What I read today - Dec 12

• Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House, The Washington Post
• Trump team's 'intrusive' memo alarms federal climate scientists, The Christian Science Monitor
• The Eighties Called; They Got Their Foreign Policy Back, The National Review
• Is Precision Agriculture the Way to Peak Cropland?, The Breakthrough Insitute
  Series recommended by Joe Wood. While I understand the premise that feeding the world is an incredibly daunting task and we ought to use more tech to get higher yields, I'm not sure what putting the entire world on corn, soybeans, rice, and wheat will do to our diet. It's promoting industrial processing rather than a balanced diet. The article also doesn't seem sensitive to cultural differences. Rice is a staple crop in many countries, but is corn? It also puts the power of food in a few companies hands rather than local economies. Also to note is the price implications for small farmers to purchase technologically advanced machinery. No longer are farmers able to fix the machines themselves as it's proprietary and must get fixed by license repair men, but tech becomes outdated fast! There's also a lack of biodiversity in industrial ag and local ecological knowledge. I'm interested in opposing ideas and reading the series but have my questions.
• ‘Pesticide powerhouses’ and the future of farming, Sustainable food Trust
• No Wonder the Standing Rock Sioux Opposed the Pipeline, The national Review
• What Women Really Think of Men, NY Times
• Recipes for Comfort & Joy: The Healing Powers of Conifers, Gather Victoria