The titans are clashing in the realm of beef and environmentalism. JBS, the world’s largest meat processing company, has been called out by environmental giant Greenpeace. The battle lines in this fight lie in the Amazon rainforest, or in the accuracy of the claims, depending on who’s doing the talking.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the national average for both regular gas and on-highway diesel are down from week-to-week and year-to-year levels. This downtrend could be a litmus test for slowing domestic and global economic growth and reduced consumer confidence.

It seems the effort to legislate agriculture pleases no one. Non-ag consumers see a war of two equally oversimplified and unrealistic media characters. Ag producers see government attack on their freedom to conduct business as they see fit. Even animal rights groups are seeing red as they are entertainingly at each others’ throats for once.

New developments have arisen in the ongoing investigation into MF Global’s collapse. Among them, MF Global trustee James Giddens released his investigative report, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken some action, and some...

USDA released its midyear Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade report at the end of May. The report upped export expectations for the 2012 fiscal year (FY12) by $3.5 billion relative to the earlier February forecast. Even at $134.5 billion, this year’s projected exports are $2.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has been in the news lately for its videos. But some less-publicized activities should raise some interested eyebrows. Recently announced additions to the HSUS board of directors include a marketing vice president of HBO and a beauty product CEO with a marketing background.

At its 80th General Session, OIE adopted new welfare standards for livestock production systems. The new standards were approved by OIE’s 178 members, other than South Africa, and address welfare measurements, nutrition and housing details.

This month’s USDA cattle on feed report defied projections for a bullish result. Pre-report estimates placed the cattle on feed on May 1 at 100.5 percent of last year’s numbers, placements at 88.5 percent, and marketings at 98.5 percent. Actual reported numbers for cattle on feed and placements were below estimates, and marketings exceeded expectations.

The report also showed most issues modern food production practices face from consumers stem from a lack of knowledge rather than active negative opinions. This suggests ample room for improvement in communication between consumers and those involved with food production.

The face of human hunger sparks strong emotions. Often they are negative— sometimes despair at the state of our fellow man, other times rage strong enough to topple governments—but at the recent G8 Summit on African food security, there was only enthusiasm and passion.