Category Archives: Uncategorized

Interesting insight into the Australian effort to overcome pest resistance to Bt cotton by using precise farming methods.

great way to learn more ….

If the conversation about the food system is going to have fairness as an objective, then everyone’s voice must be heard. But, try and think how many farmers’ opinions you have read/ heard recently? Women farmers? Even less, perhaps. What about farmers from countries other than your own? Or consumers from other parts of the world who do not have access to a gleaming grocery store filled with perfect produce?

Here, then, is a peek into another world view. It comes from a farmer in the Philippines, a Mom who likes to cook “talong” or eggplant for her kids and laments the decision of the Supreme Court in her country to reject the adoption of Bt Brinjal (eggplant). She points out that GM corn  containing the same trait is already being grown, so it would seem illogical to now reject the Bt Brinjal. Both here and in the case of India, Greenpeace played an active role in spreading unfounded fears of biotechnology. As a result, the farmers have to continue using heavy doses of pesticides and still lose a portion of their crop to pests; and consumers are also deprived of choices at the market. Those who like to point fingers at Big Ag companies for destroying their “food sovereignty’ might like to take a second look at first world concerns taking away choices of poor farmers and consumers in other countries. If people have to go to bed hungry, then sovereignty does not have any meaning for them.

The Changing Face of Farming

As part of Thought+Food’s close look at the journey of our food, I am hoping to highlight the very beginning and this account of planting corn on a family farm provides an insight into that world which is particularly interesting for the urban consumer.

Do you prefer real cookbooks or the e- version? I must confess to cherishing the real ones that I have but do look up lots of stuff online!

The answer to that is “yes”! A new study finds that there is no difference in the nutrient content between canned and fresh peaches. In fact, canned peaches offered more folate and Vitamin C because the canning process opens up the cell walls so nutrients are more readily available, the report on NPR says. What does this mean for us? First, the good news is that we can eat peaches throughout the year without feeling bad that they are somehow deficient because they came from a can. Of course, it is always better to get the kind that are packed in their own juice instead of syrup and thus eliminate extra sugar from our diet.

Let us also acknowledge that they are never going to taste like fresh peaches but in the depth of a dark and snowy winter they still will evoke a memory of glowing summer days and there is certainly something to be said for that. Also, if we eat in season in summer and then use the canned variety in summer, we avoid the temptation to pick up fresh peaches in winter which have traveled half the world to get here and they are not anyway going to taste anything like the juicy peaches which will soon flood stores and farmers’ markets.

There still are concerns over the use of BPA in cans which could be also in the fruit we eat. I remember the first time I saw a report on the possible harmful effects of BPA on TV and looked in horror at the baby bottle I was rinsing at that moment.  However, there is new research which shows that earlier conclusions reported in the media may have been unnecessarily alarmist.  The findings are summarized in an accessible way in the link above and although they do require  some effort from the lay reader, I would recommend reading it to understand the analysis.

Now, time to get my peaches on the grill to go with the ice cream! Happy long weekend!

Clear, accessible information that is crucial for everyone to know.

Summer is almost here, all those salads and veggies on the grill are going to need some olive oil but here is something we need to read about that…