Bloomberg.com: Long article about the ramifications of the E. coli outbreak — which actually names Joseph Gallo Farms as the 10,000-head dairy CAFO from whence the toxic bacterial strain came — suggests ways Big Ag plans to stop it from happening again. Among the possible changes: eliminating “hedgerows,” the lines of native plants farmers grow to increase the population of beneficial insects — like the bees needed for proper pollination — and to reduce polluted runoff.
Michael Bauer’s SFGate blog: 74% of San Franciscans polled by Zagat said they were willing to pay more for sustainable food, bested only by Portland (80%), just ahead of Seattle (72%) but way in front of LA (63%) and New York (58%). (MoLM notes that Portland’s high percentage is no surprise to current or us past Portlanders.)
Motley Fool: KFC and others are banning trans fats from their frying oils, replacing them with low-linolenic soybean oil like that from Monsanto’s Vistive soybeans. The Vistive line, which Monsanto touts as grown through conventional breeding techniques, contains the Roundup Ready trait allowing it to withstand heavy pesticide action. The Fool says KFC consumers are unlikely to care, but isn’t it irresponsible to swap one questionable ingredient for another?
New York Times: Today’s No. 1 e-mailed article is about how animals on calorie-restricted diets live longer and have fewer health problems,and how lots of people are trying to do the same. (New York Magazine also has a fascinating first-person account of one man’s attempt to join the skeletal ranks.)
New York Times: NYT editorial supports Mayor Bloomberg’s move to make fast-food chains list calories on menus, next to price. (Thanks Jack)
The Linkery: Chef Jay Porter at San Diego’s The Linkery has been corresponding with a Sysco rep about the food-services company’s White Marble Farms pork. Jay has some thought-provoking points about the slippery slope of meat labels.
Grit magazine: One family’s pragmatic handling of the “pets or meat” debate — with bunnies and chickens! oh my.
Bloomberg.com: Report from the Salone del Gusto in Turin includes a quote from Jeremy Brown, a fisherman from Bellingham, Washington, complaining that Americans prefer Alaskan to locally caught fish. No mention of mercury content comparison shopping…
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