European ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros has opened an investigation into whether the European commission has taken 'appropriate' measures to combat increased bee mortality in the EU.

It follows a complaint from the Austrian Ombudsman Board, alleging that the commission has failed to take into account new scientific evidence arguing in favour of restricting the use of insecticides.

There is concern because it is claimed that increased bee mortality is potentially linked to certain insecticides.

The ombudsman has asked the executive to submit an opinion by 30 June.

MEP reaction to the decision by the Strasbourg-based ombudsman was swift.

In a country where pork is a culinary staple, the demand for a protein-rich diet is growing faster than Chinese farmers can keep up. While Americans cut back on meat consumption to the lowest levels seen in two decades, the Chinese now eat nearly 10 percent more meat than they did five years ago.

China's solution: to super-size its supply by snapping up millions of live animals raised by U.S. farmers as breeding stock - capitalizing on decades of cutting edge agricultural research in America.

By taking this step, say breeders and exporters, China will move from small-scale backyard farms, to the Westernized tradition of large consolidated operations to keep up with demand.

Severe outbreaks of new, invasive pests triggered by rising temperatures could threaten Southeast Asia's multi-billion dollar cassava industry, as well as the livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of small farmers that rely on the crop for income, according to research from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

"Warmer conditions and longer dry seasons linked to climate change could prove to be the perfect catalyst for outbreaks of pests and diseases. They are already formidable enemies affecting food crops," said Pramod K. Aggarwal, regional program leader for Asia at the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Preparations have begun to relocate about 20,000 residents from the vicinity of China's massive Three Gorges Dam because their homes are at risk from "constant landslides," authorities in Central China's Hubei province said.

The residents account for one-fifth of the population in Dongba county in Hubei, said Zhao Wenxing from the county's relocation headquarters, state-run news agency Xinhua reports.

That follows an announcement this week that 100,000 people may have to be relocated over the next three to five years due to the threat of natural disasters near the dam on the Yangtze River.

From time to time a book merits its title. Published in 2010, Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind may just be the No. 1 book on the No. 2 business. In it, Gene Logsdon manages to be both funny and educational as he advocates for overcoming our aversion to excrement for the sake of healthy soil.

According to Logsdon, we need manure and lots of it. He contends we should follow our nose for practical and elegant solutions to improving soil fertility, and turn waste into compost fit for crops and gardens.

We spoke to Logsdon recently to get the straight poop.

Q. You've had a long career in journalism. What inspired you to write a book on manure?

CAJAMARCA, Peru, April 20, 2012 (ENS) - Thousands of Peruvians protesting in the streets of Cajamarca against a proposed gold and copper mine say they will contine their demonstrations every day until the government rejects the development. They fear the surface open pit mine would pollute their water supplies and destroy the region's environment.

The object of their anger is the Conga Project, located north of the Peruvian Andes 73 km (45 miles) northeast of the city of Cajamarca, at elevations ranging from 3,700 to 4,260 meters (12,140 to 13,980 feet). The mine would straddle two provinces, Cajamarca and Celendin.

The project is proposed by Minera Yanacocha, which already has a giant open pit mine in the area that has polluted water supplies with mercury, among other toxics.

Minera Yanacocha is a joint venture of three partners: Compañía de Minas Buenaventura of Peru, Newmont Mining Corp. of Denver, Colorado and the International Finance Corporation.

It isn't just ourselves or our pets that have been getting bigger over the past couple of decades. Turns out, our beef cows have become gigantic too. How big? According to an excellent article by Melody Petersen in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "the average weight of a fattened steer sold to a packing plant is now roughly 1,300 pounds--up from 1,000 pounds in 1975."

That's a hefty 30 percent gain. What gives? According to Peterson, the main reason is pharmaceutical: heavy use of antibiotics, hormones, and other growth-enhancing drugs. Peterson untangles the web that connects pharmaceutical giants like Merck to professors at big public land-grant universities, who not only act as paid researchers to develop new products but also as shills who appeal directly to cattle feedlot operators.