We often associate the food movement with certain terms that we hear a lot in the media: “local”, “organic”, “foodie”, “food deserts” but we rarely stop to think of the big picture. Here is a thoughtful article from Grist.org which places the food movement in context and asks that the various parts keep in mind the larger goals. For me, the goal is to grow food in a way that nurtures people and the planet. Often, the debate gets lost in a forest of either/or options which is misleading. Biotechnology as well as agroecology can be utilized together to boost production , feed people and preserve the planet. Insisting that only one option is the “best” is detrimental to the goal we all want to achieve.
Category Archives: Food Policy
New Front in Food Fight
Chicago school bans some lunches brought from home. Should the school decide what nutritional standards your child has to follow?The school should certainly determine what is offered in the cafeteria but to undermine parental choice is a different matter. Of course, the school stands to make more money from this move and parents have to spend more on their children’s lunch now.
Posted in Food Policy, Nutrition
Farm Subsidies, Radioactive Sushi, Strawberries…
…in the news headlines today.
The GOP proposes cutting farm subsidies to the extent of 20 percent of current spending.
NPR addresses the concerns over tainted seafood from Japan as leaks continue from the Fukushima Dai-chi nuclear plant.
Spring is here and the countdown to strawberry times has begun (at least in my home!) so here is a reminder of the reason why it is worth paying extra for organic strawberries.
Posted in Food Policy, Food Safety
Monsanto Sued by Farmers
In a new and interesting development, organic farmers have sued Monsanto over its allegations of patent infringements of seeds. Reported by Grist.com.
Posted in Food Policy, Food Safety
Food Inflation
A visit to the grocery store any day of the week will confirm what is in the news all the time: food prices are rising all over the world and this trend is expected to continue. Normally, farmers in the U.S. could be expected to respond to rising prices by planting more of that particular crop (corn or beans etc) but this year there is little room to do so. That is because farmers have already expanded cotton production in response to rising cotton prices. So, food will cost more and so will clothes. These are obvious impacts. Less apparent but equally important are the changes in package sizing which skew the grocery bill. Producers and manufacturers are making package sizes smaller while continuing to charge the usual prices. A can of tuna might cost the same as ever but look closely and you will notice that there is less tuna in it. The consumer gets hit both ways: either the rising cost gets passed on as higher prices or we pay the same but get less in return. Another reason to follow the dictum: always, always read the label!!
Food Trends to Celebrate!
Mark Bittman celebrates good news from the food world. I particularly like the introduction of food into the national conversation and growing our own food. “A planter on every deck” seems to be the motto in my neighborhood this spring: not only does this make us feel connected to our food, it also draws us outside and gardening is a great activity for kids and parents to do together. Of course, closest to my heart is what he aptly calls “the edible school lunch”, chocolate milk is a thing of the past in our county and more vegetable options are coming up. The shoots of a better food world are peeking through. Spring is really here!
Quinoa: trendy abroad, scarce at home
Recently, everyone seems to be talking about the wonders of quinoa. It is commonly but mistakenly thought to be a grain but is actually related to vegetables. It is still relatively expensive here, but can be found in many grocery stores. While we learn about its wonderful nutritional benefits and try to incorporate it in our diet, back in Bolivia where it was first grown, quinoa is a more complex story. Rising prices abroad have diverted more of the quinoa crop for export leaving less for domestic consumption. The domestic price has also gone up and consumers now turn to cheaper alternatives like white rice. Perhaps, the problem could be solved by expanding production but changing consumer preferences (soda instead of quinoa-based drinks) also contributes to limiting production. This story says a lot about the importance of a certain food is perceived. Quinoa is the latest trend so people will pay a premium for it but sodas are new and cool to someone else and they will change over to it from a healthier alternative. Even if we know what food choices we should make as people, as a country and as a planet, perceptions often drive the situation in a whole different direction.
The Return of Salmonella
So, we might just be looking forward to another summer without the delights of tomatoes or spinach as efforts are on to cut FDA funding for food safety. This area was sadly under-funded to begin with, and now House Republicans want to slash that further. If these proposals go through, the FDA will have to furlough or lay off staff and that will mean fewer, or less intensive inspections of all the stuff that is going into your grocery cart.
Yes, we need to live and budget more sensibly as people and as a nation but how could the health of the citizens fall off the priority list? On the flat, not-warming planet where these proposals might have originated, has anyone given a thought to subsidies? or biofuels? Just saying!
Two Banana Stories
My day, like that of so many people across the world ,starts with the banana. I set out one each for the kids, they moan about how boring it is, I remind them how good it is for them, and then; ritual completed we munch together in the early morning calm. So when I heard about the banana crisis in Uganda, which is the world’s second largest producer of banana and where the banana is a staple food, I was concerned. It turns out that rather than give up and watch the banana plantations be laid to waste by disease, Ugandan scientists are testing a GM strain that would withstand the BXW bacteria. This new story though, has the same ending as many we have heard before: opposition to GM technology means there might be a very long wait before these developments can actually be brought to the fields. In the meantime, livelihoods are lost, and an entire way of living is in danger.
Closer to home, the introduction of individually plastic wrapped bananas by DelMonte brought howls of laughter as well as disbelief. Had no one noticed that the banana came in its own bio-degradable wrapper? Why did people try to interfere with Nature? So obvious, right? Consider this, as theAtlantic did: individual wrapping, intended to preserve freshness, will lower the number of perfectly good bananas thrown out each year. The article also makes the point that we should stop thinking of nature as sacred and man as a despoiler. We are part of the same world. Yes, we should be more thoughtful in the way we impact nature but let us not set some impossible Garden of Eden standard for this interaction.
Posted in Food Policy, Food Safety, Food Security, Nutrition
Tagged food policy, food safety, food security
Coffee Crisis
Climate change has made its impact on coffee production in Colombia. Higher temperatures and unseasonal rains are to blame for damage by insects and rust. A program is underway to develop and grow coffee strains that can resist the impacts of an unstable climate but these will take a few years to mature. In the meantime, that cup of comfort will cost more and coffee futures are rocketing up. Video from the New York Times.
Posted in Food Policy
Thought + Food 