Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm and Resource Issues articles from September 2001

Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm and Resource Issues archives from September 2001

Profitable Beef Production. (So They Say).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Edward Luttwak writes, "[W]hile European and North American cattle raisers pay their dues to the corporations that supply them with everything from tractors and fuel to bagged concentrates, we [ranchers in Bolivia] pay our dues to nature by...

Globalization, Progress, and Poverty. (So They Say).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Thompson says, "It is very likely that globalization will be debated for as long as there are some who perceive its undoubted advantages, while others fear its unsettling consequences. Also, many will resent modernization itself, at least in...

Biotechnology can be Good. (So They Say).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Writing in Environment, Per Pinstrup-Anderson says, "Modern biotechnology is not a silver bullet for ending hunger, but, used in conjunction with traditional and conventional agricultural research methods, it may be a powerful tool that should...

Labeling Beef. (So They Say).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... The writers of The Economist say, "One of the few beneficial side-effects of the foot-and-mouth epidemic and the even more dreaded BSE, or "mad cow" disease, has been a rush among farmers to adopt new technology. The disease outbreaks have...

Growth Management Questions. (So They Say).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Riddel says, "One important outcome of the Boulder [Colorado] open space purchase program has been leapfrog development of areas outside the greenbelt. Many critics of the program maintain that development was not thwarted, but rather...

Persistent Food Security Problems. (So They Say).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Davis, Thomas, and Amponsah say, "...to supply enough food to the growing populations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America without increasing dependence on international markets for food aid, more food has to be produced where people live. This...

Choices Apologizes. (So They Say).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Production and publication of the 3rd Quarter issue of CHOICES were delayed by travel restrictions imposed as a result of the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11. The editors regret any inconvenience readers may have incurred as a result...

Renewed Commitment to Agricultural R&D. (Guest Editorial).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Congress is now debating agricultural policy for the new millennium. There is great antipathy from the agricultural community surrounding the 1996 Farm Bill. The transition payments it provided have not fostered the anticipated conversion to a...

Ellis Island to The Ellis Farm. (Immigration Reform and Rural America).
September 22, 2001... Instead of providing agriculture with a legal work force, and slowing the spread of Mexican and other Hispanic immigrants, legal and illegal immigration contributed to the dramatic demographic change sweeping rural America -- the so-called...

Vaccination or Decimation?: The Foot-and-Mouth Disease Policy Dilemma.
September 22, 2001... VACCINATION OFFERS SOME PROTECTION FOR DOMESTIC HERDS AGAINST FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, YET ELIMINATES A COUNTRY'S FMD-FREE TRADE STATUS. THIS POSES A QUANDARY FOR POLICY-MAKERS. The first major foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the...

Government Environmental Regulations and Income Distribution: Where You Stand Depends on Where You Sit.(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2001... HAVE GOVERNMENT POLICIES DESIGNED TO COMBAT SO-CALLED "ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM" ACTUALLY HARMED THE POOR BY ELIMINATING HIGHER-PAYING JOBS CLOSER TO HOME? A disturbing disparity between upper-income and lower-income groups has evolved in the...

Section 32: Shedding Light on the So-Called; "Slush Fund". (Farm Bill 02 Choices).(government spending)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2001... In the constant search for money to solve constituent problems and pay for new projects, some policy makers have cast covetous eyes upon the so-called "secret slush fund" controlled by the Secretary of Agriculture. Such is the perception some...

Does Jack Sprat Really know Much About Fat? (Graphically Speaking).(meat consumption)
September 22, 2001... The popular press inundates consumers with advice on what to eat and what to eat to attain optimal health. Much of this advice mentions the importance of reducing intake of fat and cholesterol. Meat is often the focus of consumer advice to...

Collision Course: The Looming Contradictions of U.S. Sugar Policy. (Farm Bill 02 Choices).(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2001... United States domestic sugar policy is on a collision course with international trade obligations negotiated under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Uruguay Round Agreement of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade...

South-of-the-Border Beef: Changing Beef Industries in Argentina and Uruguay.
September 22, 2001... Uruguay and Argentina, two of South America's most important beef exporters, eradicated foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 1995 and 2000, respectively. They thus gained access to the FMD-free segment of the world beef market - including the United...

Green Business Rising: Market-based environmental initiatives may be an idea whose time has arrived. (Private Agro-Environmental Management).(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2001... When household incomes increase, the demand for environmental services ("green" products and services such as organic foods, environmentally friendly packaging, environmentally friendly production and distribution processes) increases faster...

Can Farmer Savings Accounts Help Save Farming? (Farm Bill 02 Choices).(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2001... Despite a largely merited reputation for thrift, farmers in the United States do not generally save for bad times. In contrast, Canada encourages farmer saving by matching their deposits and providing interest rate bonuses. In Australia, a...

Net Income Savings Account (NISA). (Key Elements of Four Farmer Savings Account Incentive Programs).(Canada)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Participation Nearly all farm enterprises are eligible for participation. In Canada, NISA provides a voluntary safety net opportunity for livestock, forestry, and specialty crop enterprises that do not have income support programs or...

Farm Program Payment Reserve Account (FPPR). (Key Elements of Four Farmer Savings Account Incentive Programs).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Participation Participation is required for farmers receiving specified payments. If deposits are restricted to AMTA recipients, benefits are restricted to producers of program crops. If Congress designates livestock and specialty crop...

Individual Risk Management Account (IRMA). (Key Elements of Four Farmer Savings Account Incentive Programs).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Participation Voluntary participation is likely higher than FARRM but less than NISA. IRMA provides savings incentives in the form of tax deferral for farmers in higher tax brackets. Matching deposits provide an incentive, but replace a...

Farm And Ranch Risk Management Account (FARRM). (Key Elements of Four Farmer Savings Account Incentive Programs).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Participation Participation benefits go to relatively few farmers. Deposits based on net income are more limiting than gross income. Over two thirds of sole proprietors report a farm loss or have no federal income tax liability. They could...

Cooperatives Consolidate: Response to the Changing Structure of the U.S. Food Industry. (Terra).
September 22, 2001... The U.S. food and fiber system continues to evolve, driven by globalization, technological change, stagnant demand for food, and other political and economic forces. As a result, actors in the food system -- processors, wholesalers, input...

BST: A Protein, Not a Steroid. (Feedback: Letters to the Editor).
September 22, 2001... Editor: Many kudos for your Association's publication of this most interesting magazine. I would like to point out, however, that in his great article, Dr. D. W. Bromley errs in saying that B.S.T. is a steroid. In fact, it is a protein. A...

A Welcome Call for Caution. (Feedback: Letters to the Editor).
September 22, 2001... Editor: Dan Bromley's article "Mad Cows, Drugged Cows, and Juggled Genes" (CHOICES 2:2001) is unique among the articles and reports on biotechnologies now being used in agriculture. Casting the issue in terms of purpose and necessity...

Bromley Responds. (Feedback: Letters to the Editor).
September 22, 2001... Editor: I am grateful to Ray Wright for an important lesson in chemistry. I know BST is a growth hormone, and now I seem to recall something about proteins and hormones - but beyond this faint recall, I have no defense. So much for my...

Tweeten: Clarification on Organics. (Feedback: Letters to the Editor).
September 22, 2001... Editor: In my rebuttal (CHOICES, First Quarter 2001) to critics (CHOICES, Third Quarter 2000) of my editorial "Coexisting with Alternative Agricultural Advocates" (CHOICES, 2:2000, p. 3), I stated, on what I thought was reliable authority,...

A Vote Against Referees. (Feedback: Letters to the Editor).
September 22, 2001... Editor: My master's degree in Food and Resource Economics has served me very well during 17 years in supply chain management at large agribusiness companies Unfortunately, over the years I have scanned many issues of the AJAE (American...