archive for the 'Digest' Category

Bill Moyers Journal looks at worker safety in the poultry industry

by Marc R. aka Mental Masala @ Thursday, July 3rd, 2008.

Back in February, the Charlotte Observer published a shocking six-part series on the human suffering involved in producing cheap chicken. “The Cruelest Cuts” package looked at typical working conditions at a poultry plant, the makeup of the workforce, the sorry state of government oversight, and how the companies stay below regulatory radar. (Bonnie’s post […]

Salmonella in tomatoes: Know your grower so you can pick your packer

by Marc R. aka Mental Masala @ Sunday, June 29th, 2008.

The salmonella outbreak from fresh tomatoes has sickened hundreds so far — with many more sicknesses presumably going unreported — in 36 states, and the FDA has still not identified the source of the pathogen. Sabin Russell, the San Francisco Chronicle’s medical reporter, yesterday revealed that a major reason is that tomatoes from many regions are mixed together as they move through the stages of commerce. The practice is known as “repacking.”

Tom Philpott issues a composting call to farms

by Bonnie P. @ Friday, June 27th, 2008.

Two days ago Tom Philpott gave a challenging speech to organic food industry folks at the Organic Summit in Boulder, Co. He has published the text of those remarks as today’s Victual Reality column this week for Grist, and it’s a must-read. Tom has become a good friend of mine so he is going […]

Brazil prepares to retaliate against U.S. cotton subsidies

by Marc R. aka Mental Masala @ Sunday, June 22nd, 2008.

Several years ago, Brazil filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) claiming that United States cotton subsidies violated international trade agreements. In 2004, the WTO ruled in Brazil’s favor. More recently, the U.S. lost its appeal, and so now Brazil can propose retaliatory trade sanctions on products from the U.S.

Bioplastics need time to grow up

by Marc R. aka Mental Masala @ Wednesday, June 18th, 2008.

With city bans on non-recyclable and non-compostable materials (e.g., polystyrene) and restaurants attempting to be greener, there is quite a discussion about the best packaging for takeout orders.

New European chemical safety regulations reach around the world

by Marc R. aka Mental Masala @ Tuesday, June 17th, 2008.

The European Union is changing the rules for chemicals, requiring that industry demonstrate that a chemical is safe before using it in consumer products. This approach, sometimes called “the precautionary principle,” is in stark contrast to the approach in the United States, where a chemical is considered “innocent until proven carcinogenic.”

How LOHAS can you go? Sales of organic processed food soar

by Bonnie P. @ Sunday, June 8th, 2008.

Brandweek reports that despite the down economy, Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) consumers are happy to open their wallets for higher-priced organic cereal, jelly, pasta, produce, soup, and ready-to-serve prepared food.

Mini-Digest: Monsanto wants to “save” the world, Kill Bill Vol. 247, SOLE research in the pipeline

by Janet @ Friday, June 6th, 2008.

Monsanto to double yields, Farm Bill in peril again, chickens slaughtered, more.

Who owns the last bite?

by Elanor @ Thursday, June 5th, 2008.

Wall Street speculators, hedging their bets on the food crisis, snap up pieces of the food system.

The politics of world food shortages

by Bonnie P. @ Thursday, June 5th, 2008.

In today’s New York Times, Andy Martin reports from Rome on an emergency summit called to address food shortages, climate change, and energy, while a recent New Yorker essay puts the food crisis in context of Thomas Malthus’s famous predictions that population growth would be curbed by famine.

Are tomatoes the kickoff to food-illness season?

by Janet @ Wednesday, June 4th, 2008.

Ugh. Looks like our industrial food system is cranking out the salmonella for broad distribution again. That’s the word from the latest Food and Drug Administration consumer alert. The current culprit: tomatoes. Where? Texas and New Mexico. Oh, and maybe Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, and Utah, too.
Thank goodness I know my […]

Snacks for the ears: Podcasts with authors Frederick Kaufman, Paul Roberts, Taras Grescoe, and more

by Marc R. aka Mental Masala @ Sunday, June 1st, 2008.

Catching up on podcasts this weekend I listened to a few that might interest Ethicurean readers: Fredrick Kaufman talking about America’s eating history, Good Food from KCRW talking about sustainable seafood and backyard chickens, and Paul Roberts talking about his new book “The End of Food” on On Point Radio.

Digest - News: GM soy underperforms conventional, food riots, raw-milk development

by Ethicurean @ Monday, April 21st, 2008.

Breaking news and developments, such as contaminated-food outbreaks, Farm Bill milestones, and how the farming community is faring around the world.

Digest - Commentary: Monbiot on veganism, Philpott on the middle, Moonies on Borlaug

by Ethicurean @ Monday, April 21st, 2008.

Editorials and op-eds about sustainable agriculture (or its opposite) from newspapers and websites big and small.

ReDigest: Moyers on hunger, lab liability, a portrait of evil

by Ethicurean @ Monday, April 21st, 2008.

Breaking news and developments, such as contaminated-food outbreaks, Farm Bill milestones, and how the farming community is faring around the world.

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