FAO Report: Livestock in the Balance

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recently released its report, State of Food and Agriculture: Livestock in the Balance. This report concludes that:

• The livestock sector is expanding rapidly, driven by population growth, rising affluence and urbanization.
  
  
• Decisive action is required if increasing demand is to be met in ways that are environmentally sustainable and contribute to poverty alleviation and improved human health.
  
  
• The contribution of the livestock sector to poverty alleviation should be enhanced through appropriate policy reform and investments within a framework of broader rural development policies.
  
  
• Governance of the livestock sector should be strengthened to ensure that its development is environmentally sustainable and that it both adapts to and contributes to mitigating climate change.
  
  
• The neglect of animal-health systems in many parts of the world must be redressed, and producers at every level must be involved in the development of animal-disease and food-safety programmes.

The State of Food and Agriculture 2009

View more presentations from FAOEconomics.

Blog symposium on competition in agriculture

The Antitrust and Competition Policy Blog is conducting a symposium on competition in agriculture. Check it out.

Ethanol: The Real Growing Problem

The White House this week released the report, "Growing America’s Fuel." The report, created by President Obama’s Biofuels Interagency Working Group, "lays out a strategy to advance the development and commercialization of a sustainable biofuels industry to meet or exceed the nation’s biofuels targets."

I have been a critic of the use of conventional biofuels (i.e., corn-based ethanol) to satisfy the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), and unfortunately, this report does little to encourage optimism that our reliance on corn as our primary source of alternative fuel is going to change anytime soon.

Although the report espouses the need for, and support of, additional next-generation biofuels, the report also indicates support for expanded corn-based ethanol production. Noting that the current RFS “has effectively placed a 15 billion gallon cap on ethanol production from corn starch as part of a new 36 billion gallon target for 2022,” the report then states that “there are opportunities to develop new markets for corn-based ethanol that can provide improved economic stability, increased rural wealth and reduced use of petroleum based feedstocks.” Thus, the report appears to question the value of capping the use of corn-based ethanol to satisfy the RFS, while also encouraging expanding the market for such products. I am all for economic stability, increased rural wealth, and reduced use of petroleum, but I remain skeptical corn-based ethanol has a proper role in achieving those goals.

Beyond that, even in identifying problems related to ethanol production, the report is a cause for concern. The report argues “As more farms and forests are utilized for biofuels production, careful consideration of feedstock production practices and location of biomass conversion plants will be required to avoid serious impacts on existing food, feed, and fiber markets and the quality of natural resources upon which we all depend on for clean air and water.” This, it seems to me, has the analysis wrong.

The better report language would be: “Because feedstock production practices and location of biomass conversion plants could seriously impact existing food, feed, and fiber markets and the quality of natural resources upon which we all depend on for clean air and water, careful consideration of using more farms and forests for biofuels production is necessary.”

Alas, no one asked me.

Journal of Food Law & Policy Seeking Articles

The Journal of Food Law & Policy just announced that it is seeking submissions for placement in the Spring 2010 issue, to be published in June 2010. This unanticipated need presents an opportunity for an author to place an article and see it in print in a very short period of time.




Articles may be submitted via email to foodlaw@uark.edu or mailed to:

Journal of Food Law and Policy
University of Arkansas School of Law
107 Waterman Hall
Fayetteville, AR 72701

USDA Drops Controversial National Animal ID Plan

The New York Times reports that the USDA is dropping plans for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). USDA Drops Plans to Drop Program to Trace Livestock, Feb. 5, 2010. The department will announce a new traceability plan based on state-based programs and the regulation of livestock shipped in interstate commerce. Information about the new approach is available on the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Credit to Aimee Witteman,Executive Director, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition for the link.