Published on December 05, 2012
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The agriculture and food sector is unusually concentrated, with just a few companies dominating the market in each link of the food chain. In most sectors of the U.S. economy, the four largest firms control between 40 and 45 percent of the market, and many economists maintain that higher levels of concentration can start to erode competitiveness. Yet according to data compiled by the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2012, in the agriculture and food sector, the four largest companies controlled 82 percent of the beef packing industry, 85 percent of soybean processing, 63 percent of pork packing, and 53 percent of broiler chicken processing.
Published on October 15, 2012
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In 1977, Congress passed a set of amendments to the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Together, the original act and the amendments came to be known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA set a strong and simple standard that polluting is illegal, and that the national goal is zero discharge of pollution into our public waterways. Failing achievement of zero discharge, the CWA set limits on discharges.
Published on October 15, 2012
- Fact Sheets:
In 1977, Congress passed a set of amendments to the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Together, the original act and the amendments came to be known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA set a strong and simple standard that polluting is illegal, and that the national goal is zero discharge of pollution into our public waterways. Failing achievement of zero discharge, the CWA set limits on discharges.
Published on September 19, 2012
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Since the first genetically engineered (GE) crops were introduced in the United States in the 1990s, consumers have not been able to tell whether they are eating these controversial new ingredients. And whenever the subject of mandatory labeling of GE foods comes up, the food industry claims that labeling will be prohibitively expensive.
Published on September 11, 2012
- Fact Sheets:
In 1977, Congress passed a set of amendments to the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Together, the original act and the amendments came to be known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA set a strong and simple standard that polluting is illegal, and that the national goal is zero discharge into our public waterways. Failing achievement of zero discharge, the CWA set limits on discharges.
Published on September 06, 2012
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Investment bankers and other major financial players are increasingly interested in taking control of water and sewer services across the United States. Private equity vehicles are armed with more than $100 billion for infrastructure worldwide. Although most deals in the U.S. water utility market have involved existing private sector companies, a number of fund managers anticipate that the ongoing fiscal crisis will drive some governments to privatize their water infrastructure. To make that prediction a reality, major financial interests are backing various government proposals that facilitate privatization and private investment bankers and other major financial players are increasingly interested in taking control of water and sewer services across the United States. Private equity vehicles are armed with more than $100 billion for infrastructure worldwide. Although most deals in the U.S. water utility market have involved existing private sector companies, a number of fund managers anticipate that the ongoing fiscal crisis will drive some governments to privatize their water infrastructure. To make that prediction a reality, major financial interests are backing various government proposals that facilitate privatization and private financing of public infrastructure.
Published on August 31, 2012
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When it comes to labeling genetically engineered (GE) foods, the United States lags behind nearly 50 developed nations, including all European Union member states, Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. The European Union requires all food, animal feeds and processed products with biotech content to bear GE labels.
Published on August 31, 2012
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Allentown is considering a risky and potentially very costly ploy to raise money to cover some of its pension liabilities. Mayor Ed Pawlowski has proposed a 50-year lease of the water and sewer systems that he hopes will produce $150 million to $200 million in upfront cash for the city.1 This money, however, is not cheap. Any upfront payment that the city receives is a costly loan that households and local businesses will repay through their water bills for decades. While Allentown's fiscal difficulties are certainly serious, the city must address the issue directly and avoid budget gimmicks like water privatization that will increase costs for generations of Allentonians.
Published on August 16, 2012
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Enbridge Inc., Canada's largest transporter of crude oil, claims to no longer be pursuing its 'Trailbreaker' plan as first proposed in 2008: to run Canadian tar sands oil through an aging pipeline that stretches across northern New England from Montreal, Canada, to Portland, Maine. Yet given that efforts to send tar sands oil south to refineries in Texas through the proposed Keystone XL pipeline — as well as efforts to send the oil west from Alberta to British Columbia — have face stiff opposition and stalled, New England remains at risk.
Published on July 27, 2012
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The United States and the European Union are moving toward privatizing their fisheries management systems through catch shares, while Iceland, with one of the world’s oldest and most comprehensive catch share programs, is struggling to find a way to dismantle its program. Why? The answer is that catch shares have failed Iceland’s fisheries and the nation as a whole.
Published on July 23, 2012
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The United States and the European Union are moving toward privatizing their fisheries management systems through catch shares, while Iceland, with one of the world’s oldest and most comprehensive catch share programs, is struggling to find a way to dismantle its program. Why? The answer is that catch shares have failed Iceland’s fisheries and the nation as a whole.
Published on July 23, 2012
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Roundup, an herbicide produced by Monsanto that contains the active ingredient glyphosate, has been vigorously applied to crops for years. Most genetically engineered (GE) crops are designed to be tolerant of specially tailored herbicides. Farmers can spray the herbicide on their fi elds, killing the weeds without harming the GE crops. With the development of Roundup Ready crops, the application intensity of Roundup has only increased.
Published on July 19, 2012
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With the rise of GE crops, coexistence between organic, non-GE and GE production has become more diffi cult due to the potential for gene flow and commingling of crops at both the planting and harvesting levels.
Published on July 19, 2012
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The biotechnology industry is aggressively promoting the environmental sustainability of genetically engineered (GE) crops. The industry claims that GE crops can reduce herbicide use, increase yields to feed a hungry planet, and develop new crops that are adapted to climate change.
Published on June 27, 2012
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All too often when an economist or banker looks out at an expanse of virgin forest or free-flowing river, she doesn’t see nature — she sees “natural capital.” This concept promotes the view that our natural resources should be attached a value and managed using market-based principles of supply and demand. It is the cornerstone of the “green economy” that many free-market proponents and market-oriented environmentalists assert will provide environmental sustainability.
Published on June 21, 2012
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Many communities have had no option but to go to court to try and protect their groundwater from corporate water bottlers. These legal battles can be extremely expensive and time consuming, and water-bottling schemes have torn towns apart. Although some communities have banned commercial water extraction, not all towns have had such success.
Published on June 08, 2012
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Illinois communities need local, public control of their drinking water and wastewater systems to be able to ensure safe and affordable service.
Published on June 08, 2012
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The State of California does not require companies to disclose if and where they are fracking, but industry docu- ments reveal that fracking has taken place in the counties of Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Solano, Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Monterey, and in the San Francisco Bay Delta, a source of drinking water for over 20 million Californians.
Published on June 06, 2012
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To protect Maine’s groundwater and the general public’s best interest, Maine should hold its groundwater in the public trust.
Published on May 30, 2012
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Genetically engineered (GE) crops are created by transferring genetic material from one organism into another to create specific traits, such as resistance to treatment with herbicides or to make a plant produce its own pesticide to repel insects. Unlike traditional plant and animal breeding, which tries to develop better varieties by selecting traits from the same species, genetic engineering techniques can insert specific genes from any plant, animal or microorganism into the DNA of a different species.
