Corporate Farmers International: Water quality in agriculture

Thursday, 10 March 2016

Water quality in agriculture

Setting agricultural water quality standards is easy, but implementing those standards is a much less trivial endeavor. In a time when the quality of drinking water is under high scrutiny, many individuals not working in the agricultural sector take irrigation water quality for granted. It is important that food producers and manufacturers use clean water, but the smaller the farm, the more difficult water testing and treatment can become. We explore the scientific, economic, and policy challenges associated with setting and implementing water quality standards in agriculture in the latest episode of "The Forum: Where science comes to socialize," the official podcast of the Institute on Science for Global Policy. This episode, titled Ep. 12: "Something in the Water" can be accessed directly at the following link, and should be of interest to agriculturalists, food scientists, policy makers, and members of the food industry, among others: www.soundcloud.com/isgps-the-forum/episode-12.

ISGP's "The Forum" is a free audio podcast discussing a variety of science-and-society topics ranging from food safety and infectious disease to climate change and synthetic biology. Each 15-25 minute episode summarizes expert opinions on a designated science policy topic debated at a past ISGP conference. The podcasts feature informal conversations between three co-hosts who explain the science and then elucidate associated opportunities, challenges, and policy issues, making "The Forum" an ideal source of information for individuals of all backgrounds and levels of scientific expertise. "The Forum" is currently celebrating four months of educating listeners on these important science-and-society topics, during which time it has gained an audience in 40 countries spanning six continents. New episodes of the podcast are released every-other Monday at 10:00 AM ET on our SoundCloud channel (www.soundcloud.com/isgps-the-forum) and can also be downloaded for free on iTunes.

If you enjoy Episode 12 on water quality standards in agriculture, be sure to check out the following episodes of "The Forum," as well:

Episode 1: Children of the Corn - The future generation of farmers
Episode 3: Subsidize Me - Water and energy subsidies in the wake of the California drought
Episode 5: Genetic Modification Deliberation - Merits and drawbacks of GM use to combat plant disease
Episode 6: #TrustIssues - Economically motivated adulteration of food (i.e., food fraud)
Episode 9: The GMO Show - Potential for GMO technology to address food insecurity