A Hotter World Could Also Be a Hungrier One

Tim Radford / Climate News Network Jun 20, 2018 A warmer world could mean shrinking harvests and a more meager diet for millions of people, according to two new studies. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Protecting Your Ride From the New Ethanol Blend

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Dec 27, 2012 A new policy approved by the EPA will allow states to permit the sale of fuel that contains up to 15 percent ethanol, and the difference could damage your car. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Drought Belts the Breadbasket

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jul 26, 2012 Almost 30 percent of the American Midwest -- the area that produces most of the country’s corn, soybeans and livestock -- is suffering an escalation of its most extreme drought in five decades. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

High Food Prices Drive Unrest, Study Says

Staff / Truthdig Aug 22, 2011 An old argument says that full or empty bellies lead to contentment or revolt. Recent research supports that claim, showing that spikes in global food prices have coincided with the surge of social unrest and political instability seen recently in North Africa and the Middle East. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Climate Shift Has Cut Global Wheat Crops, Study Finds

Staff / Truthdig May 8, 2011 A report in the journal Science links temperature changes to a 5.5 percent decline in wheat production worldwide, with drop-offs occurring even in countries where technological efforts have diminished the impact of climate change on crop yields. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Monsanto Dominance Prompts Antitrust Inquiry

Staff / Truthdig Nov 29, 2009 Some 93 percent of soybeans and 80 percent of corn: Those numbers reflect how much of each crop is grown with seeds genetically altered under the patents of agro-giant Monsanto. An antitrust investigation is at hand, as questions about a monopoly status seem not too far off. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

World Bank: Biofuel Boom Spiking Food Prices

Staff / Truthdig Aug 1, 2008 A World Bank report, held from public view for several months, finds strong evidence that increased production of biofuels such as ethanol has caused a sharp climb in the price of foodstuffs worldwide. "The report stands as a blistering rebuke to the Bush's administration's unchecked biofuel boosterism," argues environmental writer Tom Philpott. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Biofuels Blamed in Global Food Crisis

Staff / Truthdig Jul 4, 2008 While environmentalists and opponents of foreign oil may have found common cause in the use of biofuels, a new, confidential World Bank report estimates that the recent increase in plant-based fuel production has actually contributed to a 75 percent rise in global food prices, sparking riots across the world and pushing millions beneath the poverty line. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Dark Side of Ethanol

Staff / Truthdig Apr 18, 2007 A new study out of Stanford University says ethanol could worsen smog problems, as the alternative fuel may produce dirtier air than gasoline. Ethanol has already been something of a mixed bag for environmentalists, who are desperate for politically viable alternative fuels but troubled by the high cost of corn-based ethanol. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

What Valerie Plame Really Did at the CIA

Staff / Truthdig Sep 6, 2006 The woman at the center of the CIA leak case "was no analyst or paper-pusher;" rather, she was chief of operations on the CIA's clandestine Joint Task Force on Iraq, which was heading up the CIA's intelligence hunt for Saddam's WMD. Thus, her outing by Bush administration officials was a serious breach of national security -- not to mention a career-killer. The Nation's David Corn has the scoop in his new book, "Hubris." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )