Newsom signs order to protect 30% of California’s land and coastal waters by 2030 [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
With a California-grown walnut in one hand and a pen in the other, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Wednesday calling for 30% of the state’s land area and near-shore marine habitat to be protected in the name of conservation by 2030. … Newsom stressed that the order was not meant to drive food production out of California. … He also instructed the department to find ways to include the state’s 70,000 ranchers and farmers in the planning process. “Growing plants pulls carbon out of the air, and California farmers do that better than anyone — all while conserving water, energy, soil and wildlife habitat, and reducing emissions from equipment, vehicles and livestock,” Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, said in a statement. Johansson said he was “a bit skeptical” of the order and hoped it would not bring further regulations.
With harvest amid fire and smoke, how should Napa Valley protect its farmworkers? [Napa Valley Register]
… Employers must communicate the health risks of working in poor air quality and do the most they can to limit exposure to harmful particulate matter. (In indoor workspaces, that may mean bringing in air filtration systems; in Clark’s case, it meant ensuring each employee had a working N95 mask.) … In Napa County, agricultural workers can enter evacuation zones to complete essential business – vineyard work included. But how best to keep workers safe once they do enter those zones is a topic just now being broached by regulatory bodies, according to Teresa Andrews, education and outreach specialist with the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety at the University of California, Davis.
Cal Fire opens investigation into private firefighting activities in Glass Fire [San Francisco Chronicle]
Cal Fire has opened an investigation into allegations that private firefighters set illegal backfires to protect properties threatened by the Glass Fire, a spokesman said Wednesday evening. … Cal Fire would not disclose where in Wine Country the private firefighters were apprehended, but confirmed that the incident occurred over the weekend as red flag conditions whipped up flames across Napa and Sonoma counties. Private firefighters may remove flammable objects or carry out preventive measures, but are not authorized to use fire, said Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Cal-Fire-opens-investigation-into-private-15629838.php
U.S. warns food costs may double with farm-to-fork push [Bloomberg]
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue warned that the European Union’s “Farm to Fork” environmental initiative will stoke trade tensions as European producers face higher costs and seek protectionist measures. Perdue said in a conference call Tuesday with European and U.S. reporters that world food prices would double if the initiative were followed globally. … The EU is seeking to reduce the environmental footprint of its farming and food production industry as part of its ambitious Green Deal agenda to make the bloc climate-neutral by the middle of the century.
Six chicken-industry officials are indicted in price-fixing probe [Wall Street Journal]
Six current and former chicken-industry executives were indicted on price-fixing charges, expanding the U.S. government’s antitrust prosecutions in the $65 billion poultry industry. The charges, made public Wednesday, target executives from several different chicken companies, including Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., and provide new details about the alleged conspiracy. Prosecutors said the price-fixing took place from 2012 into early 2019, a longer period than the Justice Department previously had alleged.
Santa Barbara County Planning Commission denies Solvang area greenhouse project [Santa Maria Times]
A greenhouse for growing vegetables on agricultural land adjacent to Solvang city limits was denied Wednesday when the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission unanimously determined it was incompatible with the neighborhood. … Commissioners made the decision virtually without comment because when they discussed the project in August, they determined it would not fit with residential development on surrounding agriculturally zoned lands.
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