food
The label says “GMO free” but no uniformity on certification
While lawmakers argue over labeling food made with genetically modified organisms, "products certified as containing no genetically modified organisms are proliferating on grocery shelves without any nationwide mandatory regulations," says the New York Times.
If you are what you eat, America is becoming more diverse
Gwinnett County in suburban Atlanta exemplifies how the American menu is getting longer and broader, says USA Today. Seventy percent of lodging and food-related businesses in the county are minority-owned.
Comfort food may be overrated as path to happiness
The power of comfort food, be it ice cream, artisanal chocolate or Mom's meatloaf, to cure a bout of the blues may be overrated, says the New York Times, describing a study by University of Minnesota researchers.
NAS report lists priorities for food animal research
A report from the National Academy of Sciences suggest four priorities for research to assure an adequate meat supply for a world population that could reach 10 billion by 2050.
After the holidays, people buy more food
Americans buy more food, in terms of calories, after the year-end holidays than during the holiday season, often maligned as a period of over-indulgence, says a study in PLOS ONE, according to Feedstuffs.
For food and agriculture, a lengthy to-do list for Congress
Congress is to open its new, two-year session on Tuesday with a hefty list of food and agriculture policy issues already on the agenda for lawmakers. The "to do" list includes reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and federal child nutrition programs such as school lunch and WIC, proposals for federal pre-emption of states in labeling foods made with genetically modified organisms, attempts to block EPA from completing its...
On America’s grocery list – more fresh food, less processed
Grocery shoppers are spending less time, and money, in the center aisles of the supermarket, where the processed foods dwell and more time in the dairy case, meat counter and produce bins, says the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Fifteen longform food stories in one serving
At Eater, features editor Helen Rosner lists "The year's 15 best longform food stories,"for those who want to gorge on a topic. There are two stories from Louisiana, one about gumbo and the other about a New Orleans dive bar.
Food hub in Louisville will run from sales to recycling
The proposed 24-acre West Louisville Food Hub, with an expected cost of $45 million, would combine urban renewal in a distressed neighborhood of Louisville, KY, with local food marketing, says Civil Eats.
US organic food standards on the menu for debate
USDA's organic food label, the gold standard for shopper wanting food free of genetically modified organisms and chemical pesticides, "has come under increasing attack as a handful of consumer groups question the USDA’s handling of the National Organic Standards Board," says Roll Call.
EWG releases food scorecard, foodmakers call it misleading
The Environmental Working Group unveiled its Food Scores database that rates 80,000 foods on a scale of 1 to 10 based on nutrition, ingredients and how much processing it received.
“It’s hard to avoid” GE foods, says consumer group
The vast majority of U.S. corn and soybeans are genetically engineered varieties - 93 percent of corn and 94 percent of soybeans this year, according to a USDA report - and Consumer Reports magazine says its tests show they are abundantly present in many processed foods.
Plant communication – a tool of parasites?
A scientist from Virginia Tech has discovered a way that plants communicate with each other at the molecular level. The research could provide a way to fight parasitic weeds that attack food crops, says the university.
Kellogg – Will reduce greenhouse gases by 15 percent
The world's largest cereal maker, Kellogg Co, said it will reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by 2020 to combat climate change.
Russia bans ag and food imports from the West
President Vladimir Putin issued a decree that bans or reduces for one year imports of food and agricultural products from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia in the crisis over Ukraine. "The Kremlin decree doesn't specify which items will be affected," said the BBC.
San Francisco hospitals aim for healthier, sustainable food
Several hospitals in San Francisco are working together "to add more fresh, organic and sustainable foods to their patient and cafeteria trays," writes Ingfei Chen at The Guardian.
Wheat breeder, a Borlaug colleague, wins World Food Prize
Sanjaya Rajaram, who worked with Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug and developed 480 wheat varieties, is the winner of the $250,000 World Food Prize for 2014.
“There is going to have to be a serious negotiation over this”
That's how Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack summed up U.S. and EU differences on so-called geographic indicators, the names that tie a food to its home area, whether it's Vidalia onions from Georgia or sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France.
Hidden costs of agrifood system tops $10 trillion, says FAO
Food production and consumption — from farm to table to leftovers put in the trash can — carry "huge hidden costs" of at least $10 trillion a year, mostly from the consequences of unhealthy diets, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday. In its State of Food and Agriculture report, the FAO urged governments and the private sector to use a true-cost accounting system to assess the flaws in the agrifood system and how to mitigate them.