"Sludge Contaminated 10,000 Acres of Farmland. What Should Be Done?"
"For years a textile mill gave farmers its sewage sludge as free fertilizer. Today the land is full of “forever chemicals.”"
Source: NYTimes, 04/22/2025
Food
"About A Sixth Of Global Cropland Likely Polluted With Toxic Metals: Study"
"Up to 17 percent of the planet’s agricultural land may be contaminated by toxic heavy metals, a new study has found. As many as 1.4 billion people reside in areas with soil dangerously polluted with compounds like arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel and lead, according to the study, published in Science."
Source: The Hill, 04/21/2025
Top NIH Researcher On Ultraprocessed Foods Departs, Citing RFK Jr. Censorship
"When President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, one group of health researchers was cautiously optimistic that their cause would finally have a champion at the highest levels of government: those focused on food and nutrition."
Source: CNN, 04/18/2025
"PR Campaign May Have Fuelled Food Study Backlash, Leaked Document Shows"
"A leaked document shows that vested interests may have been behind a “mud-slinging” PR campaign to discredit a landmark environment study, according to an investigation."
Source: Guardian, 04/15/2025
#SEJ2025 — Confronting the Past, Surviving the Future
Next week, hundreds of environmental journalists are expected to gather in Arizona for #SEJ2025, the Society of Environmental Journalists’ expansive annual conference. Co-chair Kendal Blust has highlights of the four-day event, plus how the challenges facing the Southwest are those of communities across the United States, and why now is a critical time for journalists to come together. Read her rundown and register now, before the April 16 midnight deadline.
SEJ Publication Types:
Topics on the Beat:
Visibility:
US Ends Food Aid For Millions. World Food Program Calls It A ‘Death Sentence’
"The Trump administration has ended funding to U.N. World Food Program emergency programs helping keep millions alive in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and 11 other impoverished countries, many of them struggling with conflict, according to the organization and officials who spoke to The Associated Press."
Source: AP, 04/08/2025
"What Are the Rights of Nature?"
"“Rights of nature” is a movement aimed at advancing the understanding that ecosystems, wildlife and the Earth are living beings with inherent rights to exist, evolve and regenerate."
Source: Inside Climate News, 04/03/2025
"U.S. Honeybee Deaths Soar, And Grocery Store Bills Could Take The Hit"
"Beekeepers across the country are sounding the alarm as honeybee populations are dwindling at an unprecedented rate, a trend that could affect Americans' wallets at the grocery store."
Source: NBC News, 04/03/2025
HHS Fires Entire Staff That Helps Low-Income People Afford Heat, AC
"The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has fired all of the workers in its program that seeks to help low-income Americans pay their energy bills. Everyone who had been working on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) was let go on Tuesday, according to now-former employee Andrew Germain."
Source: The Hill, 04/03/2025
Plastics Seeping Into Fields, Food And Human Bodies. Can They Be Stopped?
"In Uganda’s Mbale district, famous for its production of arabica coffee, a plague of plastic bags locally known as buveera is creeping beyond the city."
Source: AP, 03/31/2025
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