Two podcasts – California Foodways and Plate of the Union – launched this week
California Foodways, the critically acclaimed public radio series by award-winning FERN contributor Lisa Morehouse, launched a podcast this week. In the series — which can be found at FERN and multiple podcast platforms — Morehouse travels county by county in California, exploring the intersection of food, culture, history, labor, economy, and environment. No paywall
Access to safe and healthy food is in peril, says food movement group
The Trump administration is imperiling access to safe and healthy food, throttling organic farmers and siding with meatpackers on livestock sales regulation, said the Food Policy Action Education Fund in a "State of the Plate" report. "This administration’s regulatory rollbacks, political appointments, and executive orders have affected everyone within our food system–from workers to producers to consumers," said Monica Mills, head of the group.
Tom Colicchio, co-founder of Food Policy Action, resigns from its board
Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio has resigned from the board of Food Policy Action, which he co-founded in 2012 as the lobbying arm of the food movement on U.S. food and ag policy. Colicchio said on Instagram that he would “continue to do the work of championing a more just and equitable food system in everything I do and from every platform available to me.”
Three sectors to watch in general-election results
The 2016 general election can be split into sectors of interest for food and agriculture issues: state referendums on agricultural issues; four municipal referendums on soda taxes, and three House races in which the food movement targeted Republican incumbents.
Tom Colicchio: ‘We ought to celebrate’ federal GMO law
The food movement "ought to celebrate" the federal law that will require disclosure of GMO ingredients in food instead of wishing for a complete victory, said Tom Colicchio, co-founder of the activist group Food Policy Action, during a pre-election webinar. FPA has targeted three lawmakers for defeat as backers of "rotten food policies."
Food movement group targets House ag appropriator
Founded four years ago as the first lobbying group for the food movement, Food Policy Action said it will work to defeat second-term Rep. David Valadao, a California republican and member of the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing USDA and FDA funding.
Will the ‘sleeper issue,’ food policy, wake up for the election?
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a presidential campaign in possession of great turmoil must be in want of food and agriculture debate, or so might write a modern Jane Austen. Panelists at the National Food Policy Conference lamented the meager attention given to food and ag policy by presidential candidates.
Sharp partisan split in Food Policy scorecard
Congressional Democrats got high grades and Republicans generally floundered on a 2015 scorecard by the advocacy group Food Policy Action. The scoring included votes on hot-button issues such as GMO food labeling, the upstream reach of the Clean Water Act, and trade legislation, which inspired party-line voting.
Reformers launch ‘Plate of the Union’ to push a national food policy
Four environmental and food groups launched a campaign to make food policy an element of the presidential campaign as a step toward assuring that the next president is committed to reform. "Candidates need to realize that food is a big issue," said food writer Mark Bittman.
“Food stories are everywhere,” says MSNBC’s Tom Colicchio
Chef and food activist Tom Colicchio achieved celebrity on the TV show "Top Chef" and now is food correspondent for MSNBC.
Chefs stir up nutrition policy in Congress
The Chef Action Network is on the same page with Food Policy Action, says Politico. Both are recent creations with a food-movement orientation and both hope to influence lawmakers.
Reid aces food policy scorecard, Boehner scores a zero
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 70 other members of Congress, mostly Democrats, got perfect grades from advocacy group Food Policy Action for their votes on food and agriculture issues over the past two years.
Food issues rate “off the charts” with voters, says pollster
Voters respond strongly to issues such as food safety or assuring that children, veterans and the elderly have enough to eat, said pollster Celinda Lake.
Food group targets Southerland, Kansas poll favors Orman
Food Policy Action, a two-year-old advocacy group, says conservative Rep Steve Southerland, who proposed the largest food stamp cuts in a generation, is its No 1 target for defeat in the November 4 elections.