Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

China is by far the world's biggest importer of soy, but the EU's soy market isn't trivial. How do you think they're feeding the tens of millions of chickens on all of those new factory farms spreading like a cancer across the Polish countryside? Soy from Brazil.

2 2 8

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

One thing I didn't have space to mention here in any detail but that's also an important part of the story is the EU. The EU, for all their talk of terroir and etc. is a factory farming powerhouse and they import 90+% of their soy because of both land concerns and the GMO ban (most feed soy is GMO).

3 1 15

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

Is it because reporters writing these stories don't know? Maybe sometimes. Other times not. And in those cases? Don't want readers to feel squeamish? Don't want to make farmers look bad because of who they sell to? But surely the public should be made aware of the basics of ag in stories about ag.

4

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

Consider these sources all failing to draw the link between soy, animal feed, and factory farms. All it takes is one sentence, maybe even one clause.
www.economist.com/united-state...
www.foxbusiness.com/economy/amer...
abcnews.go.com/Politics/soy...

2 5

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

Most people don't know much about ag commodity chains. That why, for instance, stories about the Colorado River's low levels need to mention that most water goes to animal feed like alfalfa. That's also why if you're talking about the global soy trade, you need to mention factory farms.

1 3 12

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

deleted for good measure after checking internet archive.

1

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote this article because so much media coverage of the soy trade drama focuses on farmers and not the political economy of ag. If a story covers rare earth it will explain its uses. Why is the same not standard for soy or alfalfa? Need to make the connection for readers.
bsky.app/profile/jand...

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 2d

"How much soy we produce shouldn’t be a barometer for how well our agriculture sector is doing, but for how unsustainable it is."

I wrote for @newrepublic.com that the trade war with China shows we grow too many crops to feed not people but factory-farmed animals.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Trump’s Tariffs Should Force a Reckoning With America’s Soy Industry

The industry became the world’s second largest not because of human demand for soy, but to feed China’s pigs.

newrepublic.com

1 10 19

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

Deleted post using a Guardian article as an example because either they updated it or I made an honest but dumb reading mistake.

5

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

No. And I'm not in the business of talking trash about The Guardian, so either they updated it or I made an honest but dumb mistake. Might delete thread.

1

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

too many soystats on the brain.

1

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

as the lord (as it were) is my witness that wasn't there when i read - i even did a ctrl+f for pigs and chickens and livestock when deciding to use this as my example. and in any case, see my tweet about this from a few days ago - i can post way more stories.

2 2

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

yeah or soy sauce or whatever. or they simply don't put the pieces together at all.

1 1

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

Virtually every piece on rare earth clearly explains its uses; pieces on softwood lumber disputes explain impact on things like housing costs. Why is the same basic practice not applied to soy/alfalfa/etc.? Why are we so scared of naming animal ag as central to the global political economy of ag?

3

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 1d

I don't want to throw The Guardian under the bus - they are quite good on ag and enviro issues - but this is exemplary of coverage of food/ag/commodities that misses basic things like drivers of demand. If you write that "China isn't buying x," you need to explain why they want x in the first place.

1 1 7

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you

1

Reposted by Jan Dutkiewicz

spencer roberts 🦈 @unpopularscience.bsky.social · 4d

I wrote about why slugs are better than clankers. 🦑🧪

Current Affairs @currentaffairs.bsky.social · 4d

5 11 86

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 2d

the article doesn't mention cattle once. and yes, there are too many soy beans. if everyone in the world was vegan, replacing meat with soy, there would be less total soy used because of animals' poor conversion ratios. this is a pointless interaction.

1 3

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 2d

read the article. there's a whole paragraph on human uses and feed conversion ratio. soy is overproduced because primary demand comes from animal ag. that's a basic fact.

1 3

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 2d

read the article.

1

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 2d

good catch. will flag.

1

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 2d

"How much soy we produce shouldn’t be a barometer for how well our agriculture sector is doing, but for how unsustainable it is."

I wrote for @newrepublic.com that the trade war with China shows we grow too many crops to feed not people but factory-farmed animals.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Trump’s Tariffs Should Force a Reckoning With America’s Soy Industry

The industry became the world’s second largest not because of human demand for soy, but to feed China’s pigs.

newrepublic.com

4 35 120

Reposted by Jan Dutkiewicz

T&E @transportenvironment.org · 4d

NEW: Biofuels globally emit more than the fossil fuels they replace, our latest study shows.

The first-of-a-kind study looks at global biofuels production today and the potential impacts of government biofuel targets.
🧵⤵️

10 240 430

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 3d

in a world of memes, the shameless moron is king.

4

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 3d

just gonna leave this here.
newrepublic.com/article/1717...

Why Right-Wingers Are So Afraid of Men Eating Vegetables

The meat culture war may seem goofy. It’s deadly serious.

newrepublic.com

1 2 7

Jan Dutkiewicz @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social · 3d

politics is the internet. here's a rassemblement national politician talking about vegans eating bugs - a trope that has gone from the darkest reaches of the internet to right-wing provocateurs to the campaigns of far right parties to interviews on france's most-watched TV channel.

Marine Tondelier @marinetondelier.fr · 3d

Sur BFM, Sébastien Chenu bafouille que les "écolos vegans complètement tarés mangent des moustiques" 😂

Ce monsieur est vice-président de l'Assemblée nationale grâce aux macronistes et LR.

Et il prétend gouverner la France !

Vous imaginez le carnage ?

1 3 6