The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 authorized the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish national standards for the marketing of organically produced products. In response to this, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) developed the National Organic Program, which was issued in 2000. According to the USDA-AMS website, an organic label “indicates […]
Archive | February, 2015
Trading Off Fracked Natural Gas for Coal in China
By Sarah Grajdura and Mindy Mallory on February 13, 2015 in Commodities, Consumer, Economics, Energy
China’s enormous growth in the past few decades stimulated a high demand for energy that historically has been fueled by coal. However, obtaining natural gas from fracking shale formations is becoming an economical competitor to coal in China because of advances in technology and economic incentives provided by the Chinese government (Thomas, p.1). Between 1984 […]
Environmental Regulation of Agriculture: The Des Moines Water Works Issue
On Jan. 9, the Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) sent a letter to three drainage districts in Iowa providing 60 days’ notice that it intends to sue over nitrates in the water bodies that make up much of the drinking water supply for Des Moines. The threat of a lawsuit adds a new dimension to […]