Food

Boost in Food-Stamp Funding Percolates Through Economy
DAVENPORT, Iowa -- The lush red strawberries caught the attention of Rachel Patrick, a mother of five shopping at a farmers market along the Mississippi River here. She selected two cartons and ignited a little-noticed chain reaction that is an important

Dry milk recall expands to cereal, hot cocoa, popcorn toppings
What began as a small investigation into tainted milkshake powder has become a nationwide recall of related products. No illnesses have been linked to the contamination of ingredients sold by a Minnesota milk cooperative, says the Food and Drug Administr

True definition of fast food: 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes
Everyone has their own Fourth of July traditions. On Coney Island in New York, it's all about the hot dogs. Joey Chestnut, America's finest example of a "fast-food eater," set a new world record Saturday by knocking down 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes in th

Organic foods may not be
There is an old Latin saying: "Caveat emptor", translated as "Let the buyer beware." Where food labeled as "USDA Organic" is concerned, this old adage is a good warning. Consumers, who pay significantly higher prices in many instances for organic foods, a

Residents find family help from Angel Food Ministries
Feeding a family of four for an entire week on may sound like a nearly impossible task, but one local congregation is partnering with a national ministry to make sure that is exactly what can happen. First Baptist Church in Marshalltown recently st

School’s Out, but Many Will Get Free Meals
REGULAR classes at the Greater Brunswick Charter School in New Brunswick, N.J., ended June 25, but many students and their families will continue to stop by each week this summer to collect two bags of free groceries — pasta, rice, tomato sauce, canned tu

Study: Even Cockroaches Get Fat From Bad Food
Cockroaches may be tiny enough to slip through the smallest of cracks, but just like humans, these eternal pests can get fat on an unhealthy diet. As part of a decade's worth of research on cockroaches, Patricia Moore of the University of Exeter studie

Is organic food better? There's growing evidence
As production of organic foods is rising about 20 percent a year, farmers markets are crowded and even mainstream grocery stores carry organic produce. Organics are moving beyond the fad stage, Jim Riddle says. They are here to stay because they are of

Fourth of July food safety tips
With the Fourth of July weekend upon us, the USDA has issued several food safety tips to ensure that your festivities aren’t hampered by sickness due to improper food handling. Since many families will be grilling this Fourth of July weekend, it’s importa

Common Pain Relief Drug Linked to Liver Damage
An over-the-counter painkiller widely used around the globe is not as safe as many people think. An expert panel told the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that acetaminophen is responsible for acute liver damage if taken in too high a dose. Margalit R

From One Chicken Breast, Many Meals
If you have seen Robert Kenner’s excellent and disturbing movie, "Food Inc.," then you may already have crossed chicken off your list of acceptable foods. Or, like me, you may have resolved to seek out chicken that has been raised in a humane way, not mas

Ky. Schools' Healthy Example Could Shape a National Policy
It didn't seem like a radical idea at the time. First, Ginger Gray, the food service director for Kenton County, Ky., schools, took away fried potato chips, offering students baked versions instead. Next, she phased out fruit drinks such as Kool-Aid in fa

School foods blamed for obesity – your chance to vote now!
Fast food, sodas and other sweets are pretty common in schools these days. If the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2009 passes, drastic changes could be coming to a school cafeteria near you. With childhood obesity rates more t

Nestlé Recall Leaves A Mystery in Its Wake
Federal microbiologists and food safety investigators have descended on the Danville, Va., plant that makes Nestlé's refrigerated cookie dough, trying to crack a scientific mystery surrounding a national outbreak of illness from E. coli 0157, a deadly str

How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains
As head of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. David A. Kessler served two presidents and battled Congress and Big Tobacco. But the Harvard-educated pediatrician discovered he was helpless against the forces of a chocolate chip cookie. In an experime

Zicam alternatives natural, cheaper, plentiful
From a few flakes of cayenne pepper to a steaming mug of herbal tea, there are many alternatives to those Zicam cold remedy products the Food and Drug Administration has warned against, according to an Alternative Medicine Examiner. "In the event of plug

'Food, Inc.': The Unsavory Business of Feeding America
By Ann Hornaday Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 19, 2009 In the muckraking tradition of Upton Sinclair and the slick documentary stylings of "An Inconvenient Truth," Robert Kenner's "Food, Inc." seeks to lift the curtain on the cynical and o

International Report Predicts Decade of High Food Prices
A report released in Paris says international food prices will likely remain high during the next decade, although they will probably not hit the heights that sparked riots last year. Experts also say the prices will have a mixed impact in developing coun

Finding Purpose in Serving the Needy, Not Just Haute Cuisine
RICHMOND, Calif. — Along with salt and pepper, the well-used kitchen contains a dash of wisdom. In the jostling hubbub of Tim Hammack’s kitchen at the Bay Area Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter in an eddy of urban need, it is about taking life as it come

Food bank provides emergency resources in Silver Point
"I've worked in aerospace. I have a college degree. I am half-way through a masters degree. But I don't have a job and I don't have money for food. I can't believe I'm the recipient of a food drive, but I'm so grateful for it. I can eat tonight." The

Class connects food to its origins
The Braise Culinary School holds classes on farms and in forests during warm months. Most classes start with a farm tour -- or recently, a walk in the woods -- so students can see how food grows before they learn to prepare it. "The idea, basically, is

Desperate Russians won't turn up their noses at expired food
Retirees, living on limited pensions, forage Moscow back alleys for the best deals on past-their-prime, even slightly rotten or moldy, goods. They say these days they're competing with bigger crowds. Reporting from Moscow -- The cheeses are spotted wit

Hot dog sales sizzle as makers embroiled in suit
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hot dog sales are set to sizzle as people look for ways to eat on the cheap and the summer grilling season starts. But the scramble to be top dog in the .1 billion market has sent the makers of Ball Park franks and Oscar Mayer wieners t

NUTRO Recalls Dry Cat Food Sold in 11 Countries
For more than a year, NUTRO Pet Products has shrugged off consumer complaints about dogs and cats becoming ill and even dying after eating the company's food. The company's public relations agents have insisted the food was "100 percent safe" and both NUT

Out of work pilots: 'Will fly for food'
SEATTLE -- Two out-of-work Seattle-area pilots have tweaked the panhandler's refrain to "Will Fly for Food." Thirty-four-year-old Chris Campbell of Seattle and 35-year-old Steffen Schmidt of Snohomish stood Thursday along a main commuter route into dow

Depression-era chronicle shows a squirrelly food pyramid
If you live by the government's nutritional guidelines, you sat down this morning to a breakfast of protein and fiber - maybe juice, whole grain cereal, and low-fat milk. If, however, you were rushed like a lot of Americans, you pulled into a fast-food

A New Market for South Street
Former fish dealers’ stalls in the Fulton Market building on South Street will become a two-day-a-week market for foods from the region, from May 22 through early fall.

Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?
For most of us, the idea that civilization itself could disintegrate probably seems preposterous. Who would not find it hard to think seriously about such a complete departure from what we expect of ordinary life? What evidence could make us heed a warnin

New standards could cut tax breaks for corn-based ethanol
Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration proposed draft rules on Tuesday that could handicap producers of corn-based ethanol, a move that cheered environmentalists worried about global warming and sets the stage for an outcry from Midwest gra

Mississippi Farmers Trade Cotton Plantings for Corn
Farmers working land that has bloomed a dazzling snowy white every September since before the Civil War are switching to corn and soybeans. As gleaming silver corn silos go up on farm after farm, cotton gins are laying off workers or shutting down.

Dark SugarThe decline and fall of high-fructose corn syrup.
High-fructose corn syrup first started trickling into our food supply about 40 years ago; by 1984, it was flowing from just about every soda fountain in the country. These days HFCS accounts for almost half of all the added sugars in the U.S. diet, but th

Will California Shuck Corn Ethanol?
California regulators have apparently discovered it ain't easy being green. The California Air Resources Board began two days of hearings in Sacramento on Thursday on a proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard which considers the carbon intensity of fuels during

Hospitals adding fresh, organic food to the menu
The days of bland chicken, reconstituted potatoes, frozen peas and a side of syrupy, canned peaches appear to be coming to a close at a growing number of hospitals across the U.S. Spurred by patient demand, concerns about setting a healthful example an

Food Firms Cook Up Ways to Combat Rare Sales Slump
CAMDEN, N.J. -- The packaged-food industry has long touted itself as recession-proof. Strapped consumers are shattering that assumption, setting off a frenzy in the nation's supermarket aisles and cooking labs. In the last quarter of 2008, consumer spe

Corn Ethanol Will Not Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions
California regulators, trying to assess the true environmental cost of corn ethanol, are poised to declare that the biofuel cannot help the state reduce global warming. As they see it, corn is no better – and might be worse – than petroleum when total

Burger King to scrap ad after complaint
An advertisement for a new Tex-Mex style hamburger hangs in a Burger King window in central Madrid April 14, 2009. Mexico's ambassador to Spain said posters for the new "Texican whopper inappropriately display the Mexican flag, which is draped over a dimi

Why That Big Meal You Just Ate Made You Hungry
Every few months, a new study purports to prove that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, and that the only way to lose weight is to burn more than you take in. But veteran dieters know something that some researchers apparently don't: Certain foods se

Six foods that are definitely good for you
BOOST YOUR DIET | Easy, tasty ways to add vitamins, fiber, flavor What do eggs, coffee and chocolate have in common? You're probably confused about whether they're good for you or not because of conflicting scientific information. But there are plen

Southeast growers ponder future with little history for guidance
In my job I get to meet a lot of interesting people, mostly farm people, many come from a farming legacy. Being a fourth or fifth generation farmer is common and farming land that has been in their family over a hundred years is not too uncommon. Moder

Recession closes in on chicken farmers
Reporting from Siler City, N.C. -- Four years ago, Andrew Meeks literally bet the farm on chickens. Now he fears he made a losing bet. His three massive chicken houses are empty, and a "For Sale" sign has sprouted out front. Meeks, a contract chicken f

Chinese taste for fried food may keep vegetable oils hot despite slump
Permanently changed diets in China and the world's unrelenting appetite for fried food may defy the global recession and trigger a “stagflation” surge in the price of edible oils, commodity traders in Asia have said. Fears are growing that food oil mar

Mexico tariffs hurt California farmers
California agricultural groups, stung by retaliatory tariffs resulting from a U.S. trucking dispute with Mexico, are stepping up pressure on the Obama administration to quickly resolve a budding trade war that could cost them more than 0 million this y

Free-Range Trichinosis
IS free-range pork better and safer to eat than conventional pork? Many consumers think so. The well-publicized horrors of intensive pig farming have fostered the widespread assumption that, as one purveyor of free-range meats put it, “the health benefits

Nonprofit Wash. farm produces tons of food
TACOMA, Wash. -- Otis Jackson Jr. of Parkland celebrated his 21st birthday by touching a horse. Jackson was a member of a Pierce County District Court work crew working to satisfy a community service requirement at the nonprofit Mother Earth Farm near

Sweet Surrender: Taxing soda to make you stop drinking it.
The food police are closing in on their next target: a soda tax. New York City's health commissioner, Thomas Frieden, is leading the way. He's the guy who purged trans fats from the city's restaurants and made them post calorie counts for menu items. L

Obama in a Pear Tree
Still think trade protectionism is good policy? Tell it to fruit growers in the Northwest, who are already feeling the bite of President Obama's decision to appease the Teamsters union and bar Mexican trucks from U.S. highways. Mr. Obama acquiesced in

Report: Ethanol raises cost of nutrition programs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The increased use of ethanol could cost the government up to 0 million for food stamps and child nutrition programs, a congressional report says. Higher use of the corn-based fuel additive accounted for about 10 percent to 15 percent

Where Policy Grows
Dave Murphy is the founder of a food advocacy group. But he wants you to know, "in no uncertain terms," that he is not a foodie. Foodies are people who obsess about the perfect apple tart. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But for Murphy, the fig

Scientists eye energy-burning 'good fat' to fight obesity
Fight fat with fat? The newest obesity theory suggests we may one day be able to do just that. Just like good and bad cholesterol, there apparently are good and bad types of body fat. Scientists until recently believed this good fat, which spurs the bo

Number of food-borne illnesses holds steady
New statistics on 2008 food-borne illnesses show the same rogues' gallery of five infectious pathogens remain at the core of food-related sickenings, and although estimates on the number of illnesses have not worsened, they haven't improved. Nationwide

Hidden Allergens in 7 Ethnic Foods
Global cuisines can be a delicious way to experience different cultures. Part of the fun is seeing how different people use exotic and familiar ingredients in uncommon ways. But this practice can pose risks for those with food allergies. As the ingredi

Solution To Drought: It's In The Genes
California is short of more than jobs, money and optimism these days. Several years of drought have dried up reservoirs, parched fields, damaged forests and caused regulators around the state to impose restrictions on water usage. California agricul

A Long Row to Hoe: Obama's ill-fated effort to cut subsidies to wealthy farmers
At least someone is getting a bonus this year. Bankers may be out of luck, and things aren't looking too good for autoworkers, but boy howdy, things are right as rain down on the farm. Food prices are holding fairly steady, energy costs are low. And ev

Making do making milk / Rising costs squeeze dairy farms, but quitting is no simple solution
WEST HAVEN -- Got milk? Kerry Gibson does. He's just not getting paid much for it. Gibson is one of many dairy farmers in Utah losing money every day by trying to make a living. At Gibson's Green Acres farm in West Haven, the state representative

Texas woman calls 911 over shrimp shortage in food
HALTOM CITY, Texas -- A woman called 911 to report she didn't get as much shrimp as she wanted in her fried rice at a Texas restaurant. Haltom City police on Tuesday released the taped emergency call, in which the customer is heard telling the dispat

Pistachio Firm Expands Recall Over Salmonella
The second-largest pistachio processor in the nation yesterday significantly expanded its recall of nuts after federal investigators found salmonella bacteria in "critical areas" of its California facility.

Pistachio Recall Signals Tough Stance on Safety
WASHINGTON — As the nation’s second-largest processor of pistachios agreed Monday to recall its entire 2008 crop despite no confirmed illnesses, the Obama administration issued a tough warning to all food makers that sloppy manufacturing practices would n

The Grass-Fed Menagerie
The streams ran high with melted snow, wild chives were breaking through the dirt and bluebirds — actual bluebirds — swooped down from bare trees. My wife and I were taking a spring walk along a Catskills road, 1-year-old Elliot strapped to my back while

Lawmakers want heart-clogging foods off menus.
Texas diners who like everything — Twinkies to bacon — a heaping lot better if it’s been deep-fried soon may be chowing on healthier cuisine if the Legislature approves a measure to ban heart-clogging artificial trans fats from restaurant meals. Lawmak

Dark chocolate price jump may melt sales gains
Dark chocolate sales jumped 35 percent, to 9 million between February 2007 and February 2008, while all other chocolate sales inched up 1.5 percent, to .8 billion, according to Nielsen Co. And because dark chocolate contains a higher concentration of

Angel Food Ministries provides help in tough economic times
In today’s struggling economy, everyone is looking a bargain especially when it comes to grocery shopping and feeding our families. A local church has stepped up to the plate and is providing a service to the local community through its Angel Food Mini

Cooking up a new career in the food industry
It’s all about food lately. Culinary shows like “Top Chef” and “Hell’s Kitchen” are all the rage. Tainted peanuts have us worried about what we eat and how to make it better. Books such as “The Omnivore's Dilemma” and “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics”

Modern cattle rustlers update Wild West ways
Otto Dwaine Hendricks is a character out of the Old West transplanted to the 21st century, to hear the police tell it. The Dade County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department says Hendricks is a cattle thief, responsible for making off with tens of thousands of dol

Mind over Chocolate
Move over, organic, fair trade and free range--the latest in enlightened edibles is here: food with "embedded" positive intentions. While the idea isn't new--cultures like the Navajo have been doing it for centuries--for-profit companies in the U.S. and C

My son's struggle against deadly food allergies
Chicken nuggets. Sandwiches. Pizza. Baseball games. Play-Doh. These are some of the basics of childhood that could prove deadly to my 4-year-old son, Teddy. He has to steer clear of milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts and tree nuts -- even places like baseball

US corn acreage expected to drop slightly
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- The nation's farmers are expected to plant fewer acres of corn and wheat - staple ingredients in a wide variety of foods. But industry experts say consumers should not expect a big jump in prices at the grocery store. The Agricul

Unrequired test nipped tainted pistachios in bud
TERRA BELLA, Calif. – The reason it didn't take dozens of illnesses for federal regulators to learn about salmonella-tainted pistachios has nothing to do with federal regulations. Routine but unrequired testing by a manufacturer for Kraft Foods Inc. firs

Maple syrup-makers strike gold
FAIRFIELD, Vt. — The spring sun is shining and billows of steam are rising from the chimneys at Tom and Cecile Branon's sugarhouse, set on a rise above acres of maple trees. The scent of maple syrup is strong enough to make your mouth water. The price is

GOVERNMENT POLICY AT ODDS WITH SCIENCE
Over the last decade, our radically changing diet has ushered in the explosive growth of food-related ailments, such as allergies, asthma, obesity, diabetes, autism, infertility, gastro-intestinal disorders, and learning disabilities. Of all the changes i

Pistachio growers are shell shocked by FDA warning
The agency has warned consumers to not eat the nuts because of potential salmonella contamination. Growers say it was an overreaction to the discovery of the disease in a small part of the crop. The FDA is scrambling to prevent a repeat of a recent sal

Researchers Weigh In on Debate About Affordability of Highly-Nutritious Food
Researchers at the University of California – Davis and the University of Washington tested their hypothesis that lower-cost diets among low-income women would be higher in calories but lower in nutrients. Their tests concluded that the more energy-dense

Salmonella in Pistachios Spurs Recall
Barely two months after a huge recall of peanut-related products, federal officials said late Monday that a California processor would recall about one million pounds of pistachio products because of concerns about salmonella contamination. The company

A bumper crop of food gardens
WASHINGTON: More than a third of Americans, including First Lady Michelle Obama, are working the hoe at home, keen to grow their own tomatoes, cucumbers and beans. According to the National Gardening Association, home vegetable gardens are sprouting ac

A Vegetable Garden Grows at the White House
Earlier this month, Michelle Obama and twenty-three schoolchildren helped prepare the ground for an organic vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House. The first lady showed the young gardeners how to turn the soil for the one hundred square me

Will Obama's Food Safety Team Finally Regulate the Biggest Food Safety Hazard of Our Time
Over the last decade, our radically changing diet has ushered in the explosive growth of food-related ailments, such as allergies, asthma, obesity, diabetes, autism, infertility, gastro-intestinal disorders, and learning disabilities. Of all the changes i

Hunger lives here
When most people think of “the hungry,” they tend to think of those in poor, third-world countries. Or the homeless. Or poor people who live “somewhere else.” In reality, millions of Americans are going hungry in every community in the country. Familie

Oklahoma City food bank hopes to save more pets
Many people consider their pets part of the family, but Oklahoma City’s animal advocates are worried about what happens when finances are tight and the choice is to feed the kids or feed the dog. Their solution: a pet food bank. Just like traditional

Mobile Food Bank Begins Operation
UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio — A social services agency is operating a new mobile food pantry for southeast Ohio. Unemployment runs as high as 15 percent in some southeast Ohio counties, and many residents do not have access to nearby food pantries. "So ma

Fast-food diners don't check calorie content
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ever wonder how often people take time to find out how many calories are in their large order of fries? Almost never. Out of 4311 people buying food at McDonalds, Burger King, Au Bon Pain, or Starbucks, Christina A. Rober

Poor records slow food probes: U.S. watchdog
By Christopher Doering WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many U.S. food handlers do not maintain proper records to track products such as milk and oatmeal, making it hard to identify the source of a food-borne outbreak, a government investigator said on Thursday.

U.S. donates dairy surplus to schools, food programs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government will shift 0 million worth of surplus dry milk into school lunches and food donations to help poor people, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday. With unemployment on the rise, a record 31.8 mi

Second Harvest Food Bank Joining Forces with Food City
Every month, the Second Harvest Food Bank provides food for about 29,000 people in Northeast Tennessee. And to keep the pantries stocked, Second Harvest is again joining forces with Food City and the Junior Leagues of Bristol, Johnson City and Kingsport t

Food costs: Prices starting to get reined in
While prices may still seem painfully high in the supermarket aisles, long-suffering consumers are beginning to see a break in their grocery bills—a bit of good news amid economic gloom. Falling raw material costs coupled with a feeble economy have cur

Recipe: Roasted Asparagus with Spring Onions and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Asparagus not only is a pleasant and affordable harbinger of spring, it also does great things for a healthy diet. Asparagus loses its vitamins and sugars quickly when left at room temperature and is best eaten the day it is purchased. To keep asparagu

Pharmaceuticals found in fish across U.S.
Fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major U.S. cities had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder and depression, researchers reported

Fast Food Calorie Counter for iPhone
You were being totally sincere last New Year’s Eve when you yanked that lampshade off your head and shouted out some semi-lucid babble to nobody in particular about this being the year you finally lose some weight. And though you’ve definitely worked broc

The Yarrow gives marrow to food bank
The band Van Halen used to infamously demand M&M's be provided backstage, with all of the brown candies removed. Local band The Yarrow will take M&M's -- even the brown ones -- but would rather receive canned food backstage. That's because the ro

Food recall: brown eggs may contain salmonella
Two brands of brown eggs sold at Costco, Safeway and Pack N Save groceries have been voluntarily recalled because the eggs may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. No illnesses have been linked to the eggs. But the distributor, a Ripon-based busines

Smart Goop
It would be safe to assume that there’s nothing much left to be said about Gwyneth Paltrow’s self-appointed role as America’s holistic adviser. After all, what’s not to trash about a glamorous actress who fixates on having the cleanest GI tract south of 1

Drug industry advocates join chorus to split FDA
WASHINGTON (AP) — As momentum builds to rework the nation's food-safety system after a salmonella outbreak linked to peanuts, the drug industry is hoping for a happy side effect: faster approvals for new medicines. Drug industry advocates are quietly all

What next for the beloved, beleaguered peanut?
In America, when it comes to food, the low-cost, high-protein peanut is one of the national icons — right up there with the hamburger and the apple. "We grew up, and it was just a part of our lives," says Beth Feldman, a New York Web entrepreneur, mother

GAO study: Fraudulent fish easily slip into the food stream
Sometimes excessive amounts of water, ice or breading are added to increase weight, sometimes seafood is shipped through an intermediate country to avoid customs duties, and sometimes packages are labeled as containing more seafood than they actually do,

Sugar Is Back on Food Labels, This Time as a Selling Point
Sugar, the nutritional pariah that dentists and dietitians have long reviled, is enjoying a second act, dressed up as a natural, healthful ingredient. From the tomato sauce on a Pizza Hut pie called “The Natural,” to the just-released soda Pepsi Natura

Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?
AS tens of thousands of people recently strolled among booths of the nation’s largest organic and natural foods show here, munching on fair-trade chocolate and sipping organic wine, a few dozen pioneers of the industry sneaked off to an out-of-the-way con

To GM or Not To GM
There’s been quite a bit of contention erupt over a bill being proposed in the House, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, HR 875: This bill is purportedly to establish a ‘Food Safety Administration’ within the DHHS to regulate food safety, labellin

Eating Food That’s Better for You, Organic or Not
In the six-and-one-half years since the federal government began certifying food as “organic,” Americans have taken to the idea with considerable enthusiasm. Sales have at least doubled, and three-quarters of the nation’s grocery stores now carry at least

Residents rally to West Valley Food Pantry's aid
After learning that the shelves at the West Valley Food Pantry were going empty as demand for aid had risen, the residents of nearby Bell Canyon took some decisive action: They dropped off plastic donation bags last week at mailboxes with a flier atta

Vegfest offers fun opportunities with healthy food this weekend
Baby boomers are interested in being healthy, so Vegfest, Seattle's annual vegetarian food festival, is a good place to gather information and learn about new, nutritious foods. You can taste more than 500 kinds of free food samples, see cooking demons

Nothing to Sneeze at: Rethinking Childhood Food Allergies
Over a decade ago, I put myself through college by working as a pre-school teacher at a well-equipped private school. The job was often challenging, as four year-olds can be, but one of the more nerve wracking and daunting responsibilities was caring for

Food Rules: Labels Must Now Give Origin
New regulations at U.S. supermarkets are giving consumers the knowledge they have been asking for—where the fresh food they buy originates. Recent food contaminations have made headlines across the globe causing deaths, illness and overall unease. Most

Ohio Food Stamp Rules Called 'Offensive'
LEBANON, Ohio (AP) - A southwest Ohio county is threatening to ignore new food stamp rules because officials say relatively well off people are getting benefits. Commissioners in Warren County near Cincinnati said Tuesday they want to go back to the ol

Finally, US Bans Diseased Cattle from Food Supply
At long last, a rule finalized this weekend will ban so-called “downer” cattle from entering U.S. slaughterhouses, said Reuters. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized the rule nearly one year after the largest meat recall in American history

Bee hygiene key to world food supply
Bee hygiene may not be right at the top of most people's worry lists in these troubled times. But maybe it should be. For, if researchers are to be believed, the future of the world's food supplies may depend on it. Britain's only professor of apiculture

The future of food
“No Farms, No Food,” is the motto of American Farmland Trust, an advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. The motto serves as an important reminder to the consuming public that food comes from fields and waterways, not supermarkets. The Trust’s le

Low Corn Prices Forcing Farmers To Change Planting Strategy
Farmers are gearing up for planting season, but no matter what kind of crops they harvest, some farmers are just hoping to break even this year. Last summer corn was selling for .35 a bushel; today that same bushel comes in at .50. On top of a drop

Greenopia Releases Online Eco-Ratings for Fast Food Restaurants
SANTA MONICA, CA - Greenopia announced today that it has released the Green Industry's most comprehensive ratings for fast food restaurants. Available on its popular website, www.greenopia.com, the fast food ratings use Greenopia's 4-Leaf rating system to

Scrutiny inconsistent in food safety
Under the government's fragmented regulation of food safety, some industries, such as meat and seafood, are required to have science-based programs to keep harmful germs out. For most other food processors, such programs are voluntary. Makers of fresh

Who’s Cooking? (For Health, It Matters)
You may be cooking more these days. But is your cooking healthier? Studies show that the biggest influence on family eating habits is the person who buys and prepares the food. These “nutritional gatekeepers,” as researchers call them, influence more t

Australia's Food Bowl, Like The World's, Is Drying Up
Twelve years ago, the rain stopped falling with any consequence in Australia’s prime food-growing region, bounded on the south by the Murray River and the west by the Darling. The clash between nature and agriculture in the Murray-Darling raised food pric

Alice Waters' Crusade For Better Food
(CBS) When it comes to food, Alice Waters is a legend. At age 64, she has done more to change how we Americans eat, cook and think about food than anyone since Julia Child. Waters was only 27 years old in 1971 when she opened her French bistro Chez P

Rachael Ray on Larry King Live
Ray: We need to go back to the way our grandparents prepared food. Instead of buying pieces of chicken, buy a whole chicken. You make that on Sunday, take the leftovers, roll that into fajitas, soups, stews, make your own stock. You’ve got to start thinki

Obama Targets Food Safety
President Obama accused the Bush administration yesterday of creating a "hazard to public health" by failing to curb food contamination problems, and he announced new leadership and other changes aimed at modernizing food-safety laws. In his weekly add

Farmers Lead a Bid to Create 2 Californias
VISALIA, Calif. — After nearly 90 years on the farm, Virgil Rogers has suffered through all manner of agricultural agita, from colicky cows to oscillating milk prices to drought, both past and present. But Mr. Rogers’s newest source of consternation, h

School near fast-food joint? Expect fatter kids
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fast-food restaurant within about 500 feet of a school may lead to at least a 5 percent increase in the obesity rate at that school, according to a study released on Friday. The study, conducted by economists at Columbia Universi

Food stamp enrollment jumps to record 31.8 million
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A record 31.8 million Americans received food stamps at the latest count, an increase of 700,000 people in one month with the United States in recession, government figures showed on Thursday. Food stamps, which help poor people

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez tightens state control of food amid rocketing inflation and food shortages
Venezuela's public finances are unravelling, with oil prices at a barrel, while the national budget is calculated at a barrel. Inflation is running at over 30 per cent, yet with the new measures Mr. Chavez is seeking to ensure that his core suppor

On the Brink of Collapse: US food shortages loom
Because of the economic collapse, corporate farms are having the same problem as other industries: they can’t get operating loans to buy seed, fertilizer and the over-priced chemical inputs needed to mass produce food.

County facing rising need for food stamps
There is startling new information about the state of those in need in Southwest Florida. Requests for food stamps in Lee County are skyrocketing. Some might say Tiffany Stoughton serves as the perfect face of this downed economy. She is a middle cl

Farmers market in SW Valley is all about the food
A new food-only farmers market in the Southwest Valley is drawing far-flung customers with its inventory of fresh produce and home-raised eggs at a time when other markets are struggling to find vendors. Arizona residents' desire for locally farmed foo

She turns cameras on American hunger
How she came to be in Gaines' living room, holding her babies and listening to her problems, is a testament to one woman's dogged determination to make a difference. For years, Chilton directed statistical studies about hunger and food insecurity witho

Half a glass of wine a day increases risk of cancer: researchers
Drinking just half a glass of wine a day can increase the risk of cancer, research has found. The study from the National Cancer Institute in Paris found one unit of alcohol, the equivalent of half a standard 175ml of ordinary strength wine per day increa

Clean living way to beat cancer
Over 40% of breast and bowel cancer cases in rich countries are preventable through diet, physical activity and weight control alone, experts say. Simple measures like cycling to work and swapping fatty foods for fruit can make all the difference for thes

Angel Food founder served prison time
WALTON COUNTY — Joe Wingo has never tried to hide the fact he has spent time in prison. Actually, just the opposite is true. Wingo, the CEO and founder of Angel Food Ministries, often uses his past transgression in the personal testimony he gives ch

The more fast-food surrounds you – the higher your stroke risk: study
“The association suggested that the risk of stroke in a neighbourhood increased by 1% for every fast-food restaurant," the authors said at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference last week. According to the study people who li

USDA Reports; CFTC Issues; and Crop Insurance
The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released its 2009 Farm Sector Income and Costs Forecast, which stated that, “Net farm income is forecast to be .2 billion in 2009, down .1 billion (20 percent) from the preliminary estimate of .3 billion

Confidence erodes in U.S. food supply
The deadly salmonella outbreak tied to peanut butter made at a filthy Georgia processing plant has caused consumer confidence in the food supply to plummet. Just one in five Americans now believe the food supply is safer than it was a year ago

Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research
Biotechnology companies are keeping university scientists from fully researching the effectiveness and environmental impact of the industry’s genetically modified crops, according to an unusual complaint issued by a group of those scientists.

Newly Poor Swell Lines at Food Banks
Once a crutch for the most needy, food pantries have responded to the deepening recession by opening their doors to what Rosemary Gilmartin, who runs the Interfaith Food Pantry here, described as “the next layer of people” — a rapidly expanding roster of

Urban Composting: A New Can of Worms
ON a recent Saturday afternoon, Stephanie Stern and her husband poured 1,000 wriggling red worms from a brown bag into a plastic bin outside their bathroom, looked down and hoped for the best.

California Weather Exposes Fiction of Global Warming
“We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California,” Chu told The Los Angeles Times, adding, “I don't actually see how they can keep their cities going.” January had been unusually dry, the start of a third dry year in a row f

Catastrophic Fall in 2009 Global Food Production
After reading about the droughts in two major agricultural countries, China and Argentina, I decided to research the extent other food producing nations were also experiencing droughts. This project ended up taking a lot longer than I thought. 2009 looks

Codex Alimentarius - How the global elite will control your food supply
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), based in Rome, Italy is an international organization jointly created in 1962 by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations “allegedly” to protect the

The pending scramble for water
In 2008, Saudi Arabia ceased to be self sufficient in wheat production. It is looking to access land overseas to grow crops, possibly in Pakistan or the Horn of Africa. China is acquiring agricultural land in Southern Africa for similar purposes. And D

Eating Isn’t Option When Minnesota Corn Burns in Houston Cars
Today, burning crops like corn, soybeans and sugar cane for fuel is policy in the U.S., Brazil and the European Union — while almost 1 billion of the world’s 6.8 billion people are hungry, the most in a generation. About 95 percent of what Vis grows feeds

The other dark meat: Raccoon is making it to the table
He rolls into the parking lot of Leon's Thriftway in an old, maroon Impala with a trunk full of frozen meat. Raccoon — the other dark meat. In five minutes, Montrose, Mo., trapper Larry Brownsberger is sold out in the lot at 39th Street and Kensington

Nearly 7 million Zimbabweans need food aid: UN
HARARE (AFP) - - Zimbabwe's humanitarian disaster is far worse than anticipated with only six percent of the population formally employed and more than half in need of emergency food aid, a UN report said Thursday. Fewer than half a million Zimbabwea

Odd Crop Prices Defy Economics
A farmer harvested corn in Illinois last September. A corn futures contract that month expired 55 cents above the cash price.

Food makers don't report in-house test results
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal probe into a deadly salmonella outbreak has exposed a dirty secret: Food producers in most states are not required to alert health regulators if internal tests show possible contamination at their plants.