NEWS
Milk 1, Monsanto 0: Federal regulators have turned down a request from Monsanto to punish dairies that advertise their milk as free of synthetic hormones (like the ones Monsanto pushes). (Associated Press)
Dairying do: Under pressure from the USDA organic program in response to the complaints filed by the Cornucopia Institute about Aurora Organic Dairy’s treatment of dairy cows, Aurora has agreed to clean up its act. Aurora bottles private-label organic milk for several national chains, including Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, Trader Joe’s and Safeway. Among other things, the dairy pledges to reduce the number of cows at one farm from 4,200 to 1,200 and increase the amount of irrigated pasture from 320 acres to 400. (New York Times) The Cornucopia Institute is calling it a huge victory for enforcement of organic standards.
Poor, poor greens: Another California grower has had to recall spinach, this time for salmonella. However, Metz Fresh said more than 90% of the affected greens were identified and pulled before they reached stores. (Washington Post; recall notice here)
When lab meat is all there’s left: Scientists believe the degradation of range lands, which cover about 40% of the Earth’s land surface, is mostly because of overgrazing and the modern practice of putting out fires rather than letting them burn. But a new study suggests that rising carbon-dioxide levels also play a major role. (Los Angeles Times)
Get them by the short grains: A Louisiana rice farmer is suing LSU and Bayer CropScience, developer of genetically modified rice, for contaminating the U.S. rice crop and causing harm to his farm. (Beauregard Daily News)
You don’t scare us: More attacks on Monsanto’s French test sites for genetically modified (GMO) maize have not fazed the U.S. biotech giant. (Reuters)
That’s not NAIS — or fair: Animal ID registration is voluntary in Colorado, but this year for the first time the State Fair required all livestock entrants to register. Two kids entering their animals in competitions with 4-H or the FFA didn’t register (one’s mom is an anti-NAIS activist); their animals got rejected from the fair. (The Pueblo Chieftain Online)
The tipping point: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a 43-property luxury chain, says it plans to revamp all of its menus to incorporate locally grown, sustainable or organic ingredients "wherever possible." (Nations Restaurant News) Opinionating: That deliberately vague piece of truthiness is starting to really bug us. May we suggest that when readers see it on a menu, you specifically ask which elements of your meal were one of the above, and why the others weren’t? Time for the SOLE-food free ride to come to an end.
Half Paycheck: Whole Foods, which finally swallowed Wild Oats, hopes to "win over Wild Oats shoppers" by turning some of the former rival’s stores into what sound like Trader Joe’s. The Nation offers an intriguing analysis that ties together CEO John Mackey’s bizarre chat-board behavior, how the FTC tried to turn the company’s public relations campaign against it, and why it’s "harder than ever to make the case that shopping at Whole Foods is more socially commendable than at, well, Kroger or Safeway."
Popcorn maker drops chemical under scrutiny (Associated Press)
ON THE BLOGS & MISC.
Everybody’s growing it: Their own food, that is. Even the media! Sunset magazine is blogging their back-office farming over at the One-Block Diet. (Hat tip to Livin’ La Vida Local)
Diet for a Sustainable Planet: Anna Lappé gives her "5 Tips For Making The Organic Choice Really Count." (The Daily Green)
Signs of the Dietgeist everywhere: SF Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer, on a trip to the Midwest, is surprised to find that just about every restaurant he visits is talking about the farm/restaurant relationship. (Between Meals)
Sorry, we just can’t resist: YES makes organic lube for your chemical-free pleasure. (TreeHugger)
Food, Farming, & Food Politics events calendar
August 30th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Totally was going to send this to my professor, but the last link makes it too awkward.
September 1st, 2007 at 5:08 am
Thanks for the link to the Michael Bauer article. We found the exact thing to be true on some of our recent visits to the upper-midwest: locally sourced menus and community gardens all around. Despite the fact that they are all wedged between vast tracts of corn and soybeans!
September 1st, 2007 at 9:32 pm
There is a major issue for the Fairmont and other big buyers - supply limits. A local restaurant called me up saying they would like to get six pigs a week. I gulped. I would love to supply them but we’re not ready yet and we can’t all of a sudden increase our production by that much. It takes about six months for a piglet to get to market weight. Fortunately, they are willing to work with us and ramp up. However I have recently gotten two more requests like that…
There is only so much local supply from small producers so the big buyers like the “Fairmont Hotels & Resorts a 43-property luxury chain” can only add local foods to their menu gradually and “wherever possible”.
I dearly wish it were otherwise but that is the reality.