Food and Agriculture
Sustainable agriculture practices can protect the environment and produce high-quality, safe, and affordable food. Our goal is to promote such practices while eliminating harmful CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) and strengthening government oversight of genetically engineered food.
Features
Sensible Pharmaceutical Production
This web feature highlights biotechnology companies that are developing drugs in safer ways than growing genetically engineered drug-producing food crops outdoors.
Green Cuisine: Earth-Friendly, Healthy Recipes from Top Chefs and Local Farmers
Check out the latest issue of UCS's recurring web feature on sustainable foods. In this edition you'll learn how a Seattle chef and a nearby farmer have joined forces to provide fresh organic produce to the community while making the region a healthier habitat for native salmon and other wildlife. Pick up a free recipe from Chef Maria Hines of Tilth Restaurant, learn about salmon-safe farming, and subscribe to FEED, our monthly newsletter on food and agriculture issues!
Successes
Recent successes in Food & Agriculture include:
- Shaping legislation that supports organic and sustainable agriculture
- Achieving a meaningful label for grass-fed meat
- Preventing a valuable human medicine from being used routinely in animal agriculture
- Pressing for a ban on the outdoor production of drugs and industrial chemicals in food crops
- Strengthening oversight of pharma crops and cloning
Analysis
CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations
When it comes to most of the meat, dairy, and eggs produced in the United States, there's truly no such thing as a free lunch. In this new report, UCS exposes the billions of dollars in environmental, health, and economic costs imposed on society by Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
Greener Pastures: How grass-fed beed and milk contribute to healthy eating
Americans love their beef and milk. With about 70 percent of the population consuming one or the other several times a week, the United States is the largest beef producer and one of the largest dairy producers in the world. But this love affair has serious consequences for the health of consumers, the environment, and the cattle themselves.
Campaigns
Protect Our Food: A campaign to take the harm out of pharma and industrial crops
Help UCS convince the USDA to ban the outdoor use of food crops to produce pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals.
The Preservation of Antibiotcs for Medical Treatment Act of 2007
Mounting scientific evidence shows that the routine feeding of antibiotics to farm animals that are not sick promotes development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can be transferred to people, making it harder to treat bacterial infections in humans.
Resources
Grass-Fed Beef and Dairy Video
Raising cattle on pasture lessens environmental damage, improves animal health, and reduces antibiotic use.
Pharma Crop Approvals in the United States
This map shows the number of plantings of genetically engineered pharmaceutical and industrial (pharma) crops approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in individual states.
Genetically Engineered Foods Allowed on the Market
A complete listing of genetically engineered foods currently allowed on the US market.
FEED
FEED is a free email newsletter that will keep you informed about food production and safety issues.
