New York Times
FDA issues rules for calorie counts on hot food
The government issued two regulations that require calories to be listed on menus in chain restaurants and similar outlets that sell prepared food and for vending-machine food.
USDA has 100 undercover agents looking for fraud, abuse
At the Agriculture Department, "more than 100 undercover agents pose as food stamp recipients at thousands of neighborhood stores to spot suspicious vendors and fraud," says the New York Times in a story about a significant expansion throughout the government of undercover work.
Needed: A US food policy, not just a farm policy, says op-ed
In the State of the Union address in January, President Barack Obama "should announce an executive order establishing a national policy for food, health and well-being," write Mark Bittman, Michael Pollan, Richardo Salvador and Olivier De Schutter in an essay in the Washington Post.
US approves GE potato that reduces suspect acrylamides
The Agriculture Department approved cultivation of the Innate potato developed by JR Simplot Co. and genetically engineered to produce smaller amounts of acrylamides when it is fried.
White House undecided if farm workers in immigration order
President Barack Obama could announce as soon as next week an overhaul of the immigration system that would protect up to 5 million people from deportation and provide work permits to many of them, said the New York Times, citing administration officials.
Congress may act soon on biodiesel, other ag tax credits
Revival of four dozen tax breaks, including incentives for the agricultural sector, is possible in the lame-duck session that opens next week, says the Washington Post.
Oregon vote is closest yet on GMO labeling, fight continues
The Oregon referendum on labeling food made with genetically modified organisms, while a defeat, was the closest vote yet on the idea, which has gone to a vote in different states for three years in a row. Proponents and opponents say the expensive and splashy elections will lead to a national debate.
Ernst leads in Iowa for Senate, Kansas is neck-and-neck race
Republican Joni Ernst led Democrat Bruce Braley by 7 points, 51-44, in the latest Iowa Poll of the Des Moines Register. It was Ernst's largest lead in any poll in a month.
Climate change “to undermine food security” – UN panel
A UN-backed panel of experts, the International Panel on Climate Change, says climate change "is projected to undermine food security" from mid-century and beyond.
Rampant fungus in salamanders raises biosecurity issues
Scientists say a fungus that has devastated salamanders in Europe could easily spread to the United States, said the New York Times, quoting researchers who called for stricter biosecurity rules.
Orman appeals for farm vote in Kansas Senate race
Independent Greg Orman campaigned in typically Republican rural Kansas with the argument incumbent Pat Roberts doesn't keep the state's agricultural interests in mind, says the Associated Press.
Food stamp critic Steve King heads for re-election in Iowa
House Agriculture subcommittee chairman Steve King leads by 12 points in a Loras College poll of 280 likely voters in the Fourth House District in northwestern Iowa.
Roberts says little about agriculture in Kansas Senate race
Sen Pat Roberts, potentially Agriculture Committee chairman if Republicans win control of the Senate, rarely mentions his record on agriculture - defender of crop insurance and author of the 1996 Freedom to Farm law - on the campaign trail.
Beavers may be ally in mitigating climate change’s impact
Once hunted as nuisances, beavers "are being welcomed into the landscape as a defense against the withering effects of a warmer and drier climate" in the U.S. West, says the New York Times.
Antioxidant in chocolate may improve memory skills
A small-scale study showed "an antioxidant in chocolate appears to improve some memory skills that people lose with age," says the New York Times.
A rural icon, Iowa goes metropolitan
More than 60 percent of Iowas live in the city, yet the state is commonly pictured as a land of farms, dotted with small, industrial cities.
China ponders how to remodel its farm sector
"From a bedrock of traditional culture, and an engine of the post-Mao economic boom in the 1980s, agriculture has become a burden for China," says the New York Times, "and few in the countryside see their future there."
Third vaccine for deadly PEDv is near approval
A third vaccine against Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, which has killed 8 million piglets since mid-2013, is on the horizon, says the New York Times. It says MJ Biologics of Mankato, Minn, hopes to get USDA approval for its vaccine soon.
Longer lunch period means less wasted food
When lunchtime at school gets shorter, students eat less of their meals and discard more food, said the New York Times in summarizing a study of 1,000 children at six elementary and middle schools.