Livestock Farming Takes Up 41% of U.S. Land

Livestock farming takes up 41% of all U.S. land. See for yourself in this Bloomberg article.

Plus, Coronado Farms just added 8,000 cows to its herd. The company is already the largest groundwater user in Sulphur Springs Valley, AZ. Industrial agriculture depletes the valley’s water supply so much that residents are left without water to drink. [New York Times]

1. 🐝 More than 50 wildlife refuges covering about 150 million acres can now use the pesticide that was killing all the bees. The Trump Administration overturned the pesticide’s ban and will now allow big ag to grow genetically modified crops in these previously protected ecosystems. [BBC]
2. 🙈 In 1982, Exxon proved humans were influencing the climate using their own data. But the next year, they reduced their climate research budget from $900,000 to $100,000. [Atlantic]
3. 🔍 A tomato has 900 million base pairs of 12 chromosomes. It’s one of the most popular genetic sequences Crispr can edit to make food taste better. But do growers really care if their tomatoes taste better? [Wired]
4. 🌱 Plant-based milk represents 15% of the total milk market. And plant-based meat is growing too—up 24% compared to 6% growth last year. [Plant Based Foods Association]
5. 🆘 1.8 million penguins have disappeared from world’s largest king penguin colony. That’s a 90% loss of population, and the causes remain unknown because of the colony’s remote location. [Antarctic Science]