As Milk Production Cools In Summer, Farmers Try To Help Cows Take The Heat by NPR

Mama cow with baby calf. Dairy cows must be separated from their offspring to supply dairy farmers with the milk used to supply consumers.

According to farmers and industry experts, as the temperature rises, cows begin to eat less. Thus they produce less milk, which has been described by one study, as the nation’s dairy industry loses $900 million a year to “heat stress.” Another says global warming has already decreased U.S. milk production from Holstein cows by about 2 percent.

One researcher and his colleague are working on a solution. They have bred a new kind of dairy cow. It includes the DNA of a South American cow breed that has adapted to withstand heat. It’s called a “slick cow,” in reference to its fine coat of hair — which helps it handle higher temperatures.

Hundreds march through heart of Manhattan for “How Much Longer, Wendy’s?” action, demanding a commitment to Fair Food Program!

“This past Thursday, hundreds of consumers, farmworkers, and their families, took to the streets of Manhattan for the big “How Much Longer, Wendy’s?” march. The march was a direct response to Wendy’s continued refusal to join the Fair Food Program despite its decision, announced at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in June, to shift its tomato purchases from Mexico to U.S. and Canadian greenhouses in reaction to consumer pressure over the abysmal human rights conditions in Mexico’s produce industry.”

EWG News Roundup (7/20): The Best Bug Repellents, Lead in Schools’ Tap Water and More

“This week, EWG released an update to its popular Guide to Bug Repellents. Based on testing data, EWG’s top choices for repellents contain the active ingredients Picaridin, DEET and IR3535 for protection from a variety of biting insects and ticks.” Read more online here. 

Also, they found “tap water supplies for more than 14 million Americans are contaminated with a cancer-causing industrial solvent made notorious by the book and film “A Civil Action,” according to an Environmental Working Group investigation released today.”