NEWS

Don’t spray thy neighbor: In a case that could reverberate through the county (and the country, we say), a judge has ordered a farming service company to temporarily stop spraying pesticides that a Santa Cruz, CA, organic farmer says are moving with the fog onto his field and destroying his crop. (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

If the U.S. were jumping out of a window, would you?: Canada is set to raise its limits on pesticide residues on fruit and vegetables for hundreds of products as part of an effort to “harmonize” Canadian pesticide rules with those of the United States, which allows higher residue levels. (StarPhoenix)

No wonder we’re sick of turnips: A UC student has rooted out clues to pre-human species’ diets. (San Francisco Chronicle)

More corn fuelishness: Iowa want to convert ethanol production leftovers into electricity, by processing distillers grains into corn pellets that could be burned for fuel in a less-polluting combination with coal. Developers of the corn pellet estimate that an ethanol plant that produces 100 million gallons a year has enough dried distillers grains, a byproduct that is now fed to livestock, to make 600 tons of pellets a day — a level of production Iowa says has the potential for a massive reduction in the use of coal across the United States. Others are not convinced…and then there’s that disturbing aside that they’re also hoping to feed these pellets to livestock. Garbage in, garbage out, anyone? (Des Moines Register)

U.S. organic food sales totaled nearly $17 billion in 2006, up 22% over previous year (OCA, from Sustainable Food News)

China calls for food tracing system to boost safety (Reuters)

Whole Foods’ shares slump after announcement that sharp rise in store opening costs has hurt bottom line (Business Week)

FEATURES & COMMENTARY

Butter up that sweet corn: Yay! It’s Victual Reality Thursday. Tom Philpott deconstructs an “insidious pattern in U.S. food culture” in which we “take a perfectly wonderful foodstuff, industrialize its production and strip it of most nutrients, sell it in titanic quantities, create a health scare — and then demonize it. It’s the process through which what’s good for you becomes bad.” (Grist)

Non-farmers just don’t understand: This technically should go under On the Blogs, but it’s way too Good not to get top billing. Titled “The Urban East Coast Press as Bogey Man,” Keith Good takes a break from Farm Bill and Doha wonkery to dismantle an editorial by The Forum (North Dakota), which opined that, “As Congress cranks up the machinery for work on a new farm bill, the urban East Coast press is having a field day. Those shrill voices … espouse knee-jerk anti-farm stances that reflect either an ideological bias against farm programs or ignorance of how farm programs work in farm country — or both.” He provides a comprehensive list of Farm Bill criticism posted by Midwestern and agricultural-based publications, along with the transcript of an April 25 meeting in which Ag Committee Chairman Tom Harkin addressed issues associated with the “East Coast” media and specifically spoke about an article in The Washington Post “Harvesting Cash” series. (FarmPolicy.com)

Farmers markets and food-stamp trends: Corby Kummer has a slightly confusing op-ed on how new efforts to encourage food-aid recipients to eat more fruits and vegetables — which are calamitously underrepresented in American diets — could end up shutting out the small farmers who are the backbone of these markets. Equipping farmers markets with debit-card readers could help a lot but is an expensive proposition. (New York Times)

Amen to that: The USDA would be the wrong agency to consolidate all food safety functions, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, calling it “the nation’s booster club for American agricultural products.” Added CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal, “During the last few years, the Secretary of Agriculture has spent far more time trying to convince Japan to buy U.S. beef then he has on ensuring that that beef is free of contamination.” (CSPI press release)

Bay Area schoolkids eat better than anyone: Revolution Foods, a new startup funded in part by Whole Food, now supplies about 1,500 natural and nutritious meals daily to nine K-12 schools (mostly in Oakland). (San Jose Mercury News)

DIY salad bar: If you love fresh greens, there is no reason not to grow them yourself, even if you have only a tiny terrace or handkerchief lawn. (New York Times)

Tastes like…fluorescence?: Does your milk taste like wet cardboard? Blame the bright lights in your market’s dairy section. (Reuters)

ON THE BLOGS, ETC.

Monsanto, humbled?: A look at Monsanto’s two recent judicial spankings, and what effect they’ll have on the biotech giant’s profits. (Gristmillt)

We’re jealous: Blogger David Goldstein’s pursuit of the melamine-tainted food story has earned him a high accolade. Access to his site has been blocked by the Chinese government. (HorsesAss.Org)

Crack, now with Vitamin C!: We’ve only recently begun reading this group blog from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, but it’s a keeper. Today, Marlene Schwartz ruminates on the new beverage Diet Coke Plus, and why she wishes “we could go back to the good old days when junk food looked like junk food, healthy food looked like healthy food, and there wasn’t a whole lot of confusion.” (Rudd Sound Bites)