy green is: transported to a processing facility, sorted, rinsed, put in a spinner, given a second rinse, spinner again, third rinse, sorted again, packed, and finally transported to your grocery shelves. Further, during all of this, it must be considered that water is a vector if the process isn’t performed perfectly; it spreads pre-existing pathogens far faster than human hands or surfaces can.
When you shop at the grocery store, you see a lot of packages claim that their greens are “triple-washed” or “pre-washed”. Sanitizing solutions can kill pathogens in theory, but the introduction of water could potentially introduce pathogens. If one leaf of lettuce is contaminated with E. coli and then put into a package to be delivered to the grocery store, only that one package of lettuce is contaminated. But if that lettuce is first put into a water bath where it transfers its contamination to other lettuce, and then put into another bath, and then another…like wildfire, that pathogen could spread rapidly. As the numerous recent instances of leafy greens recalls demonstration, triple-washing is clearly not a foolproof process.
It’s time to change the way we grow leafy greens.
Plenty eliminates the need for triple washing by dramatically reducing the risk of contamination. Outdoor water sources can pose a high risk of contamination due to everything from livestock proximity to seasonal shifts. Contaminated agricultural water can pool inside every nook and cranny of a plant, creating a tiny ecosystem that is difficult to clean and where microorganisms thrive; threats rise further in the rainy season when higher temperatures and humidity encourage bacteria’s survival.
On a Plenty farm, there are no seasons — no rises in humidity or fluctuations in temperature – nor long gaps between harvesting and packaging . For every potential contamination variable that outdoor farms must attempt to mitigate after harvest, Plenty has a system in place to dramatically reduce from the ground up, before our crops are even planted.
Plenty’s irrigation water is drawn from filtered, potable water, and each crop’s container is designed so that no irrigation water ever touches the part of the plant we feed to customers. In addition, our growing and processing rooms are hermetically sealed, meaning our produce can’t be exposed to outside elements.
We also perform extensive sterilization and supplier control to make sure that the inputs to our farm, such as seeds and nutrients, are clean and safe. Because we can control the safety and cleanliness of the materials that enter our farms, we can even further control the safety and cleanliness of the fresh produce that exits them.
Every decision we make at Plenty, every plan we put in place, every control, variable, and measure is designed to improve the health of people, plants and planet, and that means prioritizing food safety in any and every way possible. We feel lucky to be at the forefront of a new industry that is not only restoring consumer confidence in leafy greens, but setting a new standard for how safely fresh foods can be produced.
It is not easy to make leafy greens 100% safe — but it is possible to dramatically lower the risk. Eliminating the need for pesticides and controlling variables like water and weather mean that produce can enter your home clean and ready to eat. Consumers shouldn’t have to clean their produce with chemicals or risk their health in order to eat well, and it is our mission to make sure they never have to. Plenty is growing clean, safe produce to fuel healthier lives for people, plants, and the planet.
FDA Warns Jimmy John's And Sprouts Unlimited After Outbreak
The warning letter lays out evidence from five outbreaks, including the most recent outbreak in the state of Iowa during November and December 2019, of human infections with Escherichia coli O103, a Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a warning letter issued to Jimmy John’s Franchise LLC for engaging in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers. The FDA also posted a warning letter to Sprouts Unlimited Wholesale Foods for supplying sprouts to Jimmy John’s which sickened 22 people in November and December 2019.
The FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local partners, have collaboratively investigated several outbreaks linked to Jimmy John’s restaurants. The warning letter lays out evidence from five outbreaks, including the most recent outbreak in the state of Iowa during November and December 2019, of human infections with Escherichia coli O103, a Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC).
The pathogens associated with these outbreaks are STECs and Salmonella enterica. STECs can cause serious illness in humans, including diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. This condition can lead to serious kidney damage and death. Salmonella is a pathogenic bacterium that can cause serious, sometimes fatal, infections. These infections can be especially serious in young children.
The FDA is currently developing a Strategic Blueprint that will outline how the agency plans to leverage technology and other tools, to create a more digital, traceable and safer food system. This work will build on the advances that have been and are being made in the FDA’s implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act to further strengthen prevention of foodborne illnesses.
To read the warning letter, click here.
For more information:
FDA
Tel: +1 (888) 463-6332
www.fda.gov
Publication date: Wed 26 Feb 2020
Yes, There Really Is An Arugula Shortage
Unexpectedly wet weather and a serious fungal infection have disrupted the rocket supply chain. Thanks to climate change, we can expect more volatility in the future
Unexpectedly wet weather and a serious fungal infection have disrupted the rocket supply chain. Thanks to climate change, we can expect more volatility in the future.
January 27th, 2020
by Jessica Fu
In any given week, the Bix Produce Company in Little Canada, Minnesota, ships between 1,600 and 2,000 pounds of arugula to restaurants and cafeterias throughout the Twin Cities region. Like most wholesalers, Bix sources its winter leafy greens from farms in the desert Southwest and Florida, where it’s warm enough to grow the produce at this time of year. The field-to-fridge journey typically takes around four days. But this week is not a typical week.
Right now, growers in the Southwest are suffering from a severe arugula shortage, brought on by an unexpectedly colder and wet winter growing season. The conditions have paved the way for the spread of a fungal disease called downy mildew. Simultaneously, growers in Florida—which supply a smaller portion of winter greens than the Southwest—are holding clients to strict buying limits, Eric Reitz, a buyer for Bix, tells me. That means distributors can’t make up the difference by going to another supplier: “There’s just not enough volume to cover it.”
You may have been tipped off about arugula’s woes while grocery shopping or ordering lunch. A number of restaurants have announced that they’ve started to substitute spinach in its place because of low supplies. One reporter shared on Twitter a photo of an arugula pizza they’d ordered, which contained no more than a pitiful pinch of “half-leaves.” I began to suspect that there might be some kind of deficit two weeks ago at Trader Joe’s after my cashier commented offhandedly that arugula hadn’t appeared in the retailer’s inventory tracking system for a few days.
“In Florida, we shouldn’t be having any rain right now, it’s considered the dry season.”
For Del Bene, a produce wholesaler serving the Detroit region, the shortage has been an issue since the beginning of 2020. Vice president Mike Del Bene tells me it’s the most intense arugula shortage the company has experienced in nearly 30 years. (Keep in mind, he noted, arugula wasn’t nearly as popular three decades ago.)
“We definitely haven’t been harvesting much the last couple of weeks,” says Matt McGuire, chief agricultural officer of JV Smith, a vegetable farming company in Yuma, Arizona. “In the desert Southwest, we’re supposed to be dry. We usually don’t get rain much, even in the wintertime. But through a part of November and December, we were having storms dropping anywhere from a quarter to an inch of water every seven to 10 days.” And those were the exact conditions that welcomed in the downy mildew, which had been waiting in the weeds.
Once infected, arugula leaves become spotted with yellow lesions that can make them fall off and even kill an entire plant. As a pathogen, downy mildew spreads rapidly and can kneecap the yield of an entire field. Interestingly, the mildew is specific to arugula. “Cross infection does not take place,” says plant pathologist Steve Koike, formerly of the University of California Cooperative Extension. That means that the mildew pathogen spreading around Arizona’s arugula fields can’t transfer over to, say, spinach and lettuce, too. However, that also means that there’s no catch-all fungicide that can treat the issue either.
Representatives from three other growers in Arizona shared similar concerns about the impact that downy mildew has had on the recent arugula harvest. In an unfortunate coincidence exacerbating the shortage, producers in Florida, have had their share of harvesting woes due to wetter-than-usual weather, too.
“In Florida, we shouldn’t be having any rain right now, it’s considered the dry season,” says Eberhard Mueller, co-owner of Satur Farms, which sells packaged leafy green products. Heavier than normal rains in December have disrupted Mueller’s harvest; he tells me that his operation has encountered more and more moisture throughout his time in the business—something he suspects is related to climate change.
Bacteria and other molds can continue to flourish even after arugula has been packaged and shipped.
That falls in line with the deluge of weather-related ag difficulties that farmers have encountered in recent times. Just last year, farms in Minnesota and North Dakota experienced colder and wetter weather than usual, creating a sugar shortage that compelled the Department of Agriculture to raise import limits from Mexico. A few months earlier, flooding in the Midwest and the Great Plains submerged some of America’s most productive farmland underwater. In California, farmers are calling abnormal weather patterns the “new normal” and trying to adapt accordingly. And there’s no shortage of research linking rising temperatures with erratic and extreme weather events.
Chances are, the further away from Florida and the desert Southwest you are, the less likely you are to find arugula at the grocery store right now. For one, mildew-infected arugula is vulnerable to what is known as “secondary spoilage,” according to Trevor Suslow, an extension research specialist at the University of California, Davis. In essence, Suslow says that bacteria and other molds can continue to flourish even after arugula has been packaged and shipped. “Those things can grow even under refrigeration temperatures,” he explains. This means that infected arugula probably won’t survive the journey from Yuma to your local supermarket, at least not in a condition that you’d still like to eat.
Then there’s the issue of cost. As with most retail products, a drop in arugula supply causes prices to rise, explains Teressa Lopez, administrator of the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. Consequently, some cost-averse retailers might simply opt-out of buying rocket salad until the market stabilizes. Most growers I spoke with estimated that the arugula harvest would gradually return to “normal” in the next few weeks, though none were specific about timing—and understandably so.
Right now, all companies like Bix and Del Bene can do is keep customers in the know about the shortage, and hope that it lets up soon. As Reitz of Bix says: “It’s been a bumpy ride.”
ENVIRONMENT, HOME FEATURE ARUGULA CLIMATE CHANGE SHORTAGE SUPPLY CHAIN
Jessica is a reporter for The New Food Economy. Reach her by email at jessica.fu@newfoodeconomy.org and on Twitter @JessTiaFu.
Our Current Food System Can Feed Only 3.4 Billion People Sustainably
20 January 2020
Our current food system can feed only 3.4 billion people without transgressing key planetary limits, according to an analysis of the global farming system. However, reorganizing what is farmed where – along with some changes in diets – would enable us to feed 10 billion people on a sustainable basis, suggests the analysis.“We should not go any further in the direction of producing food at the cost of the environment,” says Dieter Gerten at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, an author of the study.
In 2009, researchers identified nine so-called planetary boundaries: limits that we shouldn’t exceed if we want to maintain Earth’s life-support systems. Gerten’s team looked at the four boundaries that are relevant to farming: not using too much nitrogen, which causes dead zones in lakes and oceans; not taking too much freshwater from rivers; not cutting down too much forest, and maintaining biodiversity.
The team’s conclusion is that half of food production today violates these limits. However, this analysis is also the first to provide insights into where, geographically, these limits are being transgressed. By changing what is farmed where the team says it would be possible to feed 10 billion people within the four limits.
This would involve rewilding farms in areas where more than 5 percent of species are threatened; reforesting farmland where more than 85 percent of tropical forest has been cut down; reducing water withdrawal for irrigation and other purposes where too much is taken; and decreasing nitrogen fertilization where levels in surface water are too high. Farms could be expanded in areas where these limits are not being exceeded.It could, for example, mean restricting fertilizer use in parts of eastern China and central Europe, and expanding it in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the western US.
Read more: Planet Earth has 9 safety limits and we’ve already exceeded 4 of them
Such changes would allow the sustainable production of enough food for 7.8 billion people, roughly the current world population. Reductions in food waste and a shift away from eating meat could increase this to 10.2 billion – slightly more than the projected 2050 world population
.One big caveat is that the team assumes that the planet won’t warm by more than 1.5°C. Future studies will look at the effects of warming beyond this, says Gerten. On the flip side, the team assumes that the world relies only on existing technologies, and not on new approaches such as genome editing and using electricity from solar panels to grow food.
Journal reference: Nature Sustainability,
Lead photo: Crop fields in southern Russia
Leonid Eremeychuk/500px/Getty Images
Is It Safe To Eat Romaine Lettuce From Salinas Again? CDC Says E. coli Scare “Appears To Be Over”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an updated food safety report that it is “no longer advising that people avoid romaine lettuce from the Salinas Valley growing region in California.”
By Kelly Tyko, USA TodayJan 15, 2020
After nearly three months, the romaine lettuce outbreak “appears to be over,” federal health officials announced Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an updated food safety report that it is “no longer advising that people avoid romaine lettuce from the Salinas Valley growing region in California.”
Since Nov. 22, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration have told consumers to avoid the lettuce from California as they investigated multistate E. coli outbreaks.
A total of 167 people from 27 states were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7, the CDC said Wednesday.
A total of 85 hospitalizations were reported, and 15 people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths were reported, the CDC said.
The ages of those who fell ill ranged from infancy to 89 years old, with a median age of 27. Several people in Canada also may have been affected.
The CDC was able to interview 113 people who fell ill, with 83 percent of them saying they’d eaten romaine lettuce, much higher than a survey of healthy adults.
Frank Yiannas, FDA deputy commissioner for food policy and response, said in a statement that the investigation is ongoing and they are “doing everything possible to find the source or sources of contamination.”
“The investigation into how this contamination occurred is important, so romaine growers can implement measures that will prevent future contamination and illnesses,” Yiannas said.
This outbreak was caused by the same strain of “Shiga toxin-producing” E. coli that caused outbreaks linked to leafy greens in 2017 and to romaine lettuce in 2018, the CDC said. The Shiga toxin can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea that is often bloody and vomiting. Severe dehydration can result.
Contributing: Joe Szydlowski, Salinas Californian