Niagara River / Barry Boyer

• "Before we cede the entire moral penthouse to 'committed vegetarians' and 'strong ethical vegans,' we might consider that plants no more aspire to being stir-fried in a wok than a hog aspires to being peppercorn-studded in my Christmas clay pot," writes Natalie Angier in a New York Times Op-Ed. 

• The federal government is encouraging farmers to spread waste from coal power plants that contains mercury, arsenic, lead and other heavy metals on their fields, the Associated Press reports.

• Farm-raised shrimp has changed pretty drastically in the recent years, writes Barry Estabrook at Politics of the Plate. Whereas it was once one of the more environmentally harmful forms of aquaculture, it appears that the industry is now cleaning up its act and causing less water pollution.

• "Can learning to cook save the planet?" asks Solve Climate blogger Leslie Berliant, who committed to 365 days of scratch cooking after reading Michael Pollan's piece on "Julie & Julia."

• The EPA announced on Tuesday that pesticide manufacturers will be required to disclose to the public the inert ingredients in their products, according to Environmental Health News.

• This is good to see: USDA announced a new Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Payment Program, which will authorize $290 million in aid for struggling dairy farmers.