Published on October 14th, 2009
The US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, announced last month plans to use an additional $30 million dollars to purchase pork in 2009 for federal food and nutrition assistance programs.
This announcement comes as the USDA has already spent some $151 million of Recovery Act (widely known as the “stimulus”) money to purchase pork products. To me there’s always a bit of irony when pork barrel money is spent to purchase actual pork, as is the case here. You can read the USDA Press Release here.
There’s theoretically nothing wrong with using taxpayer money to support pork producers who are struggling with a glut of supply and lagging demand, as well as slower sales due to the economic conditions in the US. But since a majority of pork producers in the US are huge CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations), essentially your tax money is being used to bail out pork producers who are having a slow year.
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Published on October 1st, 2009
[Sugar Beet Field. Creative Commons photo by Gilles San Martin]
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the USDA illegally approved Monsanto’s genetically modified, Roudup Ready beets.
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Published on September 28th, 2009
General Mills and Kellogg’s want to sell sugary processed foods like Froot Loops and Lucky Charms to your kids. This isn’t anything new. But under the guise of the new “Smart Choices” Program, large food corporations want to proudly label sugary, highly processed foods as good nutritional food options.
The program was recently created by a conglomerate of conglomerates, including ConAgra Foods, Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, Pepsico, Tyson Foods, and Unilever. The participating companies list all their products that “meet a comprehensive set of nutrition criteria based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other sources of nutrition science and authoritative dietary guidance”. You can review the Smart Choices website for yourself.
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Published on September 18th, 2009
A visionary, inspiring image: “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.”
No, this isn’t some crunchy, organic non-profit’s local food campaign or a new Slow Food slogan. This message comes to us fresh from our United States Department of Agriculture. “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” is a national effort collectively launching this week, designed to build vibrant local and regional food systems that provide healthful food and build the economic base of rural communities. It showcases the importance of the connection between us and our food sources and includes $65 million in new funding initiatives.
The fact that this message comes from the USDA represents the fresh crop of vision under the Obama Administration. Thanks to the efforts of USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, there’s a new ingredient at the USDA that has the potential to cook up something big: leadership. Harvesting inspiration from back in 1862 when Abraham Lincoln established the USDA as the “People’s Department,” this week’s collective efforts takes a transforming perspective on the relationship between our food and us: personal responsibility. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on August 27th, 2009
Egypt has been enforcing some stringent food quality standards, and now they’re talking about banning all imports and exports of genetically modified foods (GMOs).
[Cairo. Creative Commons photo by Andrew A. Shenouda]
Over the summer, Egyptian officials rejected several import shipments of wheat, saying they were unfit for human consumption. Since then, the parliament has been pushing for stricter food standards. It looks like they got their wish.
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Published on August 20th, 2009
There is new evidence that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may be a culprit in what is known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), or the disappearance of honeybees.
Colony Collapse Disorder has killed off more than one-third of the bees in the United States.
Beekeepers know that when there isn’t nectar readily available to their hives, as in the winter months, some turn to supplements. Traditionally it was (guess what) honey. But that’s what you want to harvest, so many turn to cheaper substitutions. Cane or beet sugar, mixed with water, was seen as acceptable as long as you removed the part of the comb containing the sugar once bees started producing again. It was important to keep the bees fed so they’d keep brooding and ready to produce honey.
Except it hasn’t only been the occasional sugar-water substitution. We’ve substituted the substitute. People have also turned to high fructose corn syrup.
And once again, it seems our need for convenience and affordability has cost us: a new study shows that a contaminant from heat-exposed HFCS may be killing off the bees.
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Tags:
beekeeping,
beet sugar,
cane sugar,
CCD,
colony collapse disorder,
Corn Refiners Association,
HFCS,
high fructose corn syrup,
HMF,
honey,
natural sugar,
pesticides,
sucrose
Published on July 27th, 2009
This fall, Congress begins reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which dictates the National School Lunch Program in the U.S. Even before food prices started to rise, a USDA study found that the program covered only 82% of the cost of school lunches, which are full of processed foods. Meanwhile, vending machines packed with sugary sodas and junk food are becoming the norm in school cafeterias. This is in stark contrast to other countries’ school lunch programs, such as in Japan where school lunch is part of an education program emphasizing healthy eating. Now is the time to get heard if we want schools to serve our kids real food and Slow Food USA is planning a National Day of Action to do just that!
Slow Food USA is a group working to change food policy and attitudes in the U.S. Their mission is:
…to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system. We reconnect Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce our food. We seek to inspire a transformation in food policy, production practices and market forces so that they ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat.
Chapters across the country organize events where folks can learn about the Slow Food Movement.
On September 7th, slow food groups around the country are planning eat ins to send a message to Congress: it’s time to get the junk food out of our schools and fund real, healthy school lunches. Slow Food USA president Josh Viertel explains the campaign: Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 25th, 2009
Whole Foods Market made a big step in food retail this month. The corporate giant that dominates the healthfood market is leading their customers away from GMOs. The company joined the Non-GMO Project’s Product Verification Program this month. The Non-GMO Project is a consortium of people, businesses, and organizations who are committed to cutting GMO’s out of our food stream. This non-profit organization has now established the first scientifically-based, third-party system in North America for identifying if a product is GMO-free — the Product Verification Program.
The fairly new Product Verification Program is what Whole Foods has been searching since GMOs came to the US, the company says.
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Tags:
Eden Foods,
GMOs,
Good Earth Natural Foods,
labeling,
Lundberg Family Farms,
Nature’s Path Organic,
Non-GMO Project,
organic valley,
Product Verification Program,
The Big Carrot Natural Food Market,
The Natural Grocery Company,
whole foods market
Published on July 9th, 2009
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently made waves in sustainable city news with the new mandatory recycling and composting initiative and yesterday proclaimed San Francisco as the epicenter of electric vehicle technology in the latest installment of what might be called the ’sustainability wars’ between San Francisco and Portland.
Continuing in that vein, Mayor Newsom yesterday issued an Executive Directive outlining San Francisco’s first comprehensive regional food policy. The press release reads:
“The stark reality is that hunger, food insecurity, and poor nutrition are pressing health issues, even in a city as rich and vibrant as San Francisco,” said Mayor Newsom. “From the alleviation of hunger, to the need to support local and sustainable agricultural practices, these recommendations form a comprehensive and strategic approach to addressing pressing needs in all sectors of the food system.”
In making the announcement, Newsom was joined by California Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura, representatives of the United State Department of Agriculture, Bay Area farmers, and members of local food advocacy groups such as Roots of Change at West Oakland Woods Farm, one of the several community urban gardens run by City Slicker Farms. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 1st, 2009
A 20-year rule regulating the shape of produce is now being lifted in the European Union. Now, shoppers can find the hilarity in two-legged carrots and twisty cucumbers.
36 vegetables now have the freedom to be ugly, reports the Times Online:
The intention is to lower the price of fresh food and to cut red tape for growers and importers.
Retailers estimate that prices for misshapen and blemished produce will be about 40 per cent lower.
Now, even in a recession, no one has an excuse to refuse when asked to “Eat your vegetables!”
However, some produce must still adhere to strict rules.
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