OKAgPolicy Today is a morning email containing the day’s top agriculture and policy headlines. The inclusion of a particular story does not equal an endorsement. Subscribe to the email here.
TOP HEADLINES
Why industrial farms are good for the environment:
There is much to like about small, local farms and their influence on what we eat. But if we are to sustainably deal with problems presented by population growth and climate change, we need to look to the farmers who grow a majority of the country’s food and fiber [New York Times].
Gauging by Google searches:
In recent weeks State Question 777 (Right to Farm) has led all state questions in Web searches, according to Google Analytics [NewsOK].
FEDERAL
Washington Week Ahead: Shutdown looms as lawmakers eye exit:
Lawmakers are eager to get home to campaign but first have to take care of some critical unfinished business this week, starting with a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running after the new fiscal year starts on Saturday. Also this week, the House is expected to pass a water projects development bill, a top priority for agricultural shippers, and leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee are hopeful they can win floor passage of a long-stalled child nutrition reauthorization bill [Agri-Pulse].
Trade myths and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) strategy:
Mark Edelman, professor of Economics at Iowa State University and Barry Flinchbaugh an emeritus professor of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University, “set the record straight” on trade and the TPP [Agri-Pulse].
ELECTIONS
Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump get set for epic presidential debate:
With record-breaking viewership expected Monday night for the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, few moments could have a bigger impact on who becomes the next president [NBC News].
Voters to weigh cost of restrictive cages for farm animals:
The question would “prohibit any farm from knowingly confining any breeding pig, calf raised for veal, or egg-laying hen in a way that prevents the animal from laying down, standing up, fully extending its limbs or turning around freely.” Framers of the question have their sights set far beyond Massachusetts, where only one egg-producing farm could be affected if the proposal becomes law [Boston Herald].
MISCELLANEOUS
Opposed to GMOs? Are Monsanto’s new CRISPR crops any better?:
In essence, it’s a tool that allows scientists to exchange a couple letters of an organism’s genetic code (either an A, G, C, or T), and replace it with one that is somehow beneficial for a specific purpose. And this, technically, is not the same as creating a GMO [Digital Trends].
Here’s the problem with sustainable beef (and pork):
Here’s the beef? If it’s sustainable beef you’re looking for, the answer is complex. And expensive [Chicago Tribune].
