The Stream, May 18: Toxic Food

Cadmium in rice, melamine in milk, arsenic in soy sauce, bleach in mushrooms, and the detergent borax in pork. China’s food industry has recently become synonymous with contamination, bad farming practices and overuse of agricultural chemicals. The Guardian‘s Jonathan Watts reports on China’s latest food scandal, after fields of watermelons in the eastern part of the country exploded following farmers’ use of a growth accelerator.

A 4,050-hectare golf club is sprawling in the midst of one of China’s most famous karst landscapes, China Daily reports. Read more about the water challenges in Yunnan’s karst areas on Circle of Blue.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has fined Chesapeake Energy Corp. $1.1 million for violations related to natural gas drilling, The Inquirer reports.

This spring’s prolonged dry spell in much of Europe will continue until at least June, according to the Global Precipitation Climatology Center. Parts of central Europe saw less than 40 percent of their long-term average rainfall from February to April, and weather watchers forecast little relief in May. The drought also threatens to put pressure on Europe’s energy markets, Reuters reports.

Though it’s currently enduring a severe drought, China’s Hubei Province is generally prone to floods, prompting concerns that the construction of China’s first inland nuclear power station might be postponed for further flood risk evaluation.

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