AUSTRALIAN farmers face a bleak future after being warned they will be stripped of water for environmental needs.

Laurie Arthur, who sits on the National Water Commission and chairs the National Farmers Federation water taskforce, laid down a harsh assessment yesterday at a conference on regional water policy of what the country’s growers could expect.

In a report in The Australian, he told farmers to re-assess their own situation and said the “appetite for government to go and rescue irrigators is not there.”

Farmers have faced troubled times in recent years with the drought and water restrictions making it tougher for their crops to survive.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reports new labels listing the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods, from whole wheat pasta to fast food burgers, are appearing on some grocery items and restaurant menus.