The U.S. doesn't regulate industrial agriculture and hasn't for years.  The result has contributed significantly to a host of environmental problems although few people generally think of agriculture as being one of the prime culprits.  Will Allen, writing at Alternet, provides an overview of why and how it is.  I am providing just an overview of his article.  Read the entire piece.

It began with measuring the school's carbon footprint.  That was in 2007 as part of what they called the Cool Schools Challenge, which a Redmond teacher and group of students established with help from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and Puget Sound Energy.  They got training in conducting energy audits and learned ways that teachers and students could reduce greenhouse gases.

The appointments to senior USDA jobs have been all over the board, reflecting an agency that has proponents ranging from huge agribusinesses, i.e. ADM; fertilizer/biotech companies, i.e. Monsanto; and factory farms, i.e. Smithfield; to the generally smaller organizations advocating sustainable agricultural practices, i.e. Rodale Publications, organic food growing, i.e. Tilth, and direct marketing of farm produce to farmers markets across the country.  So, sometimes we get someone as good as Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, the organic food proponent, sometimes we don't.

Marcy Wheeler, writing at FireDogLake, provides the best description of the new Fuel Efficiency Standards for cars and trucks going forward, as presented by the Administration.   Here's the core agreement:  "Everyone (the companies, the states that wanted higher standards, and the EPA) agrees to one nationwide standard that will be in effect through 2016. And in exchange, CA will drop its push for its own state standards and the standards will be slightly postponed (though the outcome by 2016 will be roughly the same)."

KUOW’s Steve Sher interviewed Dan Newhouse, the new Director of the Washington State Agriculture Department yesterday morning.  Newhouse was until recently a Republican legislator from eastern Washington.  He is a family farmer who operates a 600-acre farm outside of Sunnyside, where he grows hops, fruit, grapes and alfalfa. 

Newhouse graduated from WSU with a BS in Agriculture Economics.  He obviously loves farming.  His family has been farming in eastern Washington since 1882 and he lives on the farm that his father bought in the late 1940’s. 

Sales of organic products, both food and non-food in the U.S grew 17.5% from 2007 to 2008 according to the Organic Trade Association based on its 2009 Organic Industry Survey.  Organic food sales rose 15.8% to $22.9 billion while organic non-food products such as fibers, personal care products and pet food grew a whopping 39.4% to $1.65 billion.  Organic food sales now account for about 3.5% of all food products sold in the U.S.