Section » Health and Sustainability
NY Senator Schumer calls for clamp down on sketchy milk protein concentrates
Putting the squeeze on MPCs: We missed this a few days ago, but New York Senator Chuck Schumer has introduced a bill that would levy higher tariffs on imports of milk protein concentrates, or MPCs. (Little Falls Times) The dried dairy product - if you
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SF chef pulls corn from his menu
Souring on sweet corn: Daniel Patterson, the chef at the award-winning restaurant Coi in San Francisco, has renounced corn, saying that relentless breeding to find sweeter and sweeter hybrids that play to America's sweet palate has led to corn that "... is so sweet that it overpowers or undermines everything
A roundup of pesticide drift coverage: Who should pay for unruly spray?
Chemical standoff: Farm country residents mostly "grin and bear it" when pesticides from neighboring farms drift onto their property, but some are speaking out. In Illinois, a vineyard owner tires of watching clouds of 2,4-D engulf (and kill) his grapes when a nearby farm sprays. A retired minister gives
California’s tree crops are screwed, says new report
Things heat up in the nation's produce basket: Tree crops like apples, cherries, pears, walnuts and almonds rely on a chilly winter to set the stage for a productive spring and summer. But in a study released today, UC Davis scientists report
Memo to raw-milk advocates: Improve information, or get sued
Fifty veterinarians and others concerned with food safety gathered at a raw milk symposium last Sunday in Seattle. Sponsored by the American Veterinarian Medical Association (AVMA), “The Raw Milk Conundrum” featured speakers from nearly
Memo to raw-milk advocates: Improve information, or get sued
Fifty veterinarians and others concerned with food safety gathered at a raw milk symposium last Sunday in Seattle. Sponsored by the American Veterinarian Medical Association (AVMA), “The Raw Milk Conundrum” featured speakers from nearly
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Engineer designs inexpensive drip irrigation system
Drop zone: On a visit to Ethiopia, mechanical engineer Peter Frykman saw how people went hungry because of a lack of affordable irrigation equipment for their fields, so he designed an inexpensive drip irrigation system. Only 1 to 2% of clean technology investments is directed to water work, primarily
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Smithfield’s first union contract, at a Tar Heel plant, may pay unexpected dividends
Achoo, swine flu!!!: The newly unionized workforce at Smithfield Foods’ pork plant in Tar Heel, N.C., just signed its first labor contract, and the industry is watching closely to see if union fever spreads. This little sentence leapt out at us: "Under the pre-union system, an employee received demerit
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House debates whether we should sacrifice human antibiotics for meat industry gain
Sharfstein socks one to Big Meat: In a hearing held today in the House Rules Committee, Deputy FDA Commissioner Josh Sharfstein threw the administration's weight behind a ban on feeding antibiotics meant for humans to healthy animals. The practice is common on industrial livestock operations, where low
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Australia fires major salvos in bottled-water battle
Taptive audience: Residents of Bundanoon, a town of 2,500 about 100 miles south of Sydney, have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, possibly the first community in the world to do so. This "battle against the bottle" started years ago, when a beverage company announced plans to build a water extraction
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If biotechnology won’t feed the world, what will? Knowledge, says GE expert Doug Gurian-Sherman
Earlier this week, I asked plant pathologist and molecular biologist Doug Gurian-Sherman to explain some of the science behind genetically engineered crops and their potential — or lack thereof — to feed a more populous, climate-changing
GAO recommends better labeling for bottled water
Thirsty for more information: The Government Accountability Office recently looked at oversight of the bottled water by the FDA and states in comparison to EPA's regulation of tap water. FDA's standards are generally similar, but GAO noted that 1) FDA has not set a standard for di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate
Can biotechnology ‘feed the world’? Not likely, says genetic engineering expert Doug Gurian-Sherman
With food shortages provoking riots in recent years, and the world’s population increasing exponentially, Congress will soon be debating the next big U.S. aid package for developing countries. America currently
Fantastic Swine Flu Totem cartoon by Steve Brodner
Not so comic relief: Connecting the dots from NAFTA to swine flu. (Mother Jones) See something for the Digest? Send the link to
Obesity rates rising, health care system buckling
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of fattiness: Tom Laskawy has a brutally pointed post about a new state-level study of obesity rates, which found that obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year and didn't decline anywhere. What's particularly worrying is that in every state, the "rate
