My Page: Courtney Lowery
News Bite: The New West Blog
From Hoof to Plate: Two Beef Tales
Especially after reading the this gruesome story in this weekend’s New York Times about E. Coli and the failings of the inspection process in mass-produced ground beef, this piece from Douglas Brown in the Denver Post, about a different way of getting beef from pasture to plate, is timely.
The Times piece details an investigation into hamburger in the U.S., which came to this conclusion: “Neither the system meant to make the meat safe, nor the meat itself, is what consumers have been led to believe.” It’s a story of how our food system has made meat, particularly cheap meat, dangerous.
By comparison, the Post piece shows what happens when meat is produced, processed and sold on a smaller, regional scale. Brown tracks an organic grass-fed steer from a ranch on Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation to the meat section of the Whole Foods store in Boulder, Colorado, a journey that illuminates and educates on food safety, local food and organic agriculture.
But, as Brown points out in the story, it’s also about more than just food and ag. “The journey from calf to brisket, for these cattle, captures within it a sweep of issues and notions about the West, about agribusiness, even about philosophy and ethics.”
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“Mayfly,” taken by Patrick at the Salt Lake City Airport. Patrick writes, “for someone about to get on a plane and fly away from the caddis hatches and hoppers, this is torture.”
News Nugget
ESA Expansion Could Mean Protections for Sage Grouse, Wolverine
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected today to ask for habitat protections for the the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse in Colorado—a proposal that could be replicated for many other species in the coming months as the Obama Administration reevaluates which species get protections under the Endangered Species Act.
As the Denver Post reports today, “The Obama administration is taking a fresh look, in many cases under court order, at Bush administration rejections of special status. A move to prevent extinction of more plants and animals could limit housing construction and energy development.”
Among the other species being reconsidered are the mountain plover, wolverine, greater sage grouse, white-tailed prairie dog and Gunnison sage grouse.
Click here for the full Post story.
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“Curtain of Smoke” taken by Katie LaSalle-Lowery. This was snapped at Pelican Creek, just east of the Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone National Park just as the Arnica Fire was growing. As LaSalle-Lowery writes, “The smoke was streaking eastward across the sky in a distinct plume rather than dispersing and making a fog of smoke. The plume filtered the sunlight, casting a warm color tone on everything yet blue sky could be seen around the plume.”
Update
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agrees to Consider Montana Grayling as Endangered Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to consider the Montana fluvial arctic grayling, better known across the state as the Big Hole grayling, for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The agency’s promise comes after decades of legal wrangling, as was made as part of a settlement in a lawsuit filed by several environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and Pat Munday and George Wuerthner, both individuals who have worked on the grayling issue.
As part of the agreement the agency will have to make a decision on the grayling listing by August 30 of 2010.
“The Montana fluvial arctic grayling is on the brink of extinction,” Noah Greenwald, of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a press release. “We hope the Obama administration will put an end to the grayling’s 27-year wait for protection.”
For great background on the Big Hole Grayling, including profiles of the people who have been involved with the fish’s survival over the past several decades, read Jonathan Stumpf’s series on NewWest.Net here.
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“Volcano Valley,” by Nancy Newell, taken in New Mexico from Highway 550, looking southwest toward Cabezon.
Big Sky, Past and Future: NewWest.Net and a group of University of Montana School of Journalism students engaged in a unique collaboration this summer to produce a series of stories and multimedia features about Big Sky, Montana. Mouse over the red circles on the map above to see the various pieces, and check out the interactive timeline. Interactive graphic and map by Dan Doherty, timeline by Dan Doherty and Josh Benham.
“Edge of time” by Erin Alberty (link opens blog post with story) taken at McConkie Ranch near Vernal, Utah.
News Nugget
Court Ruling Could Lead to Ban on GMO Sugar Beets
A judge in California has ruled against the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a case that could lead to a ban on genetically modified sugar beet production.
Federal judge Jeffrey S. White ruled on Monday in favor of the plaintiffs (including the Organic Seed Alliance, Sierra Club, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and the Center for Food Safety), saying that by not doing an environmental impact studey the government failed to “take a hard look” at the environmental effects of GMO beet production or the possible spread of GMO beet traits to non-GMO beets or to the beet’s cousin, swiss chard, before it approved it for production.
Depending on how the rest of the case goes—a meeting is scheduled for Oct. 30—the ruling could mean a ban on planting “Roundup Ready” sugar beets, which biotech giant Monsanto introduced into the market—and the USDA approved for production—four years ago. Earlier this summer, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2-year ban on Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa.
In his ruling (link opens PDF of case documents), White wrote, “… this Court finds that the potential elimination of farmer’s choice to grow non-genetically engineered crops, or a consumer’s choice to eat nongenetically engineered food, and an action that potentially eliminates or reduces the availability of a particular plant has a significant effect on the human environment.”
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“A Study of Lines” taken by Gabe Farnsworth at “The Wave” in the North Coyote Buttes in Arizona.
