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BioMass Energy
Biomass is organic plant and animal waste that can be used as a source of energy. Taking a relatively small amount of time to produce, rather than million of years for the formation of fossil fuels, biomass is a renewable energy source, the only renewable energy source that can be turned in liquid biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel fuel. -
First Piglets Cloned
Dolly the Sheep, the most well-known animal cloned from an adult cell, lived for only six years, half that of the life span of a normal sheep. Of thirteen cloned sheep, none, including those that have been from the same cell line as Dolly, experienced any long-term health effects from cloning. -
China Joins The WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO), created in 1995, is the only international organization that governs the rules of trade. It grew from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which began after WWII in 1948. -
Google Earth
Purchased by Google in 2004, Google Earth advanced a booming public interest in geospacial technology. Initially created as Keyhole Earth Viewer by Keyhole, Inc., founded in 2001, the program was designed to aid in urban planning, defense, and intelligence. However, Google changed its focus to exploration, providing 3D imagery of cities and landscapes around the world, as well as 3D models of planets within the solar system. -
World Food Price Crisis
In a study conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute in 2010, major factors of the global food crisis of 2007-08 included: increased demand for biofuels, which drove up the price of corn and soybeans; higher oil prices; poor weather that decreased wheat production in Ukraine, Australia, and Argentina; bans on various exports and panic buying, especially for rice exports which experienced global price increases from $350 to $1,000; and the falling value of the US dollar. -
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act
$288 billion five-year agricultural policy that was a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill. Specifically, the bill increased food assistance benefits (SNAP), increased funding for cellulosic ethanol (ethanol produced from cellulose, the stringy fiber of the plant, rather than the fruit or seeds), and support for pest and disease research, along with other agricultural problems. -
USDA Programs and Policies
In February 2009, Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, launched The People's Garden initiative on the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, who created the Department in 1862. The purpose of The People's Garden was to help USDA employees create community gardens and encourage sustainable practices that benefit the environment. As of 2017, over 1,200 People's Gardens were in existence, providing educational resources and giving people the opportunity to grow their own food. -
Impacts on Energy
President Barack Obama announced initiatives to boost advanced biofuel production, which included five research centers, the installation of 10k fuel pumps with access to ethanol fuel blends, the increase of biofuel use in USDA's fleet, and the resumption of USDA's Biomass Crop Assistance program. -
Safer Foot And Mouth Disease Vaccine
Researchers at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Orient Point, NY, developed a safer vaccine to help combat Foot-and-Mouth Disease in animals. Elizabeth Rieder, a microbiologist, and her colleagues used a DNA sequence that altered the FMD virus so they could study how it grows and interacts with host animals. Instead of using a virulent virus, the research team discovered how to create a weakened virus that does not cause disease, which is much safer than the traditional vaccine methods. -
Genetically Modified Food
During this era, new genetically modified organisms (GMOs) including apples and potatoes were introduced in the United States. According to the American Farm Bureau, in 2016, "Globally, 18 million farmers grow biotech crops; 90 percent of them on small, resource-poor farms in developing countries." -
USDA Strategic Goals
The USDA Strategic Goals lays out seven goals to be accomplished by the USDA from fiscal years 2018-2022. The USDA explains, “Our strategic goals outline key priorities and strategies, and objectives to achieve them. Over the next four years, we will continue to provide the best possible service to our customers-the farmers, ranchers, foresters, and producers of American agriculture and ‘do right and feed everyone. -
The Green New Deal
The Green New Deal (GND) is a set of proposed programs that have set the goals of cutting emissions, promoting renewable power, and supporting more sustainable food systems so that everyone has access to healthy food and clean water. This resolution--House Resolution 109 Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal, was released by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey on February 7, 2019.
