In rural Northern California, where food is scarce, one man provides
In Trinity county, California, food can at times be painfully scarce. "It’s a beautiful, remote, rural part of northern California. It’s also one of the state’s most food insecure places, where many people don’t know where their next meal is coming from," reports Lisa Morehouse in FERN's latest story in partnership with KQED's The California Report.
War and weather end decade-long decline in world hunger
The report on global hunger was the first since the UN set a goal of eradicating hunger by 2030. UN agencies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, have cited the role of warfare in hunger. According to the new UN report, 60 percent of the world's hungry people "live in countries affected by conflict," some 489 million people. But even in regions that are more peaceful, droughts or floods linked in part to the El Niño weather phenomenon, as well as the global economic slowdown, have also seen food security and nutrition deteriorate, said the report.
Multinational food companies dive into developing countries
Dropped fruit and dashed hopes for Florida citrus growers
With agricultural losses from Hurricane Irma expected to run into billions of dollars, the head of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) says the industry will lobby for federal relief, reports The Packer. "Hurricane Irma left Sunshine State citrus groves with dropped fruit, standing water and dashed hopes," said the trade publication, while tomato, strawberry and vegetable growers "came through the storm in comparatively better shape."
U.S. appeals court takes foie gras off the menu in California
Chefs protested and producers promised to pursue a reversal following a ruling by a three-judge U.S. appellate court panel to allow enforcement of a 2004 California law banning the sale of foie gras. The law "has been idled for more than half of the time it has been on the books" and a state judge decided in 2015 that the state law wrongly interfered with federal food laws, said the Los Angeles Times.
Roberts rips states for ‘cheating and gaming’ to win food stamp bonuses
The government cannot be sure that food stamp money is dispensed properly because states obscured their payment errors in pursuit of USDA bonuses for efficient operations, said Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts. "Simply put, no one knows the error rate of (food stamps) and that is unacceptable," said Roberts.
Cottonseed subsidy could cost $420 million or more
The Senate proposal to create a subsidy program for cottonseed could carry a pricetag of $420 million or more, according to an analysis by economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University. Zulauf did not calculate the figure but estimated 14.08 million acres might be eligible, with payments of $30 an acre, based on USDA payment formulas.
NAS proposes longer and more thorough work on Dietary Guidelines
In Trump era, colleges intensify student recruitment in rural areas
Following Donald Trump's election as president, "a sizable share of college admission directors say they have intensified efforts to recruit in rural areas and find more white students from low-income families," says the Washington Post, based on a survey by Inside Higher Ed. "His campaign capitalized on heavy support from rural America and from white voters without college degrees — sectors of the population many colleges historically have struggled to reach."
Millennials are choosing organic food, says trade group
The millennial generation is "choosing organic" and as they become parents, the market for organic food will boom, says the Organic Trade Association, based on a survey of U.S. households. "Over the next 10 years, we’ll see a surge of new organic eaters and consumers – the Millennial parents of tomorrow and their children," said Laura Batcha, chief executive of the trade group.
Nestle, Coca-Cola and Smithfield top water sustainability list
On average, food companies improved their management of water by 10 percent compared to 2015, according to the report Feeding Ourselves Thirsty, published by the nonprofit investor coalition Ceres.
Serious damage to Florida citrus crop, says state ag commissioner
Florida, the No. 1 citrus-growing state in the nation, suffered "serious and devastating losses from Hurricane Irma," said state agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam after an aerial tour of groves in central and southwest Florida. The harvest season for oranges and grapefruit normally begins in October, so the storm arrived as the fruit was nearing maturity.
Impossible Burger opens new factory, fueling its vegan expansion
With the opening of a new factory, the plant-based company Impossible Burger says it plans to have its much-anticipated burgers on 1,000 menus by the end of 2017. “In mid-August, a factory in Oakland quietly began accepting shipments of wheat protein, potato protein, and heme, a “plant blood” produced via genetically modified yeast, says New Food Economy.
Half of early crop political appointees at USDA worked on Trump campaign
"Most of that group also lack experience working in agriculture. The 42 appointees include a number who do have farm-policy chops — but none of those tout time on the Trump campaign," said Politico in its Morning Ag newsletter. "Among this crop of appointees are a former cabana boy, a truck driver, an AT&T cellular phone salesman and the owner of a scented-candle company."
Organic food industry sues USDA over slowdown of livestock welfare rules
In a challenge to the Trump administration's drive to erase Obama-era regulations, the organic food industry accused USDA of unlawfully delaying animal welfare rules that give livestock on organic farms more elbow room than allowed at conventional operations. Livestock groups and their allies in Congress have alternated between ridiculing the organic livestock rule and trying to scrap it.
Growth of plant-based foods leaves other sectors in the dust, says Nielsen research
The market for plant-based foods grew an average of 8.1 percent last year, compared to a decline of 0.2 percent for all other foods, according to data compiled by the retail sales research group, Nielsen. According to the report, which was funded by the The Good Food Institute and Plant Based Foods Association, the market for plant-based meats specifically rose 6 percent from a year ago, while plant-based dairy alternatives saw 20 percent growth. Nielsen found a 5-percent decrease in cow-milk sales, but a 3.1-percent increase in sales of plant-based milk.
UN: A third of Earth’s land is damaged, largely from industrial agriculture
A third of the Earth’s land is severely degraded and 24 billion tons of fertile soil are disappearing each year, according to a new United Nations-backed study that puts the majority of the blame on intensive agriculture. “The Global Land Outlook is billed as the most comprehensive study of its type, mapping the interlinked impacts of urbanisation, climate change, erosion and forest loss," reports The Guardian. "But the biggest factor is the expansion of industrial farming.”
Heitkamp starts re-election drive for Senate seat she won narrowly in 2010
Food industry tries to shape food policy, says nonprofit group
A series of emails obtained under a state freedom of information law suggest major food companies have a "roadmap for dealing with scientific challenges," says the leader of the nonprofit group U.S. Right to Know in a Bloomberg story. The emails by current and former Coca-Cola executives suggest actions such as enlisting outside organizations to question dietary advice that was contrary to their business interests.
Poverty rate, at 12.7 percent, finally sinks to pre-recession level
The U.S. poverty rate fell for the second year in a row and, after years of slow economic recovery, it is back to pre-recession levels, the Census Bureau said in an annual report. The nationwide poverty rate for 2016 was 12.7 percent, down by 0.8 points from the previous year; the rural poverty rate – consistently above the urban rate – was 15.8 percent, down by 0.9 points.