Business groups cheer Obama's move to normalize Cuba relations [Los Angeles Times]
President
Obama's decision to start normalizing relations with Cuba gives American
business a fresh opportunity on an island once known as a travel hub for the
U.S. jet set. The policy changes, which may foreshadow the end of a
half-century of gridlock, could benefit a litany of industries, chief among
them banking, finance, technology and telecommunication….Business groups
cheered the changes….Agriculture exports also will be streamlined, a move
hailed by California farm interests. "This is something we long
supported," said Josh Rolph, a trade specialist with the California Farm
Bureau Federation. "We stand to gain quite a bit."
Salinas
Valley water report suggests shift in pumping [Monterey Herald]
A
long-awaited Salinas Valley groundwater basin report has recommended a shift in
pumping further away from the coast and into deeper underground water sources
to offset drought-exacerbated seawater intrusion. But the preliminary report’s
suggestions, unveiled during Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Board of
Supervisors and county Water Resources Agency board of directors, drew
immediate criticism from agricultural interest groups when it was unveiled at
Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. Both Salinas Valley Water Coalition’s
Nancy Isakson and Monterey County Farm Bureau executive director Norm Groot
called the report’s recommendations “draconian.” Isakson warned the boards
about considering pumping limitations and re-igniting old north-south water
battles.
Water
Board moves forward with marijuana regulations [Willits News]
As
soon as this summer, North Coast pot growers may be required to submit a water
use site plan to the Department of Water Resources. The Water Board expects the
application to be on its website available for download sometime in 2015. It
will then review the site plan and could begin granting official water use
permits for growers. For about a year and a half the State Water Board, in
conjunction with the regional water boards, the California Department of Fish
and Wildlife and several other state and local agencies, has been taking local
input and devising a new regulatory scheme that would seek to effectively
enforce water rules and address environmental damage occurring due to marijuana
cultivation in rural areas across the state.
Don't
be too depressed about California strawberries – here's why [Center for
Investigative Reporting]
Since
we’ve published stories detailing the California strawberry industry’s reliance
on dangerous pesticides, we’ve been told by people that we’ve ruined the fruit
for them or made them depressed. We don’t want to traffic in depression or
ruination. So, with that in mind, here are four reasons to feel some hope about
a favorite fruit. 1. There’s always organic berries. Then again, organic
strawberries are grown with some of these pesticides, too. Let’s move on. 2.
Other countries have found a way to kick their methyl bromide addiction…3. If
you’re inclined, you can make some noise with public officials….4. The state
already has closed one of the loopholes that allowed use of one fumigant far
beyond original regulations.
2014:
A year of battle lines drawn over dinner [Associated Press]
Have
you picked a side yet? If not, you'd better think fast, because the battle
lines are being drawn and they cut right down the dinner table. For if there
was any theme to the food world in 2014, it was the prevalence of polarizing
issues. Whether we were tussling over genetically modified organisms, or
debating how healthy is too healthy for school lunches, or scolding one another
for our gluten choices, this year our collective culinary consciousness seemed
mired in disputes.
China
Ban Reversal Paves Way for Corn Byproduct [Wall Street Journal]
China’s
surprise decision to reverse a ban on imports of a genetically modified strain
of corn paves the way for the resumption of what was once a booming market for
a byproduct fed to Chinese livestock. The market for distillers dried grains,
which is formed when corn is processed into ethanol, was hit when China late
last year halted what would eventually be more than one million metric tons of
corn and corn-related imports from the U.S. That corn was found to contain MIR
162, an insect-resistant strain of GMO corn made by Swiss seed maker Syngenta
A.G . and exported by U.S. producers. The strain was at the time illegal in
China, but permitted in Europe and the U.S. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack confirmed Wednesday China’s Ministry of Agriculture has approved MIR
162 for import.
Ag
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