nutrition
Hospitals add farms as way to improve holistic care
St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is a leader among medical centers in growing fresh produce on its campus, says Civil Eats.
Calorie counts at restaurants may help consumer nutrition
Ahead of regulations that would require restaurants and fast-food to provide information such as calorie counts for their offerings, USDA researchers examined the impact of information now being given voluntarily by vendors. An Economic Research Service bulletin, "Consumers' use of nutrition information when eating out," says people who eat out frequently are less likely to use nutrition information at restaurants than those who dine out more often.
Conaway – “Disingenuous” to highlight food-stamp amounts
The answer to hunger in America is for government and charities to work together, said House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway, who said it is "confusing and disingenuous" to suggest food stamps are the only source of meals for poor people. Food stamps "are designed to be supplemental, leaving [the] household responsible for the remaining needs," Conaway said in opening remarks at a hearing on food assistance provided by charities. "Many do so with the help of local organizations ...."
Working families get 38 percent of food-stamp spending
Working families get 38 cents of each $1 in food-stamp benefits, says the UC-Berkeley Center for Labor Research in a research brief, "The high public cost of low wages." The paper says hourly wages for the median American worker "were just 5 percent higher in 2013 than they were in 1979" when adjusted for inflation. For the bottom 10 percent of workers, wages fell by 5 percent from 1979-2013. With low wages, people rely on social-welfare programs; "the taxpayers bear a significant portion of the hidden costs of low-wage work in America," says the report.
Projects aim to get more fruits and vegetables to poor people
The USDA awarded $31 million to three-dozen projects that will experiment with ways to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among food-stamp recipients. Many of the projects will offer financial incentives to buy produce at farmers markets. Two of the awardees, Fair Food Network and Wholesome Wave, run "double up" programs that will match spending on fruits and vegetables up to a specified amount. Food-stamp recipients, like other Americans, do not eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables.
Longer comment period set for Dietary Guidelines
The government will allow an additional 30 days for comment on the report by a panel of experts on how to revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The report has drawn criticism because it says environmental sustainability should be taken into account in recommending a healthy diet. Farm groups, especially from the meat industry, say the report is wrong to say people should eat less meat.
Subcommittee chair plans “thoughtful review” of food stamps
Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorksi, who chairs the House Agriculture subcommittee on nutrition, said she plans a "full-scale review" of the food stamp program. "It is intended to be a thoughtful review," she said in her first remarks about the undertaking. Walorski, who joined the Agriculture Committee this year, said the program should protect vulnerable populations of Americans while being prudent with taxpayer dollars.
Tax rules encourage hospitals to boost nutrition programs
Nonprofit hospitals are expanding "'upstream' prevention-based programs that can help reduce the burden of chronic disease," says a blog at the site Health Care Without Harm.
New White House nutrition advisor must be ready to rumble
With the departure of nutrition policy advisor Sam Kass, who also was personal chef for the Obama family, the administration "is set to lose its behind-the-scenes food policy general at the end of the month, right as a Republican Congress plans an assault...
Nutrition advisor Sam Kass leaving White House-Report
Sam Kass, nutrition policy advisor at the White House and executive director of the Let's Move! initiative against childhood obesity, is leaving the White House, says the Wall Street Journal.
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.
School lunch vs brown bag, and visualizing 2,000 calories
Two studies suggest that school meals are more nutritious than meals packed at home, says the New York Times blog Well. The studies, conducted in urbanized Houston and in rural Virginia found the school food to be lower in fat and sugar than ...
Healthier diets could mean less greenhouse gases
Researchers at the University of Minnesota say large-scale adoption of "traditional" diets rich in fruits, vegetables and fish would mean lower volumes of greenhouse gases than the diet that commonly accompanies rising incomes around the world...
Urban-rural split is threat to farm and food policy-Glickman
The partisan split between rural and urban America jeopardizes the future of the panoramic bills that meld farm supports, rural economic development, public nutrition and global food security programs into a single bill, says former agriculture secretary Dan Glickman.
Food given to babies can set eating patterns for life
Researchers at the University of Buffalo say babies given foods high in sugar, fat and protein in their early months of life are more likely to eat less nutritious foods later in life.
Victory in Berkeley energizes soda tax campaigners
The landslide passage of a 1 cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, such as sodas, energy drinks and sweetened teas, by votes in Berkeley, Calif, "was a big defeat for Big Soda and a big victory for...
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.
USDA awards $4 million for obesity and nutrition centers
Cornell, Purdue, North Carolina and Colorado State universities will establish research centers on nutrition education and obesity prevention with $3.4 million in funding from the Agriculture Department.
Imports own the olive oil market in the United States
Domestic production of olive oil, based mostly in California, is six times larger than it was 20 years ago but it amounts to less than 2 percent of the U.S.'s steadily growing consumption, forecast to be more than 400,000 metric tons this year, say USDA analysts. Drought in Europe, the major producer, drove import prices to record highs but they are projected to decline in the year ahead as production recovers.