Food/Water

Go Veggie to Fight Global Warming, says Expert

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:49:27 -0400

by Matt Dickinson

One of the world's leading climate change gurus urged people to become vegetarian today, to help beat global warming.

Nicholas Stern, the author of an influential 2006 review of climate change, said methane emissions from cows and pigs were putting "enormous pressure" on the world and people needed to think about what they ate.

Food & Water Watch Launches 'Healthy School Milk or Bust' Tour Across the Midwest

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:33:05 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2009

Food & Water Watch

Today, Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy group, kicked off its "Healthy School Milk or Bust" tour and hit the road to secure healthy milk for schoolchildren. Traveling in a cow-themed van from July 10th - July 20th, Food & Water Watch will be visiting county fairs, farmers' markets and senators' offices in six states to gear up for this year's re-authorization of the Child Nutrition Act - a bill that is designed to help meet the nutritional needs of children through the National School Lunch Program and other feeding programs.

Pro Food: Slow Food With an Entrepreneurial Twist

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:12:21 -0400

by Rob Smart

With my recent introduction of the term “Pro Food” and a definition of its core principles, several readers have questioned how Pro Food differs from Slow Food. Rather than try to answer this question on my own, as I am only somewhat familiar with Slow Food, I am opening it up to others to help decide.

Pro Food is primarily focused on driving entrepreneurial interest in solving the complex food system challenges we face.

Report Finds Faith Organizations Building Community, Improving Health Through Healthy Foods

Wed, 06 May 2009 09:00:09 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2009

Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy (IATP)

Parishioners at Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Minnesota do more than donate food to a local food shelf—they actually grow it themselves. The project is one of many case studies highlighted in a new report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) that demonstrate a growing nationwide movement within the faith community to put into practice the belief that healthy foods will help feed the body and soul.

100 Days Later, Nation Waits for FDA Overhaul

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:24:59 -0400

by Tom Costello

The Food and Drug Administration may be the only federal agency that both political parties agree is in desperate need of an overhaul.

President Barack Obama is promising action, though progress has been slow in the first 100 days. His choice to head the FDA - Dr. Margaret Hamburg - still has not been confirmed by congress.

Assuming Hamburg is confirmed, she will head an agency whose own Science Board concluded more than two years ago "is at risk of failing to carry out its mandate, leaving our citizens at risk of grievous harm."

Kansas Governor Sebelius Vetoes Milk Labeling Bill and Protects Consumers

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:20:27 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2009

Food & Water Watch

"Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius made a strong stand for consumers yesterday by vetoing a milk labeling bill that would have taken away consumers' right to know how their milk is produced. Had the governor not vetoed the bill, dairy farmers who do not use recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) would have had trouble labeling their milk as such.

Is Local Food Better? Yes, But There's More

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:20:03 -0400

by Sarah DeWeerdt

In 1993, a Swedish researcher calculated that the ingredients of a typical Swedish breakfast-apple, bread, butter, cheese, coffee, cream, orange juice, sugar-traveled a distance equal to the circumference of the Earth before reaching the Scandinavian table. In 2005, a researcher in Iowa found that the milk, sugar, and strawberries that go into a carton of strawberry yogurt collectively journeyed 2,211 miles (3,558 kilometers) just to get to the processing plant.

In Praise of Peasants

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:59:09 -0400

by Jim Goodman

"Our lives are dependent on the sacrifice of the Campesinos"- Cesar Chavez
read more

29 Groups Urge Kansas Gov. Sebelius to Veto Bill on RBGH Milk Labeling

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:16:43 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2009

Consumers Union

Today a broad array of 29 farmers, consumer groups, businesses and other organizations sent a letter to Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, urging her to veto HR 2121, a bill passed by the Kansas State Legislature last week which would require an additional disclaimer on labels for dairy products produced from cows not treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH or rbST), a genetically engineered, artificial hormone that induces cows to produce more milk. The bill was sent yesterday to Governor Sebel

Inflation and Speculation: Ingredients for the Next Food Crisis?

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:07:22 -0400

by Eric Holt-Giménez & Annie Shattuck

First Lady Michelle Obama was heartily cheered last week when she visited a food bank and then went home to break ground for an organic "victory garden" on the White House lawn. Mrs. Obama's high-profile activities are good news to anti-hunger groups and advocates of good, local, healthy food. This upbeat news contrasts starkly with the increasing probability of a return to the 2008 global food crisis.