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Living on Earth looks at sargassum seaweed and Brazilian soy
The July 16 episode of Living on Earth had two interesting food-related pieces, each accompanied by a transcript and MP3 download: The wide sargasso seizure: The first covered sargassum seaweed, the primary vegetation that collects in the Sargasso Sea, an area of calm waters in the Atlantic Ocean. Most of this seaweed comes from the Gulf of Mexico,
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Cook outside your comfort zone in honor of National Farmers Market Week
It's the height of summer, and the tables of farmers markets around the country are overflowing with firm-fleshed, scarlet tomatoes; bunches of fragrant basil; and -- depending on where you live -- juicy stone fruits, avocados,
“Sugar is sugar is sugar” says Coke to Honest Tea
Sweet talk: In early 2008, Honest Tea sold a minority stake, for $43 million, to Coca-Cola. As this interesting NY Times Small Business article notes, meshing the two companies' sensibilities has not always gone smoothly. In particular, Coke objected to Honest Kids product packaging trumpeting
McDonald’s may be sued for Happy Meal toys
Shrek drek: Do inexpensive plastic toys lure children--or their parents--into making unhealthy food choices? The Center for Science in the Public Interest believes they do and is threatening to sue McDonald's if the company doesn't stop using toys to promote its products. "DreamWorks is the supplier
Survey explores why Americans garden, but not why they don’t
[Update 6/24/10: corrected heading for column 2 in table] With a terrible economy and lots of coverage of gardening in the mass media, more and more Americans are growing food in home and community gardens. According to a 2009 survey, almost a third of American households intended to grow food that year,
Why Anthony Bourdain thinks Jamie Oliver is a hero
Kid-food confidential: Anthony Bourdain may love foie gras, loathe Alice Waters and vegetarians, and enjoy tipping other sacred sustainable-foodie cows, but a recent excerpt from his new memoir, "Medium
Supreme court ruling not techically a victory for Monsanto after all
Hype haymaker: "The sustainable agriculture world is abuzz today with news of the Supreme Court's ruling regarding an earlier lawsuit, brought by alfalfa farmers, that sought to stop any planting of Monsanto's genetically engineered Roundup Ready alfalfa seed. While the press coverage heralds the ruling
Q&A with John Scharffenberger: First wine, then chocolate, and now … tofu?
Before founding the chocolate company for which he became famous, John Scharffenberger made California sparkling wine. In both cases, he was one of the first
The USDA looks at local food
Every now and then, newspapers print an article that makes it seem like locavores are running the U.S. food system, throwing our weight around, causing Big Ag to cower in corners. If only we
Two recipes – and lots of opinions – from ‘Farmers Market Desserts’ author Jennie Schacht
Summer fruits from the farmers market are the supermodels of the produce world. Just like Heidi Klum doesn't need makeup
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Target, Wegman’s top Greenpeace’s report card for seafood sales
If we're going to have anything approaching a sustainable seafood system, we need to combine personal adherence to seafood lists with moves up the supply chain to the big buyers, the wholesalers, and supermarkets that sell the bulk of the seafood. Whereas wholesalers primarily work in the background,
Giving everyone a Grand (Opening, at Local Roots)
One year ago, the twelve of us who formed the steering committee of the Wooster Local Food Cooperative, Inc., held a public meeting at the Wayne County Public Library to share our ideas for a year-round local food market in downtown
Russ Parsons looks beyond the farmers market
In an adaptation of his keynote address at the Small Farms Conference, Russ Parsons praises the farmers market — an institution that has had a "revolutionary effect" — but also calls it "one of the most inefficient business plans ever devised." He notes some of the flaws: they are only open a few
The Marin Carbon Project studies carbon sequestration
Soil carbon sequestration — the process of converting gaseous carbon dioxide into carbon in the soil — offers a promising (and possibly necessary) route to addressing climate change
In search of the self-pollinating almond
Giving bees the brush-off: California almonds, a multi-billion dollar crop, are almost completely dependent on honey bees for pollination. During the short pollination season, a significant fraction of the U.S. honeybee colonies are in the almond orchards — in 2004, for example, sixty percent of
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