Posted July 30, 2012
New consumer research shows that while some grocery spending has fallen in recent months, shoppers are increasing their spending on organic meat and poultry has increased for the first time in years. Read more.
Archives for July 2012
Green Sustainability Classroom on Wheels:
Posted July 30, 2012
There are many who live in farm communities throughout the Midwest and the South who have witnessed a rather unusual sight: rolling right into their town, a mobile greenhouse that is a living example of sustainable farming. Read more.
What’s in the Water We Drink
Posted July 30, 2012
Washington’s tap water, most of which comes from the Potomac River, meets or exceeds federal water-quality standards. But new pollutants have emerged that are not removed by current water-purification technology. Read more.
Cinnamon Beats Alzheimers
Posted July 27, 2012
Professor Daniel Fung, an expert in food science at Kansas State University, says cinnamon contains a compound that has the ability to kill bacteria. “If cinnamon can knock out E.coli 0157:H7, one of the most virulent food-borne microorganisms that exists today, it will certainly have antimicrobial effects on other common food-borne bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter.” Now researchers from Tel Aviv University found that extracts from cinnamon bark inhibit the toxic amyloid polypeptide oligomers and fibrils that have been found in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) brain plaque formations. Read more.
Growing Fatter on a GM Diet
Posted July 27, 2012
Rats being fed genetically modified food eat more and grow fatter than those on a non-GM diet. Read more.
American Fast Food Diet Unleashes Disease Epidemic Sweeping Across Asia
Posted July 27, 2012
Though increasingly looked down upon here in the U.S. as a sign of slothfulness and low socioeconomic status, routine fast food consumption in some parts of the world is actually considered to be culturally desirable. But as foreigners progressively adopt the American fast-food lifestyle in place of their own native foods, rates of chronic disease are skyrocketing, including in East and Southeast Asia where diabetes and heart disease rates are off the charts. Read more.
GMO Wars — Monsanto Suing DuPont to See Who Will Dominate the World’s Food Supply
Posted July 27, 2012
Biotechnology giant Monsanto is suing one of its largest rivals, DuPont, for what the company says are violations of a licensing agreement established between the two firms back in 2002. And at the very same time, DuPont is suing Monsanto for allegedly, illegally withholding important details from the federal patent office about its Roundup Ready trait, as well as for allegedly engaging in anticompetitive business practices that restrict competitive agriculture. Read more.
Cargill Warns of Salmonella-Tainted Ground Beef in Latest Recall
Posted July 27, 2012
If you think you’ve been hearing more about product recalls lately, you have. But if “recall fatigue” is setting in, you need to shake it off for this one: Cargill Beef Solutions is announcing a recall of about 30,000 pounds of fresh ground beef from a Pennsylvania plant because of possible contamination with Salmonella Enteritidis. Read more.
Who Supports the Truth-In-Labeling on GMOs?
Posted July 27, 2012
More than 1,000 businesses and professional supporters have endorsed the Prop 37 Right to Know initiative including a broad range of consumer, farm, environmental, and health advocates. See who they are here.
USDA Chief Urges Action on Farm Bill as Drought Persists
Posted July 27, 2012
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pushed Monday for Congress to act on a farm bill that would reinstate expired disaster assistance programs for farmers experiencing the worst drought in nearly seven decades. Programs authorized in the 2008 farm bill have expired and won’t be renewed unless the House approves a bill passed by the Senate. Vilsack pushed the House to consider the bill, which has passed out of its agriculture committee, before its August vacation. Read more.