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Obamas Ready to Start a White House Garden

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama joins White House assistant chef Sam Kass (L) and 5th grade students from the Bancroft Elementary School during a groundbreaking ceremony for the new White House Kitchen Garden in Washington, March 20, 2009. The garden will grow about 25 varieties of fruits and vegetables which will be harvested by the White House kitchen for consumption at the White House. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)

WASHINGTON - This year, the vegetables served at the White House will be as locally grown as possible--right on the South Lawn.

After a campaign by gardeners and sustainable food activists, the First Family has decided to dig up part of the White House grounds for a vegetable garden. In a ceremony Friday, First Lady Michelle Obama and local elementary school students will break ground for the project.

Posted in agriculture, Food/Water, localism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2009
1:54 PM

CONTACT: Food & Water Watch

Elanor Starmer or Erin Greenfield (202) 683-2500

Food & Water Watch Supports California Legislation Banning Overuse of Antibiotics in Livestock

Consumer Group Warns of Devastating Human Health Effects from Common Agricultural Practice at Senate Food and Agriculture Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - March 17 - Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization, today testified before California’s Senate Food and Agriculture Committee in support of Senator Dean Florez’s legislation to ban “nontherapeutic” uses of antibiotics in livestock production by 2015. The abuse of antibiotics in livestock production to boost the animals’ growth and keep illness from spreading has led to an increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can cause longer and more severe foodborne illness infections, according to research compiled by Food & Water Watch.
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Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.
Food & Water Watch Links:
Posted in agriculture, Food/Water, Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2009
4:50 PM

CONTACT: Farm Sanctuary

Tricia Barry, Farm Sanctuary, 607-583-2225 ext. 233, tricia@farmsanctuary.org

Farm Sanctuary Thanks President Obama and Ag Secretary Vilsack for Banning Non-Ambulatory Cattle from the Human Food Supply

No Downers Campaign Urges Ban to Extend to Pigs, Sheep and Goats

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - March 16 - Today, Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal rescue and advocacy organization, thanked President Barack Obama and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for closing a regulatory loophole and adopting a strict policy preventing all downed cattle - animals too sick or injured to stand - from entering the human food supply.

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Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.
Posted in Food/Water

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2009
2:01 PM

CONTACT: Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy (IATP)

Ben Lilliston
Communications Director
(612) 870-3416
blilliston@iatp.org

Integrated Solutions Needed for Water, Climate and Food Crises, New Report Finds

World Water Forum Should Promote More Sustainable Practices

WASHINGTON - March 16 - The dramatic convergence of multiple crises–climate, food and water–requires a global shift from the dominant industrial model of agriculture toward more sustainable practices, concludes a new paper published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and the Heinrich Boll Foundation. The paper was released on the first day of the World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.
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The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy (IATP) Links:
Posted in agriculture, climate change, Food/Water, water

Dollars from Dirt: Economy Spurs Home Garden Boom

Adriana Martinez works in her backyard garden in Long Beach, Calif. on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. With the recession in full swing, many Americans are returning to their roots, cultivating vegetables in their backyards to squeeze every penny out of their food budget. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

LONG BEACH, Calif. - With the recession in full swing, many Americans are returning to their roots - literally - cultivating vegetables in their backyards to squeeze every penny out of their food budget.

Industry surveys show double-digit growth in the number of home gardeners this year and mail-order companies report such a tremendous demand that some have run out of seeds for basic vegetables such as onions, tomatoes and peppers.

Posted in Economy/Trade, Food/Water

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2009
2:41 PM

CONTACT: Cornucopia Institute
Will Fantle, 715-839-7731

Despite Legal Setback, Raw Almond Fight Continues

WASHINGTON - March 11 - The dismissal, on technical grounds, by a federal court judge on Monday of a lawsuit challenging the USDA's raw almond pasteurization mandate will likely not end the controversy.

"The court's decision sidestepped the merits and substance of the lawsuit," said Will Fantle of The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based family farm research group and organizer of the almond lawsuit.

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Seeking economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Through research, advocacy, and economic development our goal is to empower farmers - partnered with consumers - in support of ecologically produced local, organic and authentic food.
Cornucopia Institute Links:
Posted in consumer watch, Food/Water, organics, Politics

The Good Food Revolution

The island of Kaua‘i is one of the most beautiful and fragile places on earth. From above, it looks like a vibrant green flower, lush and pulsing with life, floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The Hawaiian tourist industry calls it "The Garden Isle," comparing it to the Garden of Eden. The image of Hawai‘i has always been sold as a "paradise." But there is another side to life on this island, one that visitors rarely see.

Posted in agriculture, Food/Water, gm food

Food Problems Elude Private Inspectors

More than 143 million pounds of potentially contaminated beef from Hallmark/Westland Meat Company was recalled and dumped, including these products, which were delivered to the Los Angeles public schools. (Matt Sayles/Associated Press)

When food industry giants like Kellogg want to ensure that American consumers are being protected from contaminated products, they rely on private inspectors like Eugene A. Hatfield. So last spring Mr. Hatfield headed to the Peanut Corporation of America plant in southwest Georgia to make sure its chopped nuts, paste and peanut butter were safe to use in things as diverse as granola bars and ice cream.

Posted in consumer watch, Food/Water, Health

Grassroots Beer Brewers Score a Victory in Utah

Just three companies control approximately 80 percent of the beer industry in the US. Brewing beer at home is one way to counter this corporate monopoly. However, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and Oklahoma still outlaw the craft. Recently, a victory for homebrewers was scored in Utah, when on February 19th the State Senate legalized homebrewing, bringing the state out of the shadows of prohibition.

Posted in Food/Water, localism

California Declares Drought Emergency

Shasta Lake appears to be running near empty earlier this month, and the low water line was clear evidence of the drought. (Frederic Larson / The Chronicle)

SAN FRANCISCO - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday declared a state emergency due to drought and said he would consider mandatory water rationing in the face of nearly $3 billion in economic losses from below-normal rainfall this year.

As many as 95,000 agricultural jobs will be lost, communities will be devastated and some growers in the most economically productive farm state simply are not able to plant, state officials said, calling the current drought the most expensive ever.

Posted in agriculture, climate change, Environment, Food/Water, global warming
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