"The Globalization of Hunger" -- Madre

OOPS! "Toxins in transgenic crop byproducts may affect headwater stream ecosystems." -- National Academy of Sciences

"... animal welfare groups hope to change the way the hens live and lay. The groups are collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to give the hens more room to roam. The measure would force farmers to change current practices that keep most egg-laying hens, veal calves and pregnant pigs in small cages or boxes for most of their lives. It would require that enclosures be big enough for the animals to fully extend their wings or legs, lie down, stand up and turn around." -- Business Week

"But do food miles -- the distance edibles travel from farm to plate -- give an accurate gauge of environmental impact, especially where greenhouse gas emissions are concerned?" -- Reuters via ENN

"Many health advocates were surprised earlier this month when a children’s health coalition that includes federal agencies and professional medical associations contradicted government warnings about mercury contamination and recommended that women of childbearing age eat more fish. Since then several coalition members have renounced the findings, some criticizing the coalition’s leadership for taking thousands of dollars from the fishing industry to promote the recommendations." -- NYTimes

"Ethanol’s Boom Stalling as Glut Depresses Price" -- NYTimes

"Corporations are rushing to meet the demand for food products that meet social and environmental standards." -- NYTimes

"The Blessings of Dirty Work" -- Barbara Kingsolver, Washington Post

"... an unimpeachably neutral group has joined the ranks of those who prefer organic foods over foods produced with the help of synthetic chemicals. That group is 40 Swiss rats." - Harold McGee, NYTimes

"Help Wanted: Young Farmers" -- Edible Nation

"A PB&J will slow global warming. Next time you have one you'll reduce your carbon footprint by saving the equivalent of 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over an average animal-based lunch like a hamburger, a tuna sandwich, grilled cheese, or chicken nuggets." -- The PBJ Campaign

"Can vegetarianism prevent bird flu?" -- Worldwatch Institute

"The trouble with factory farms is that they are raising more than pigs. They are raising drug-resistant bugs as well." -- NYTimes

"Despite the fact that, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, at least one breed of livestock has become extinct every month for the last seven years, most burger-eating, milk-drinking consumers in the U.S. and Europe haven’t taken notice." -- WorldWatch via ENN News

"Common food additives and colorings can increase hyperactive behavior in a broad range of children, a study being released today found." -- NYTimes

"Farmers today can grow two to three times as much grain, fruit, and vegetables on a plot of land as they could 50 years ago, but the nutritional quality of many crops has declined." -- Worldwatch Institute

"Activists continue to apply increased pressure on antibiotic use in food-producing animals, and activists’ messages are being more than heard." -- The Fish Site

The Farm Bill Food Battle

"Farm Bill Provision Will Put Consumers and Food Workers at Risk Provision Will Compromise Food Safety by Allowing States to Forgo Federal Meat and Poultry Inspections." --dBusiness News

"Biofuel experts are already looking beyond grains for cheaper feedstocks such as straw or corn stover. But there is a price to be paid when you remove biomass that normally goes back to the soil." -- New Farm

" ... only 3.5 cents of every dollar goes to the farmer when food is purchased at the grocery store, according to the Sustain AgriFood Network [pdf] versus the 80 to 90 cents on the dollar that goes to the farmer when food is purchased at a farmer's market."

"Raising poultry the new-old way." It's more work than you think! -- SF Chronicle

"Eating Local Isn’t Always the Greenest Option" -- The Texas Observer

"Sometimes buying local food helps in the battle against climate change. Sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes, it's just too confusing to decide." -- Boston Globe

"Prices for key foods are rising sharply." -- McClatchy

"Short on Labor, Farmers in U.S. Shift to Mexico" - NYTimes

"China to use more non-grain biofuels to replace oil" -- Reuters via ENN

"Bush Friends Stall COOL (country of origin labeling) For 5 Years" -- The Poultry Site

"New Report Reveals How Pending Trade Agreements Will Worsen Imported Food Safety Problem by Increasing Food Imports While Replicating Limits on U.S. Food Safety Policy From Past Trade Deals" -- The Pig Site

"Why imported produce may be better for the earth than local." -- NYTimes
"The recent New York Times op-ed suggesting that local food isn’t the be-all and end-all of sustainability generated quite a bit of discussion around the Worldwatch office. Many of us who are committed to eating local food agreed with the author, James McWilliams—himself an admitted locavore—on many points." -- WorldWatch Institute

"Local food networks reflect progress and potential." -- New Farm/Rodale Institute

"America's top pork producer churns out a sea of waste that has destroyed rivers, killed millions of fish and generated one of the largest fines in EPA history. Welcome to the dark side of the other white meat." -- Rolling Stone

"One day, we may be using cellulosic ethanol, the kind derived from grasses. For now, the ethanol boom is all about corn. And the real question is whether that will finally kill American farming as we know it." -- NYTimes

"Skyrocketing farmland prices are stirring optimism, but for young and small-scale farmers, the news is grim." -- NYTimes

"Huge farm bill offers more of same for agribusiness. Draft before House fails to limit big crop subsidies." -- SF Chronicle

"Faced with fierce opposition from the House Agriculture Committee, Ms. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders lowered their sights and are now backing the committee’s bill, in part to protect freshman lawmakers from rural areas who may be vulnerable in the 2008 elections." -- NYTimes

"Microwaves may be to blame for kick-starting the obesity epidemic, a UK scientist suggests. " -- BBC

"The U.S. government has shortchanged minority farmers, providing them with a fraction of the aid given to their white counterparts, Oxfam said in a report on Thursday, as the aid and advocacy group pushed Congress to craft legislation reversing decades of exclusion." -- Reuters

"Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming in developing countries, and holds its own against standard methods in rich countries." -- Organic Consumers Association

"38 Non-Organic Ingredients Found In ‘USDA Organic’ Foods: What They Are, How They’re Used, And Why They Made The List" ALSO -- perhaps more interesting and surprising -- who is petitioning! -- The Daily Green

"Farm bill should focus on healthful foods" -- By Alice Waters -- Special to The Sacramento Bee

"Shoppers are in the dark about where much of their food comes from despite a five-year-old law requiring meat and other products to carry labels with their country of origin ... The Agriculture Department never put in place the labeling requirement because then-majority Republicans repeatedly delayed it, most recently to 2008." -- AP via SacBee

"A kilogram of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home." -- New Scientist

" ... despite lots of good intentions (and almost as much advertising), the push for sustainability in Southern California restaurants is still taking its baby steps." -- LATimes

"Indiana study shows correlation between ag chemicals and fetal impacts, from pre-term births to children's school performance." -- New Farm

"Global Climate Change: Can Agriculture Cope?" -- CGIAR

"For reasons that we don't understand, the prevalence of food allergies has doubled in the last 15 years." -- Washington Post

"Solar ovens utilize nature's rays for energy-efficient, everyday cooking -- even in foggy San Francisco" -- SF Chronicle

"The Two Americas of Food: Reflections on the 2007 Farm Bill" -- Anna Lappé on The Huffington Post

"Urban Farming: Why It’s Not an Oxymoron" -- Growers & Grocers

"Genetically modified food sold in the U.S. is not currently required to sport GMO labels. Which means that most Americans are eating GM food, without knowing it, every day." -- Culinate

"The numbers are in, and as predicted back during spring's corn-planting frenzy, it seems that the ethanol boom has been a boon for genetically engineered corn. " -- Chewise

Why the *@#* do we care that someone can eat 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes?

"Faux Food: Is It Still Cheese?" (I say, NO.) -- Eating Well

"The Dark Side of Soy: Is America's favorite health food making us sick?" -- Utne Reader

"Nutrition education fails test: Dozens of studies show federal programs don't influence kids' food choices." -- AP via Monterey Herald

"How is it, then, that this pink, gelatinous throwback to the 1930s (SPAM) has sold more than 6 billion cans — and is still selling strongly in the United States and abroad? Who is still eating this canned good that detractors have dubbed "Something Posing As Meat" or "Special Parts After Mutilation"? -- NPR

"In every American supermarket, labels tell shoppers where their seafood came from. But there are no such labels for meat, produce or nuts." -- NYTimes

"Every five years the farm bill comes up for renewal and, usually, the only people paying attention are the farmers, their lobbyists and a few outraged groups who think subsidies are a big waste of taxpayers’ money. This year is different." -- NYTimes

"If Rules Change, Will Camembert Stay the Same?" -- NYTimes

"Did you know that genetically modified, or 'transgenic' crops are now commonplace on North American farms?" -- David Suzuki

"America's rice farmers didn't want to grow a genetically engineered crop. Their customers in Europe did not want to buy it. So how did it end up in our food?" -- Fortune

"In addition to falling grain supplies, global fisheries are faltering.  Reports in respected journals Science and Nature state that 1/3 of ocean fisheries are in collapse, 2/3 will be in collapse by 2025, and our ocean fisheries may be virtually gone by 2048.  Aquatic food systems are collapsing, and terrestrial food systems are under tremendous stress." -- RCE Saskatchewan

"A new breed of genetically modifed crops could provide cheap drugs and vaccines for the developing world. Only one problem: what if they get into the food chain?" -- The Guardian

"Pumped-Up Poultry Not ‘Natural,’ Says CSPI" -- The Poultry Site

"Picking out a chicken at the supermarket is a guessing game, according to the professionals at Cook’s Illustrated. The terms fresh, organic, free-range, all natural and lean rarely indicate good flavor or texture, or good price. Instead, they’re just confusing." -- Cooks Illustrated via The Poultry Site

"With corn prices up, pigs switch to fatty snacks" -- The Charleston Gazette

"Germans will have to dig deeper in their pockets to enjoy their beloved beer in the next few months as barley is increasingly displaced in the country's fields by heavily subsidized crops used for biofuels." -- Deutsche Welle

"The latest battle over what can be called organic involves beer and gelatin, food colorings and casings for sausage. The Department of Agriculture, the final arbiter of all things organic, is poised to approve a list of nonorganic ingredients that can be used in food stamped with its green-and-white organic seal." -- NYTimes

"How to Join the Slow Food Revolution: The organization's president, Carlo Petrini, offers five concrete ways to further the movement." -- Epicurious

"Save California farmland from Governor Schwarzenegger — and developers" -- The Ethicurean

"Slashing tax provision that staves off development will hurt rural way of life, some farmers say." -- SacBee

"The 'Terminator' eyes Cali farmland" -- The Gristmill

To comment to the Governor's Office:
(916) 445-2841 / fax (916) 445-4633
www.govmail.ca.gov

___________________________

"The Bush administration said Tuesday (5/29/07) it will fight to keep meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease." -- Newsvine

"The House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry approved new language slipped into the 2007 Farm Bill that pre-empts any state prohibitions against any foods or agricultural goods that have been deregulated by the USDA. The passage appears to be aimed at several recently enacted state laws that restrict the planting of genetically engineered (GE) crops, but could also prohibit states from taking action when food contamination cases occur." -- Center for Food Safety

"(Shrimp is) America's favorite seafood, but at what cost to the environment?" -- SF Chronicle

To be filed under dare we hope ... "(WalMart) is requiring shrimp farms that have been ravaging the coast of Thailand to change their aquaculture practices or lose the retailer's business." -- SF Chronicle

"While the frozen fish imported from China was labeled monkfish, the company said it is concerned that it may be pufferfish because this toxin is usually associated with certain types of pufferfish." -- AP via Newsvine

"The ground beef in my new burgers had been through a process known as 'modified atmosphere packing.' " -- Chicago Tribune

Richard Bernstein, chief investment strategist for Merrill Lynch, has introduced a new term -- agflation --to describe the rising food prices facing America today thanks to increasing food supply constraints, a shift in food demand, and new energy technology that relies on agricultural commodities.

________________________________________

The following are some quotes from the recent "Earth Friendly Cuisine: The Farmer, Chef, and You!" event at Santa Barbara City College ...

"Why does good change always take so long?"
-- Greg Brown (ok, this was just a line from a song I heard on my way to SBCC, but still relevant.)

"Good food is an opportunity for happiness three times a day."
-- Laurence Hauben, SB Slow Food Convivium Leader"

" 'Sustainability' for me is having a connection between the farmer and the community."
-- Tom Shepherd, Shepherd Farms

"The intention of what organic 'is' has become quite distorted."
-- Sam Edelman, manager of SB Certified Markets

"Every school needs a kitchen."
-- Laurel Lyle, chef at Peabody School"

It ought to seem risky to eat fruit from countries where you wouldn't drink the water."
-- Joan Gussow, as shared by Ann Cooper, nutrition director for Berkeley Unified School District

Notable statistics from Cooper's presentation ...
-- Agriculture is responsible for 10% of the US oil consumption
-- 10 companies control 90% of our food supply
-- In one year, food giant Unilever bought both SlimFast AND Ben & Jerry's.
-- 70% of all the antibiotics in the US are used in the practice of animal husbandry
-- We now have more prisoners in this country than farmers.
-- Forget Generation X, we are raising Generation XXL. 50 % of all school children will be clinically obese by the year 2010 ... just 36 months away.
-- and, fyi ... "cold pasteurized" = irradiated

__________________________________________

"Pork Held In Melamine Scare Will Go To Market" ... feel free to pig out? -- The Daily Green

Who's Watching What We Eat? -- NYTimes

"Judge Breyer Orders Complete Environmental Review of Monsanto's Gene-Altered Alfalfa" -- Center for Food Safety

"U.S. proposal to allow chicken imports from China raises health concerns." ... ya think? -- International Herald Tribune

"Mexican farmers have signed an agreement with biotechnology giant Monsanto to buy and plant genetically modified (GM) maize." -- SciDev Net

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. -- a $7 billion global business with broad brand recognition and a 59 percent market share -- is suing TerraCycle Inc. -- a fledging startup with $1.5 million in annual sales and an infinitesimal share of the market Scott's is accusing TerraCycle of copying its look and falsely claiming that its organic products are better than synthetic ones like Miracle-Gro. -- ENN News
Here's the TerraCycle website & where you can contribute to their legal defense fund

"Scottish farmers are being forced to use pesticide-free animal feed from Ukraine and Kazahkstan to keep up with the demand for organic meat." -- The Scotsman

"Researchers are taking an active interest in how genes and diet influence our susceptibility to obesity and diseases like diabetes and cancer. Eating a diet that is right for an individual's genetic heritage can be healthier, they are finding." -- National Geographic Green Guide

"Shousun C. Szu, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health, says the best way to prevent people from being poisoned by deadly E. coli would be to vaccinate all infants against the bacteria." -- NY Times
OR ... maybe we could drastically change our food delivery mechanisms???!!!

"Like most of the orange juice it produces, the U.S. food system is highly concentrated. ... Throughout most of the nation, local-food infrastructure has withered away, and the few remaining small farmers aren't making enough spare cash to make the necessary investments." -- The Grist

"There isn’t a guarantee that buying locally grown food will prevent any food safety issues. However, shopping lower on the food chain (i.e., buying locally) does allow you to at least get to know your farmer (or food producer) and their operation." -- OrganicSchmorganic

"FDA Was Aware of Dangers of Food. Outbreaks Were Not Preventative, Officials Say." -- Washington Post 

"Genetically engineered, pharmaceutical rice is not a safe or cost-effective solution for infants suffering from diarrhea, concludes an exhaustive report released today by the Center for Food Safety, as the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) considers whether to allow planting of the rice in Kansas this spring." -- Center for Food Safety

"Preserving Fossil Fuels and Nearby Farmland by Eating Locally" -- NYTimes

"Green has not yet replaced red or white or even pink as the most important color in deciding which wines to buy, but people have started to think about it." - NYTimes

"When Prince Charles bought the Highgrove house and farm property in the early 1980s, he wrote, he was appalled by the loss of his country’s wildflower meadows, hedgerows and chalk grasslands to 'agri-industry.' So he began to turn the farm and gardens into organic showplaces that might help inspire others to preserve England’s rural landscape." -- NYTimes

"New 'Low Carbon Diet' Aims to Take Bite Out of Global Warming" -- Bon Appetit Management

"California avocado growers are suing the federal government for ending a nearly century-old quarantine and permitting Mexican-grown avocadoes into the state." -- Riverside Press Enterprise

"Kids Can Cook has brought scallions, onions, and other icky foods to students all over the city. Over the course of almost nine years, 1 , 500 inner - city adolescents living below the poverty line have donned an apron and practiced culinary basics. ... The goal of the program is three fold: to provide a challenging after-school experience in a safe environment, give students enough information about food so they can make healthy choices, and build a sense of community." -- Boston Globe

Monsanto's at it again -- this time trying to punish milk producers that label their milk rBGH-free. -- Organic Consumer's Organization
Perhaps because ... "Eighty percent of consumers want milk produced without the hormone rBGH to be labeled as such, according to a poll released today by Food & Water Watch."

"How to Confine the Plants of the Future? A new generation of genetically engineered crops that produce drugs and chemicals is fast approaching the market — bringing with it a new wave of concerns about the safety of the global food and feed supply." -- NYTimes

"By now most farmers know what they’ll be planting this spring. And all across the country the answer is the same: corn, corn, corn. ... The reason for this enormous shift is, of course, the ethanol boom and the corn rush it has created. ...This corn boom puts pressure on land that has been set aside as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program." -- NYTimes

"One in Three US Children Born in 2000 Will Develop Diabetes." -- JAMA via WorldHealth.net

"Sons born to women who ate a lot of beef during their pregnancy have a 25 percent below-normal sperm count and three times the normal risk of fertility problems, researchers reported ..." -- SF Chronicle

Immigration reform may just yield the better peach -- thoughtful commentary from a farmer in the Contra Costa Times

"Can Biodiverse Farming Feed The World? Agriculture is rapidly approaching a time of massive change, says an article in Agronomy Journal. Impacted by the end of cheap energy, depleted water resources, impaired ecosystem services and unstable climates, agricultural industries will have to find new ways to feed a world whose appetite for food crops will grow by around 75 percent over the next 50 years." -- via Science A-Go-Go

Flying fish? When pigs fly? WIll the cow be able to jump over the moon? "A team of NCSU scientists and engineers says it has developed a biofuels technology capable of converting animal fats - including lipids from dead chickens, hogs and cattle - into fuel for commercial airliners and fighter jets. " -- thePigSite.com

"... a Federal Court has ruled, for the first time ever, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture failed to abide by federal environmental laws when it approved a genetically engineered crop without conducting a full Environment Impact Statement (EIS)." -- Center for Food Safety
But, too early to celebrate? "Monsanto Co. has asked a San Francisco federal court to allow it to continue selling its genetically modified Roundup Ready Alfalfa while the USDA conducts a court-ordered environmental impact study." -- Washington Post

"Research conducted by the Institute for Food and Development Policy, or Food First, has found that throughout the world smaller, diversified farming systems are upwards of 1000% more productive in terms of the overall amount of food produced than large scale industrial farms." -- CommonDreams.org

"Got Raw Milk? Be Very Quiet ... The Food and Drug Administration, which recently determined that it's safe to drink the milk of cloned cows, takes a tougher stand on unprocessed milk." -- Time Magazine

"A plan being announced ... by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez would let companies operate fish farms three miles to 200 miles offshore, but without some of the rules on size, season and harvest methods that apply to other commercial fishermen." -- AP via ENN

"While to some it may seem like voodoo viticulture or marketing gimmickry, others find that biodynamics not not only has changed the way they grow grapes but the way they live their lives." -- Seattle Post Intelligencer

Letter From California: In the Kingdom of the Garage Door Opener -- a beautiful and nostalgic piece from NY Times writer Verlyn Klinkenborg about the disappearance of California's ag/rural communities.

"About three-fourths of the fresh and frozen salmon consumed in the United States is now farmed ... the value of the North American wild fishery has plummeted. ... The decline in value of wild salmon catches has had wide-ranging economic and social effects on wild salmon fishermen and fishing communities." -- Fish Farmer Magazine

"Trans Fat Fight Claims Butter as a Victim" -- NY Times

"A group representing more than 200 Sacramento Valley rice farmers is warning that any outdoor planting of genetically modified rice could jeopardize the state's $400 million rice industry.
The group, the Rice Producers of California, released a report Tuesday that said exports to Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Turkey and other countries could be put at risk if so-called transgenic rice contaminates the state's crops." -- from AP reports

"Stepping into the middle of a growing debate, a freshman assemblyman has introduced legislation that would make companies developing genetically engineered crops liable for damages if their work results in contamination of other fields." -- San Diego Union-Tribune

"It’s shocking that the average European cow receives more in government subsidies every day than half the world’s population earns in wages." -- Common Ground

"You Can't Eat Gasoline: The longest running study comparing organic and non-organic ("conventional") farming systems, the Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial, found yields to be comparable. Not only were yields similar with the organic methods, and in some cases higher, the reduction in fossil fuel use and pollution and the increased soil health made organically-managed systems the clear winner." -- Common Ground

"A recent bold statement by UK supermarket Tesco ushering in "carbon friendly" measures has had environmentalists dancing in the fresh produce aisles, but has left African horticulturists confused and concerned ... For Kenya, horticulture is the country's second biggest foreign exchange earner after tourism." -- BBC News

"Mike Johanns, the secretary of agriculture, has unveiled his proposals for a new farm bill, which on the whole seems remarkably promising." -- NY Times
however .. An "interesting group" of folks have been gathered to speak at an upcoming USDA forum! -- Grist.org

"The real problem with corn-based ethanol ... If you plant a field of transgenic corn destined solely for ethanol production, that corn will interbreed with other fields of corn. Barring further advances in gene containment technology that have yet to be perfected, energy crop corn will get into the food supply. This is not alarmist anti-GMO propaganda. It is fact. Everyone involved with the production and regulation of transgenic corn is well aware of this." -- Salon.com

"Voting with our forks, while a useful first step, falls distressingly short of the needs and possibilities of this historical moment. From contaminated industrial food, to intensely polluting factory farms, to the millions of pounds of toxic pesticides still showered on our produce and ever-proliferating genetically manipulated crops, our food system is in desperate need of fundamental change. We can’t simply shop our way out of this mess." -- Common Ground

"Recently, scientists from the United States, Canada, and northern Europe warned about the impact of livestock operations on human health. One key finding, among six reports published by the National Institutes of Health in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, was that the routine use of antibiotics in livestock production contributes to the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs in human medicine.
By one credible estimate, 70 percent of all the antibiotics used in the United States are used as feed additives for chicken, hogs, and beef cattle. " -- Boston Globe

"A federal judge ruled yesterday (2/13/07) that the Agriculture Department violated the law by failing to adequately assess possible environmental impacts before approving Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa." -- NY Times

BUY WILD SALMON! "In 1980, 1 percent of the world salmon supply was farm raised. The share of farmraised salmon produced worldwide rose to 32 percent by 1992 and exceeded 60 percent in 2002." -- TheFishSite.com

Imagine a poem that is perfect in shape but refuses to say anything. And yet it sells well because it is the only kind of poem available for more than half the year, and people insist on reading poetry, even out of season. That is the winter tomato. In redness and roundness it says “tomato,” in every way except the one that matters: flavor. -- NY Times

"When pork was losing market share, they bred out the fat to make it 'the other white meat,' " says Tony Bettencourt, chef at suburban Boston's Tomasso Trattoria. "But after years of tasteless meat, people realize the fat has to come from somewhere. You can drown tasteless pork in cream sauce, disguise it with barbecue sauce or stuff it with cheese to give it some fat and some flavor. Or you can go back to the real thing." -- USA Today

Animal rights activists filed a lawsuit Thursday in Sonoma County against one of the state's largest pig farmers, saying that the operation violates state law by keeping thousands of pregnant sows in cages so small they can't turn around or scratch themselves ... Also named as a defendant is Clougherty Packing Co., which sells products under the trademarked Farmer John brand. -- SF Chronicle

The Organic School Project -- good, healthy food comes to Chicago schools -- Hungry Magazine

"There's invariably something risky, if not risible, about allowing Congress to decide what’s for dinner. Bad decisions about agriculture have defined government policy for the last century; 70 percent of our nation’s farms have been lost to bankruptcy or consolidation, creating an agricultural economy that looks more Wall Street than Main Street." -- Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns and the creative director of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, offers real insights and viable solutions to our food issues in his recent NY Times op-ed piece.

"Today there is nothing but lobster to be fished commercially near Stonington. Lobster floats alone in the local chowder, pinking the cream and, in the mind of food lovers, perhaps elevating Everyman’s dish to luxury status. But when Mr. Bridges looks at a single species stew he sees a dangerously impoverished fishery." -- about the absence of groundfish off the coast of Maine, NY Times

"Fish farms in the ocean? Group pushes Congress to pass tough rules." -- Christian Science Monitor

"Shrimp harvest shows possibilities of aquaculture in Missouri" -- SE Missourian

"Fish farming in the desert may at first sound like an anomaly, but in Israel over the last decade a scientific hunch has turned into a bustling business." -- International Herald Tribune

"I soon realized that increasing production, like most ranchers were trying to do, was not going to make me any more profitable.  Every increase in production will also increase my expenses.  You can’t get something for nothing.  I eventually learned that the key to long-term, consistent profitability was to reduce and control my expenses.  The only ranchers who were profitable every year – 10 out of 10 years – were low-input, low-cost producers." -- Kit Pharo has an odd opinion about cattle ranching.  He thinks it ought to be a “for profit” business, CattleNetwork.com

Greener Eggs and Ham: The Benefits of Pasture-Raised Swine, Poultry, and Egg Production -- Union of Concerned Scientists

"It’s not so easy for small farmers to get their animals slaughtered." -- Chowhound.com

"Humane treatment of animals is the new frontier in American meat and poultry. At least four competing labels now tout humane treatment -- but they all hold meat producers to different standards." -- SF Chronicle

"America's top pork producer (Smithfield, who now has designs on Eatern Europe) churns out a sea of waste that has destroyed rivers, killed millions of fish and generated one of the largest fines in EPA history. Welcome to the dark side of the other white meat." -- a searing piece from Jeff Tietz in Rolling Stone Magazine

Now for some good news ... "Tomales Farm & Dairy is an exciting new agricultural collaboration between Ted Hall of Long Meadow Ranch and John Williams of Frog’s Leap Winery. The project will include a new dairy and creamery for the production of artisan cheeses."

Caveat emptor -- "Buy a greenwashed product and you’re buying a specific set of healthy environmental and socially correct values. If the package does its work, then the food inside doesn’t actually have to be organic, only organic-ish." -- NY Times

"According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation." -- Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN

"In the next few months, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will finalize a 10-year plan for encouraging American aquaculture, or fish farming. The draft plan expands on a bill the administration unveiled last year to jump-start fish farming offshore. How this initiative takes place will have big economic and environmental implications. Done right, aquaculture can be part of the solution for oceans and fisheries under great stress. Done badly, it could make matters a lot worse." -- Washington Post

"As discomforting as most Americans find the idea, the Food and Drug Administration's tentative approval for allowing the sale of cloned meat and milk makes a certain kind of sense. The plan is a logical extension of an industrialized food system that treats plants, animals and nature with an often-reckless disregard."

"A new study supports what sustainable agriculture advocates have been saying for years: small-scale livestock operations are healthier."

"Over the past 40 years, the industrialization and centralization of our food system has greatly magnified the potential for big outbreaks. Today only 13 slaughterhouses process the majority of the beef consumed by 300 million Americans" … Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) does it again!

The Economist asks whther you really can change the world with your food dollars.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the genetically engineered rice variety that illegally contaminated the U.S. food supply and shipments to export customers."

Kona Blue is committed to the environmentally sound culture of the ocean’s finest fish. A year after its first harvest, the company is now producing up to 10,000 lbs per week of sashimi-grade Kona Kampachi™ from their offshore cages near the Kona Coast of the island of Hawaii. These fish are all hatchery produced, so wild stocks are not depleted.

Nobody disputes that competitive pressures from abroad are squeezing fruit and vegetable growers, whose garlic, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries and other products are a mainstay of world kitchens. But the issue of whether the United States ought to broaden farm subsidies beyond the commodity crops like corn and cotton, which have historically been protected, is a big flashpoint.

Can New York City legislate healthy eating habits?

Curing meats a lost – and now illegal – culinary art.

Imagine if the space used for lawns were used for growing food instead...

Shrooms to the rescue!: Among the social-justice warriors and world-changers of the global environmental movement, Paul Stamets is a rock star.
“We all know that the earth is in trouble,” he proceeds. “We know we’re in the sixth major extinction. The rivets on the airplane are popping, and we’re headed toward catastrophic failure.”
And what can save us?
“Mushrooms,” says Stamets. “Vast networks of mycelium. Fungi.”

What's in a Name?: "What I discovered surprised me. White Marble Farms is a brand of Sysco, North America's largest food services distributor. The pork comes from Cargill Meat Solutions, America's second-largest meat processor."

Net Game Boosts Vocabulary, Fights Hunger
FreeRice.com