sowing seeds: news of inspiration
West Granby, CT - "The tomato buyers come in early every day and then they're gone by the afternoon." So says Gary Cirullo, owner of the Garlic Farm in West Granby, Connecticut who is selling out of tomatoes on a daily basis. The salmonella scare certainly doesn't intimidate folks around here. Why? Cause they know the farmer and know that their food is safe and fresh.
weeds: trouble patches
From the Huffington Post...
Tomato Growers Report Salmonella Scare Damages Industry
STEVE SZKOTAK | July 19, 2008 11:44 AM EST |
Since the government announced it was investigating whether tomatoes caused the outbreak that began in April, the nation's tomato industry estimates it has lost more than $100 million. Health investigators have not able to find tomatoes that contained the salmonella strain that sickened 1,220 people, and the government on Thursday lifted its salmonella warning involving tomatoes.
Produce manager Richard Yantis sorts through Roma tomatoes at Compton's market in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, July 18, 2008. In Virginia is there is a bumper crop of tomatoes, but there is a lingering consumer concern about the safety of tomatoes.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
the baddest seed: blunders in biotechnology:
High food prices may cut opposition to genetically modified food.
International Herald Tribune, By Sam Cage Reuters Published: July 8, 2008
ZURICH - Like many stores in Europe, the Coop chain of supermarkets in Switzerland does not specify whether goods are genetically modified - because none are. But a wave of food-price inflation may help wash away popular opposition to so-called Frankenstein foods...
...The European Commission has said that it believes biotech crops can alleviate the current crisis in food supply, although it added in June that expediency should not overrule strict scientific scrutiny of the use of the technology involved.
The chairman of Nestlé, the world’s biggest food group, has said it is impossible to feed the world without genetically modified organisms....
Photo by: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters Switzerland's
Coop supermarket chain, which does sell any genetically modified food. The Swiss, like most Europeans, are very wary about such technology.
sowing seeds: news of inspiration
New Amsterdam Public Market, NYC -- Over 60 vendors and 7,000 New Yorkers came down to the site of the former Fulton Fish Market on Sunday, June 29th for a one day outdoor regional foods market. 1,200 market goers also signed a petition for a request that the next New Amsterdam Market be held within the New Market Building in the fall of 2008. A year round indoor public market much like London's Borough Market is the long-time dream of Robert LaValva, who is Executive Director of the New Amsterdam Public Market Association and gave up his day job 5 years ago to see this project through. "The ongoing popularity of New Amsterdam Market proves that New Yorkers support regional food and innovative distribution channels, and that they also value the legacy of historic, public spaces which give soul and character to our city," says LaValva. The Seaport neighborhood has been a public market district since 1642, inaugurated by then Dutch Director-General Peter Stuyvessant when New York was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement known as New Amsterdam. Many public officials are supporting this market, including Hillary Clinton.
Leading the Charge, Leading the Change
Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap, says that the goal of a sustainable and just food system is no longer the rant of a disheveled few, but is embraced as a necessary principle of American life by a growing and articulate majority. (Excerpted from a keynote address given to the Northwest Harvest Food Bank Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington - May 15, 2008)
weeds: trouble patches
Daily Kos blogger Jill Richardson attended the 2008 Bio International Convention in San Diego to mingle with who she calls "eco-terrorists." [BIO is the world's largest biotechnology organization, providing advocacy, business development and communications services for more than 1,150 members worldwide.] After attending 5 sessions, Jill notices that it is interesting to note not only what was mentioned at the conference, but what was not mentioned:
She writes here in her Daily Kos diary:
"I find it significant to note what wasn't brought up during the sessions I attended. First of all, only one person who asked a question brought up the flavor of the GM crops they are making. I guess that's not much of a priority in the biotech world.
Only one person brought up biodiversity and the danger of losing the thousands of varieties of plants that humans once grew. The person answering did not really know what to say, other than that the big biotech firms are saving seeds of many varieties so they can use them if they need them. The moderator then cracked that when he went to Franch he saw an apple variety that looked like an oyster and we don't need that variety.
Perhaps most significantly, nobody brought up the possibility of genetic contamination (i.e. GM crops pollinating non-GM domesticated crops or even wild plants). Seeing as how that's usually one of the biggest risks I hear people mention about GM crops, it was disturbing that nobody mentioned it."
Bye, Bye Miss American Pie
Iowa's sweet corn is a no show this 4th of July while some Michigan farmers say their crops look good.
the baddest seed: blunders in biotechnology
Dow, Monsanto Move To Grow Crop Businesses
Monsanto (nyse: MON - news - people ) agreed to acquire Marmot S.A., which operates Central America's leading corn seed company, giving it a distribution network to deliver new products to farmers in the region...."This acquisition, which solidified Monsanto's position as the leading corn seed provider in the Latin and Central American regions, will enable our companies to provide new and innovative higher-yielding corn seed offerings to farmers," said Brett Begemann, Monsanto's global commercial executive vice president.
sowing seeds: news of inspiration
People are talking about who will be Obama's VP, but what about that very important position of Secretary of Agriculture, you know, the one who oversees our food production here in the US of A? Daily Kos had a poll with Jim Hightower in the lead. But who would YOU like to see become our new Secretary of Agriculture? You can vote for your gal/guy here, a Wiki site set up by Liz Snyder, Program Director of Full Circle Farm, for all of us citizens here to give voice to this important nomination. We'll be following up on this issue later in the campaign but VOTE NOW!!!
Floods Wreck Midwest Economy, But Yonder 40 Still Leads
Bill Bishop from Daily Yonder writes that "The Midwestern floods dropped bridges, raised the price of corn and shut down a Deere plant. But the Yonder 40 stock index is still far ahead of the Dow and S&P."
weeds: trouble patches
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
According to Forbes: One part of Mexico - Baja California - has been cleared of suspicion in the outbreak of salmonella-tainted tomatoes, which U.S. officials said Monday now has sickened 277 people...but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the outbreak isn't over yet.
Is it possible this cheesy 1978 horror flick is not that far off?
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi179831065/
the baddest seed: blunders in biotechnology
Genetically Altered Trout Approved for Release in the UK
According to National Geographic News: " Plans to pour tankfuls of genetically altered fish into wild lakes and rivers have been given the go-ahead in the United Kingdom after conservation scientists backed the project."
RSS Feed