Possible pet food culprit: Rat poison has been found in the tainted pet food that killed several animals and sparked a nationwide recall. Frankly, we’re surprised they were bothering to poison the rats, instead of grinding them up into pet food. USA Today Whoops, breaking news has it that the rodenticide — which is […]

Sierra Club Radio has a food-centric heavy lineup this week (MP3), kicking off with journalist Eric Schlosser, followed by tips for choosing nontoxic cookware and an interview with John Cloud, the reporter who did the recent cover story for Time about whether local was the new organic.
After he gets through explaining for the 349th time […]

Bravo to Wolfgang Puck!: The L.A. restauranteur is taking foie gras, battery eggs, and meat from caged animals off the menu at all of his 14 fine-dining restaurants, 82 casual cafes, and his packaged food business. He’ll also only sell seafood from certified sustainable fisheries, and will incorporate even more organic and local produce. San […]

First salvo in budget battle: The Senate Budget Committee chair issued his blueprint for federal spending yesterday, which included $15 billion more for Farm Bill agriculture spending between 2007 and 2012 than did the Congressional Budget Office baseline. Senate Ag Chair Tom Harkin says that’s not enough and vows to get more before the budget […]

Not a pig step for mankind, yet: Eliminating sow-gestation crates is just the first tiny step toward humane meat production in this country, says Nicolette Hahn Niman (yes, that Niman) in her op-ed condemning hog factories’ typical practices. New York Times
Getting even piggier: Smithfield Foods, the pork overlord featured none too favorably in the December […]

Batten the hatches, there’s a deluge o’links today.
MAJOR NEWS: Following on his decision last month that the USDA failed to take seriously concerns that genetically altered seeds could migrate to other alfalfa crops, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco has ordered that the sale of such seeds be stopped for now. Monsanto […]

Another reason processed food may make us fat: Some preliminary research is indicating that environmental exposure to common chemicals — including pesticides and those used in food and beverage containers — may trigger obesity. The NIH’s National Toxicology Program is reviewing bisphenol A, a chemical used in cans for food; concerns about its estrogenic effects […]

Rice flows: Rick Weiss has another excellent feature, this time on rice farmers’ frustration over seeds’ contamination with genetically modified varieties unapproved for human consumption. Biotech proponents are asking “what’s the big deal?” and claiming no harm has come to human health. (But since U.S. genetically modified food isn’t labeled, how can we track its […]

Growing food is an art: Amy Franceschini, a San Francisco graphic designer and visual artist, is trying to revive the victory gardens planted during World War II. San Francisco Chronicle
The man who gave us Thunderbird & Boone’s Farm: We were ignoring the news that nonagenarian wine mogul Ernest Gallo has died — until now. Jon […]

Guilty on all counts: Some fascinating market data in this little article about the 2007 National Grassfed Beef Conference in Pennsylvania. The majority of consumers purchasing grassfed beef are women who are younger, highly educated and more affluent. “The consumer is looking for more than cheap products, they are looking for attributes or an […]

Must-bleed TV: Proving once again that the British have more balls than … well, anyone, a new show is debuting on the BBC called “Kill it. Cook it. Eat it.” It’s filmed in an abattoir with a restaurant built on the end. If our cable provider obliges, we’ll be tuning in to give those who […]

Hurray for Huffman: A freshman California assemblyman has introduced legislation that would make companies developing genetically engineered crops liable for damages if their work results in contamination of other fields. SignOn San Diego
Peak soil: Tom Philpott picks up an “underground” 1940s classic — composting pioneer Sir Albert Howard’s “The Soil and Health,” recently reissued — […]

Those in the Bay Area who are planning to attend tonight’s conversation at UC Berkeley between Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and “Omnivore’s Dilemma” author Michael Pollan might want to whet their appetite with this Marketplace interview of Mackey from yesterday.
Far down in the interview, following a long and not very interesting discussion of Wall […]

Risk management roulette: The FDA is conducting just half the food-safety inspections it did three years ago. Time
The AIDS of bees: The definitive story on what “colony collapse disorder” means for bee keeping and U.S. agriculture, and what the possible catalysts for this dire disease could be. Guess what? Industrialization of beekeeping — who knew […]

Time to get mad over mad-cow missteps: The USDA is proposing to allow Canadian cattle older than 30 months to be imported into the United States, and U.S. ranchers are pissed. The Cattle Network reports that a Big Meat representative testified before Congress that the “USDA’s action will make the United States a dumping ground […]