Economy
As unemployment in New Jersey reaches 6.1 percent, state sees food stamp applications double and 40 percent rise in number of people seeking welfare over one year. State distributes about 58 percent of its food stamp allotment; cumbersome application process blamed. And: $22.5 million aid plan OK'd in December included $3 million for NJ food pantries (click 'See also').
By Susan K. Livio
The Star-Ledger (NJ) 2009-01-04 (entry)
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As unemployment in New Jersey reaches 6.1 percent, state sees food stamp applications double and 40 percent rise in number of people seeking welfare over one year. State distributes about 58 percent of its food stamp allotment; cumbersome application process blamed. And: $22.5 million aid plan OK'd in December included $3 million for NJ food pantries (click 'See also').
By Susan K. Livio
The Star-Ledger (NJ) 2009-01-04 (entry)
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Financial woes end hopes for Copia, a California wine and food institute funded in part by late winemaker Robert Mondavi. Financial stability for venture was elusive, and nonprofit never drew visitors needed to support it and its organic herb gardens, demonstration kitchen and restaurant named for Julia Child.
By Julia Moskin
The New York Times 2008-12-23 (entry)
Panettone is a traditional Italian holiday bread.
Italy's agriculture minister asks Italians to choose among the 4,500 foods of Italian origin - sausage-like zampone, cotechino or panettone, oranges, apples, kiwi - this holiday and to skip the items that travel 2,500 kilometers to market. Coffee, he says, is exception. And: panettone recipe (click 'See also').
By Colleen Barry
The Associated Press; International Herald Tribune 2008-12-18 (entry)
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Global economic crisis causes steep drop in commodity prices, tough times for formerly prosperous Argentinian farmers. Dry weather, high supply costs, internal protests over proposed hike in export taxes cut into earnings. Argentinian government will provide loans to farmers, reduce export taxes on wheat and corn, but experts predict recession regardless.
By Juan Forero
The Washington Post 2008-12-15 (entry)
As Americans cut spending on everything in response to job worries, they stock up on frozen foods, food storage for home cooking, Wal-Mart head reports. In Sam's Clubs, he sees restaurateurs shopping several times a week, using yesterday's cash to buy food for tonight's business. And: Using coupons at checkout makes person behind you seem cheap, too (click 'See also').
By Nadine Elsibai
bloomberg.com 2008-12-14 (entry)
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Slow U.S. economy stalls global trade, jobs. Freight lines that sailed full in summer now slashing prices as cargo traffic plummets and unsold goods pile up at ports - shipment of soybeans rotted for lack of shipping, insurance funding. Decline is affecting export boom that brought investment, trade to China, India and lifted millions out of poverty in recent years.
By Anthony Faiola and Ariana Eunjung Cha
The Washington Post 2008-12-11 (entry)
Many poor, obese children are deficient in calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus - nutrients required for cell function, metabolism, study shows. Nearly half don't eat enough calories for growth. Childhood obesity a harbinger of diabetes, heart disease. In Texas, cost of obesity-related ills projected to rise from $3.3 billion in 2005 to $15.8 billion by 2025.
By Jan Jarvis
Star-Telegram (TX) 2008-11-18 (entry)
As ranks of poor grow, Congress should accurately measure poverty considering changes in food costs, addition of costs for child care, health care, and regional differences in cost of living. It also must boost food stamps, modernize unemployment compensation system and strengthen governments to help those in need.
The editors
The New York Times 2008-11-26 (entry)
Number of Americans on food stamps nears record; visits to food pantries in D.C. area up 20 to 100 percent. Rising unemployment, rising food prices among causes - food-stamp benefit fell below cost of USDA's thriftiest diet for a family of four. In U.S., 11.9 million people went hungry at some point last year, including 700,000 children.
By Jane Black
The Washington Post 2008-11-25 (entry)
First day of Colorado farm 'gleaning' draws 40,000 people in 11,000 cars eager to scavenge for leftover potatoes, carrots, leeks after harvest. Some came prepared with sacks, wagons and barrels to celebrate getting something for free in bad economy. Farm couple, who are regulars at farmers' markets and host a fall festival for teaching about food sources, opened fields to public after hearing reports of food being stolen from churches.
By Allison Sherry
The Denver Post 2008-11-23 (entry)
Arteries of obese children show harbinger of heart disease, study shows. Findings suggest potential for significant fraction of workforce disabled in their 30s, 40s, says cardiology expert. In U.S., about one third of children, teens overweight or obese, CDC says. And: In Huntington, W.Va., which leads nation in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and teeth loss, adults in their 30s suffering heart attacks, requiring open-heart surgery (click 'See also').
By Thomas H. Maugh II
Los Angeles Times 2008-11-12 (entry)
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Food, shelter, doctor visits are only priorities in consumer pocketbook lockdown as layoffs accelerate, so other industries suffer. And: One-percentage-point increase in unemployment rate leads to 700,000 more food stamp recipients in first year and eventually, 1.3 million more food stamp recipients, says 2002 USDA report (click 'See also').
By Aaron Smith
CNN Money 2008-11-07 (entry)
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New diabetes case rates soar nearly 90 percent over last 10 years, mostly from obesity, sedentary ways. And: In 2007, diabetes cost economy $174 billion for medical care, chronic complications (click 'See also'). Indirect costs of $58 billion came from absenteeism, reduced productivity, disease-related disability, and early death.
By Will Dunham
Reuters 2008-10-30 (entry)
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Global food crisis worsens with financial tumult, pulling incomes of additional 119 million people below poverty line; rich countries haven't made good on their $12.3 billion aid promise from summer. Prices for wheat, corn, soybean futures are down, lowering incentives for growing crops, and China's export tax on fertilizer leaves Africa's customers without.
By Ariana Eunjung Cha and Stephanie McCrummen
The Washington Post 2008-10-26 (entry)
Restaurants, hotels cut 51,000 jobs over last three months as economic crisis deepens; deterioration of job market emerging as a driver of economic distress. And: Some economists expect unemployment to rise from current six percent to 10 percent; more than a million American families have had their homes foreclosed upon in past two years. In August, foreclosure filings reached record high. Number of Americans living in poverty has grown by more than five million since 2000.
By Neil Irwin and Michael S. Rosenwald
The Washington Post 2008-10-23 (entry)
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Many in developing world - especially Philippines, Panama, Kenya - cut back on eating because of food costs in last year, new study shows. Food costs expected to begin decline as lower oil prices bring price of fertilizer, fuel lower.
BBC 2008-10-15 (entry)
Expanded food stamps, extended jobless benefits and even tax rebate possible in legislation planned by Democrats after election. Barack Obama says he favors $25 billion for states, $25 billion for roads, bridges and infrastructure, and $65 billion for tax rebates paid for with oil profits tax.
By David Espo
The Associated Press; Newsday 2008-10-11 (entry)
As shoppers hunt for deals on groceries, casual restaurant meals, take-out food and other goods or services, coupon-clipping returns as household activity. Manufacturers have become more restrictive by imposing time limits and more purchase requirements for redemption.
By Emanuella Grinberg
CNN 2008-10-09 (entry)
Annual forest loss cost of $2 trillion to $5 trillion dwarfs current economy problems, analyst says. As forests decline, nature stops providing free services- clean water and food for foraging, plus absorption of carbon dioxide. Heartening signs: developing trade in natural ecosystems (similar to carbon trade); attention of government, business officials.
By Richard Black
BBC 2008-10-10 (entry)
Food stamp use sharply up over last year - nearly one in 10 people participated in July (latest information available). Rise reflects broader national economic distress, 'pain on Main Street,' but doesn't yet reflect upheavals of last few months, including loss of 159,000 jobs in September.
By Michael E. Ruane
The Washington Post 2008-10-04 (entry)
Economic downturn hits retirees. Those who rely mostly on Social Security may not suffer directly from stock market woes, but they face higher food, gas and health care prices and reductions in volunteer services like Meals on Wheels, trimmed because of fuel costs.
By John Leland and Louis Uchitelle
The New York Times 2008-09-23 (entry)
Bad economy means that as people worry more, they lose weight, drink less, exercise more, smoke less, and drive less, which then makes them feel better and reduces risks of diet-related disease and car crashes, says economist. Physician concurs, citing good health of laborers of decades past who ate rice and beans and couldn't afford cigarettes.
By Susan Brink
Los Angeles Times 2008-08-25 (entry)
Processed food makers, meatpackers raise prices, shrink packages while ranchers thin herds to pass high grain, energy prices on to shoppers; 'sticker shock' in meat case predicted. Food service suppliers look to shorten contracts. Stock prices are up for fertilizer maker Mosaic, biotech (GMO) seed creator Monsanto and farm equipment supplier Deere & Co.
By Scott Kilman
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-08-08 (entry)
Obesity, already public health crisis, likely to cost $956.9 billion by 2030 if epidemic grows at current rate, researchers suggest. More than 86 percent of population projected to be overweight or obese by then, including 96 percent of black women and 91 percent of Mexican-American men. Analysis shows that, over time, heavy Americans become heavier.
By Natalie Wood-Wright
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2008-07-28 (entry)
Politics, poverty hinder farmers' yields abroad. Farmhands in Ukraine scavenge junked equipment to keep their ancient tractors and combines running. And: Argentina senate votes against government's new tax on grain exports; the issue has paralyzed country's rich agriculture sector (click 'See also').
By Greg Burns, Alex Rodriguez and Oscar Avila
Chicago Tribune 2008-07-18 (entry)
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Global food market is a messy amalgam of international markets for specific foods, each reacting independently and swayed by popularity of biofuels, growing middle class, dysfunctional trade and aid policies, weather, dwindling farmland, market speculation, energy prices and decline of the dollar.
By Lee Hudson Teslik
Council on Foreign Relations 2008-06-30 (entry)
Corn prices rise with floodwaters, sparking fears of more price hikes in food - especially meat - and fuel. Developing shortage likely to increase competition for corn among farmers, food companies, ethanol refiners, exporters. Flood-submerged roads, rail lines disrupt movement of goods across heartland. And: Iowa floods shut Quaker, Swiss Valley Farms and Penford Products plants (click 'See also').
By Jerry Hirsch and P.J. Huffstutter
Los Angeles Times 2008-06-16 (entry)
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As milk tops $4 a gallon, a suddenly thrifty public switches from name brands to cheaper alternatives, and eats in instead of dining out. Wal-Mart reports stronger sales of peanut butter and spaghetti; Ruth's Chris and Mortons steakhouses, Domino's Pizza and Ruby Tuesday see orders drop. Sales of cheap beer are up, higher-priced imports are down.
By Michael Barbaro and Eric Dash
The New York Times 2008-04-27 (entry)
Hunger slams world's poor, and even affluent feel the pinch. Food crisis is driven by the food chain: Higher wheat prices caused by lengthy Australian drought, less acreage in U.S. because of corn biofuel frenzy. Global food trade and subsidies that protect farmers and domestic food supplies have distorted real price of food. Says expert: 'The world has largely failed in its attempt to create an integrated food market.'
By Anthony Faiola
The Washington Post 2008-04-27 (entry)
Australians question food self-sufficiency as they note drought and a 50 percent rise in food imports over five years. Top products: Brazilian orange juice, Chinese apple juice, Vietnamese cashews, American grapes, Turkish dried grapes and both potatoes and prepared vegetables from New Zealand.
By Nigel Austin
Herald Sun (Australia) 2008-04-22 (entry)
Costs for food, fuel shove wholesale prices up higher than experts had predicted in March. Dairy farmer reports paying 42 percent more than a year ago for hay. Cropland once used for hay has been planted in California in grapes and almonds; in other states, it's corn for ethanol and wheat and soy. Click 'See also' for details on the Consumer Price Index; consumer prices rose 4 percent in March from the previous year.
By Maura Reynolds and Jerry Hirsch
Los Angeles Times 2008-04-16 (entry)
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First food, then school, says a 13-year-old boy in line for rice, as food shortages worsen in Bangladesh, critics threaten protests and an official suggests switching to potatoes. Floods and tornado last year ruined three million tons of food crops and left millions homeless. Military-backed government opens 6,000 outlets to sell rice at half price, but is low on supplies, critic says. India has agreed to ship 400,000 tons of discounted rice there.
By Julhas Alam
The Associated Press; International Herald-Tribune 2008-04-11 (entry)
Ever-rising prices for corn-based livestock feed erode power of food stamps and cash; number seeking food at pantries and kitchens shot up an average of 20 percent in 2007. Food pantries are facing the same inflation, as well as declining donations. Food prices are forecast to rise 7.5 percent annually in each of next five years, says food bank oversight group.
By Tim Jones and Mary Ann Fergus
Chicago Tribune 2008-04-08 (entry)
Transportation, processing, and packaging help push food prices up in year's first quarter, Farm Bureau reports. Flour has increased the most; bacon has stayed the same. Half-gallon of rBST-free milk was $3.30, organic was $3.63, non-labeled milk was $2.40. Though retail prices are up, farmers' share has fallen to 22 percent from about 33 percent of retail spending in the '70s, group says.
American Farm Bureau 2008-03-27 (entry)
Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter, has begun debate on whether to limit exports.
Vietnam, India, Cambodia and Egypt, to ensure domestic supply of rice, impose drastic restrictions on exports, driving prices up and igniting fears of social unrest among urban poor. The grain is staple for nearly half the world and its price has doubled in the last three months. Factors in price rise: growing demand in India, China; weather-related yield reduction, rice virus and fewer acres planted.
By Keith Bradsher
The New York Times 2008-03-30 (entry)
As grain prices continue to rise, three food aid truck drivers killed, millers default on rice supply contracts, bandits steal rice and farmers keep watch over fields. Food riots reported in Egypt, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso. As incomes rise worldwide, food is a smaller portion of the family budget, so situation isn't as dire as it was in 1974. Farmers are making money, but not as much as a middleman with a warehouse.
By Daniel Ten Kate
The Christian Science Monitor 2008-03-27 (entry)
As U.S. economy weakens, fuel prices rise and home values deteriorate, food and restaurant companies worry about their profits. Customers cut back, stay home. McDonald's bundles drinks with food; P.F. Chang offers budget menu. At supermarkets, sales of house brands increasing while sales of expensive wine declines.
By Brad Dorfman and Lisa Baertlein
Reuters 2008-03-17 (entry)
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World food prices, and trends, in pictures and graphics, from the BBC, including such tidbits as: 10,000 to 13,000 liters of water are needed to produce 1 kilogram of beef; and meat consumption in China in 1980 was 20kg, and in 2007, it had risen to 50kg.
BBC News 2008-03-10 (entry)
Sudden collapse of West Coast salmon population likely linked to 2005 shift in jet stream that delayed water-stirring winds that stimulate fish food growth. Fisheries group predicts closures; sport and commercial salmon fishing off California and most of Oregon dropped to $61 million a year from 2001 through 2005, after an average of $103 million a year from 1979 through 2000.
By Jeff Barnard
The Associated Press; The Seattle Times 2008-03-03 (entry)
UN spokesperson predicts high food prices until at least 2010. Hardest-hit countries: Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Haiti, Djibouti, the Gambia, Tajikistan, Togo, Chad, Benin, Burma, Cameroon, Niger, Senegal, Yemen and Cuba. In Afghanistan, wheat rose more than 60 percent in 2007; in Bangladesh, rice went up 70 percent; in El Salvador, food prices doubled in 18 months. Anger over food prices has led to riots in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal and Morocco.
BBC News 2008-03-06 (entry)
As elections approach, Indian government cancels small farmers' debts, announces its goal of becoming self-sufficient in food grains and pledges to hold food prices down. Critics say debt-forgiveness program is unfair to farmers with more land. Government also plans improvements on roads and rural infrastructure.
BBC News 2008-02-29 (entry)
Bonfire created by subsidized biofuels demand, global economic growth and weather disasters means that cheap food for American food is gone, most likely forever, says former leading economist for ConAgra. Food manufacturers are transferring costs of high commodities to consumers; most shoppers, he says, can afford to pay.
By Peter Shinn
Brownfield Network 2008-02-25 (entry)
Cutting back on restaurant meals and the daily Starbucks habit are ways we're reducing our discretionary spending and credit-card debt. Credit cards, once used for special purchases, now are used for groceries, gasoline and other everyday expenses (with rewards from some issuers), but delinquencies are rising.
By Robin Sidel, Sudeep Reddy and Jane J. Kim
The Wall Street Journal 2008-02-08 (entry)
Food shortages predicted for China as country endures one of its harshest winters in 50 years. Impact already severe on fresh vegetables and some fresh fruits, official says, and if storm moves north, effect on the year's grain crop will be "noticeable." Some towns enduring food shortages after heavy snowfall impedes deliveries.
BBC News 2008-01-31 (entry)
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Obesity-related diabetes epidemic now costs $174 billion annually through direct medical care, lost productivity, rising health-care premiums and co-payments, study shows. One million cases are diagnosed each year; trade group predicts that diet-related disease will handicap state, local economies, taking funds meant for education to care for patients instead.
By Liz Szabo
USA Today 2008-01-24 (entry)
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As protestors in Indonesia, Mexico and Italy decry high food prices, analysts call commodities "recession-proof" and say that lingering food shortages in Asia and biofuels craze will have lasting effect on stock prices. One fund, specializing in corn, grain and oil seed, reports a 23 per cent return in the last six months.
By Ellen Kelleher
The Financial Times 2008-01-25 (entry)
Cooking oil joins grains (and grain-fed meats) in soaring prices, adding new desperation to lives of urban poor, rural landless and small and marginal farmers for whom it is key source of calories. UN agency reports food riots in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Experts say that U.S. shoppers haven't yet seen new prices at our supermarkets.
By Keith Bradsher
The New York Times 2008-01-19 (entry)
Prices for cod have skyrocketed, turning fish and chips into an occasional treat.
As "all the fish in the sea" comes to mean fewer and fewer, and conservation efforts increase, fish and chips becomes a delicacy and $1.6 billion black market grows in Europe. Sophisticated smuggling operation with mechanized fishing fleets practices destroy fish habitat and discard up to a third of the fish caught.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
International Herald Tribune 2008-01-14 (entry)
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Wheat, corn and soy prices soar, and thieves haul off tractor-trailers full of grain worth nearly $50,000 from storage silos in Western Kansas. It's a pattern, officials say, and it mirrors events in California when almond prices reached record high in 2007.
by Jason Beaubien
National Public Radio 2008-01-10 (entry)
As Chinese New Year approaches, government announces temporary quota on exports of wheat, corn and rice powder to keep prices - and population - stable. Skyrocketing food prices, led by pork, fresh vegetables and fruit, and eggs pushed inflation to 11-year high.
By Vivian Wai-yin Kwo
Forbes.com 2008-01-02 (entry)
Soaring price of rice lures investors, but ripples are felt worldwide. High prices most hurt the world's poor, who spend a large part of their income on food. In Africa, rice prices have increased 40 percent since last year and were partly to blame for November riots in Senegal. Biofuels demand, rising population and weak dollar have depleted rice stores to 24-year low.
By Lauren Etter
The Wall Street Journal 2007-12-15 (entry)
With fertilizer subsidies, Malawi's new president oversees evolution from hunger and dependence on emergency food aid to surplus, with lower food prices and better wages for workers. Success illustrates role of agriculture in reducing poverty in Africa and the importance of investing in seeds, education and other support systems.
By Celia W. Dugger
The New York Times 2007-12-02 (entry)
With 28 percent increase in donations of fruits and vegetables to food banks because of temporary tax break for farmers, ranchers and other small businesses, it's clear that Michigan representative's provision in pension bill should be made permanent.
By Vicki Escarra, President and CEO, America's Second Harvest
Detroit Free Press 2007-11-21 (entry)
Reacting to shortages, Venezuelans line up to buy subsidized milk, chicken, eggs, sugar, cooking oil and baby formula, though store racks are full of imported luxury foods. Economists blame surge in demand, but politicos wonder whether shopkeepers are controlling supply to create discord among supporters of President Hugo Chavez.
By Ian James
The Associated Press 2007-11-20 (entry)
As soybean crops are diverted from food to biofuels, manufacturer raises miso prices by 10 percent. Miso, a soup base in Japanese cuisine, is a foundation of the diet and sometimes is eaten three times a day. Tofu and soy milk prices might show increases as well.
By Vittorio Hernandez
All Headline News 2007-11-15 (entry)
The global food/agriculture sector, valued by World Bank at $4.8 trillion, is growing fast, because people are cooking less, abandoning countryside for cities and because of pricey healthful foods trend. But its biggest jump comes from voracious appetite of developing middle class for meat and for processed foods.
By Sarah Murray
Forbes.com 2007-11-15 (entry)
Population growth, migration and growing middle class craving sugar-and protein-rich processed foods strengthen long-term trend of rising food costs. Investors see profits in commodities and other agriculture-leaning investments.
By Mohammed Hadi
Wall Street Journal 2007-11-14 (entry)
Reigniting worries over food safety standards, 13-year-old girl, 10-year-old boy and four others die after eating soup served at scrap collection business in China's central province of Hubei.
By Stephen McDonell
Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2007-11-14 (entry)
As Prime Minister orders review of UK food security and role of farming in climate change, avian flu outbreak slams poultry industry in countryside and is likely to send food prices soaring even higher as holidays approach.
By Valerie Elliott and Gary Duncan
The Times (UK) 2007-11-14 (entry)
China and India, with burgeoning populations, face changing climate, water shortages and diminishing farmlands, and must boldly address pollution problems and infrastructure needs or they will be big customers on the world commodities market in 30 years.
By Hari Sud
United Press International 2007-11-06 (entry)
In Pakistan, Ramadan- and Eid-related demand for fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, poultry and cooking oil pushed September food prices up on a base of already-higher prices for wheat and flour. Experts expect decline beginning this month.
Daily Times (Pakistan) 2007-10-30 (entry)
In effort to stop inflation, Russia's smaller retailers join major food producers and store chains in freezing prices of staple foods in months before elections; representative says that alcohol and other premium products, not bread, milk and eggs, are biggest moneymakers.
Thomson Financial News; Forbes; Rossiyskaya Gazeta 2007-10-26 (entry)
Food prices, already protested in Niger, Guinea, Yemen and Mexico, could trigger riots, warns Jacques Diouf, UN food chief; food costs require the bulk of poor citizens' incomes, with more than 2 billion living on $2 a day and vulnerable to price hikes in cereals, vegetable oils and dairy.
By David Brough
Reuters 2007-10-24 (entry)
Scramble to keep food prices artificially low in Russia and other countries with subsidies, quotas, price controls and export taxes distorts the market, and once cheap food prices are in place, it's politically impossible to withdraw, editors say.
The editors
Financial Times (London) 2007-10-24 (entry)
As elections near, major Russian food producers and retailers agree to freeze prices on milk, bread, eggs and cooking oil; other measures include raising export taxes on grain, intervention on the commodities market and reducing import for dairy products.
The Associated Press; International Herald-Tribune 2007-10-24 (entry)
With seven percent of world's water and 20 percent of its population, China rollicks northward as concerns grow about dwindling water supplies, the worldwide economic impact of reducing wheat farming for conservation, and pervasive pollution of rivers and reservoirs.
By Jim Yardley
The New York Times 2007-09-28 (entry)
Biofuels hunger plus growing middle class in Asia and Latin America drive worldwide demand for corn, wheat and other staples, causing tenacious hikes in grocery bills; grain stockpiles down to 30-year low and humanitarian groups worry about feeding world's poor.
By Scott Killman
Wall Street Journal 2007-09-28 (entry)
With global demand, drought-related crop failure and corn for ethanol replacing food crops, prices rise for wheat, dairy, corn, high-fructose corn syrup and crude oil; processed food and manufacturers begin shrinking packages and/or raising prices, and sales fall.
By Anjali Cordiero
The Wall Street Journal 2007-09-26 (entry)
Praying to the god of corn has its price: nitrogen waste in the waterways, taxpayer money feeding the industry, low-nutrition meat from animals that eat it, but it provides a fertile field of medical research, and in Mexico, growing corn is the only way one farmer ensures his wife's tortillas have the authentic taste.
By Hugh Dellios
Chicago Tribune 2007-09-09 (entry)
As China creates and begins to enforce stricter standards for food safety to restore confidence in the Made-in-China label, exports to U.S. fall, domestic growers cheer and American consumers see prices head upward.
By Don Lee
Los Angeles Times 2007-09-24 (entry)
Canadian pork producers suffer as their currency rises against the dollar and wheat growers struggle as well; importers from U.S. are smiling as they bring in crates of lettuce and oranges.
The Canadian Press 2007-09-22 (entry)
To determine your environmental footprint of those restaurant dinners and other lifestyle choices, play this game from American Public Media.
By Christopher Kennedy, Michael Skoler and others
American Public Media and Realtime Associates, Inc. 2007-09-19 (entry)
Inspired by environmental justice and groups that feed the homeless with surplus food, freegans in New York eschew capitalism and scavenge for groceries in the 50 million pounds of food garbage discarded annually; they favor D'Agostino's, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.
By Erika Hayasaki
Los Angeles Times 2007-09-11 (entry)
With imports flooding the borders and FDA food safety staff winnowed away over the last decade, agents can sometimes only provide a cursory inspection of a listed import; they inspect less than one percent of actual products.
By Stephen J. Hedges
Chicago Tribune 0000-00-00 (entry)
As farmers eagerly switch from food crops to those for biofuels, ecological and social factors led by high food prices, meat-rich diets, dropping water supplies, climate change and the growing population threaten vast numbers of people with food and water shortages.
By John Vidal
The Guardian (UK) 2007-08-29 (entry)
Bush administration's proposed legalization of high-altitude strip mining, with follow-up poisoning of Appalachian drinking water and fish habitats with dumped leftovers, will add converts to reaffirmation of Clean Water Act protections.
The editors
The New York Times (may require subscription) 2007-08-27 (entry)
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Whether in miniscule back yards or near abandoned houses, urban farmers find every sunny spot and put it to use in effort to connect to their food; backyard chicken and egg trend in Salt Lake City is nothing short of coop d'etat.
By Chris Adamson
Salt Lake City Weekly 2007-08-23 (entry)
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Genetically modified sugar beet seed designed to resist Monsanto herbicide is gaining popularity among growers and processors, including American Crystal Sugar Co.; Wyoming Sugar Co., and Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative; farmers must pay $60 premium per acre, and GMO sugar won't carry special label.
Associated Press; CNN 2007-08-22 (entry)
Amber waves of wheat, once vital to Vermont's economy (and even part of the state seal), may return to the state fields, as bakers and locavores seek nearby sources and crops specialist uses USDA grant to grow three heirloom varieties - Surprise, Champlain and Defiance.
By Mel Huff
The Times Argus (VT) 2007-08-13 (entry)
Growers, now hiring thousands of seasonal workers for peak harvest months, cry foul over crackdown on illegal immigrants, declaring it's an effort of government to look good at the expense of the people with the hardest and lowest paid jobs.
By Juliana Barbassa
Associated Press; Forbes.com 2007-08-16 (entry)
Three books, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life," "Plenty: One Man, One Woman and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally," and "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future," explore the omnivore's dilemma, but only Bill McKibben, in "Deep Economy," looks at global problem.
By Laird Harrison
The News & Observer (NC) 2007-08-19 (entry)
Bumper crop of corn leaves farmers struggling for storage; existing facilities have more business than they can handle, and manufacturers of silos and storage equipment are stepping up production; some farmers may resort to old schoolhouses, airport hangars, caves, or even tarp-covered piles on the ground.
By Shelly Banjo
Wall Street Journal; Pantagraph.com (IL) 2007-08-18 (entry)
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After scramble to plant more acreage in corn and cash in on ethanol craze, deepening drought and scorching temperatures shrivel farmers' dreams of record corn harvest in South and Southeastern states.
By Jim Nesbitt
The Sun-News (SC); McClatchy Newspapers 0000-00-00 (entry)
Bumper crops of corn and wheat, great weather, plus rising beef prices and ethanol craze, pump prosperity into midwest town, where big engagement rings are seen as flashy and it's unseemly to eat out twice a day or buy a new truck that isn't a copy of your old one.
By Kevin Helliker
Wall Street Journal; Daily Herald (IL) 0000-00-00 (entry)
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Though customers spend more than $14 billion a year on organics and depend on USDA label even for imports, USDA infrastructure, with nine staffers and a $1.5 million budget, languishes; other departments spend about $28 million a year on organic research, data collection and farmer assistance, but the department spent $37 million subsidizing farmers who grew dry peas, an $83 million crop, in 2005.
By Andrew Martin
The New York Times (may require subscription) 0000-00-00 (entry)
Bush administration deserves credit for pushing immigration reform, but enforcement-only plan for handling illegal immigrants could create potentially devastating consequences for farmers at harvest season.
The editors
Denver Post 2007-08-14 (entry)
Canadian survey shows that productivity of hungry, sleepy workers can drop by 20 percent, that mid-afternoon lethargy often is fought with a sugary snack or a caffeine jolt, which might be because vending machines don't offer any more nutritiously attractive choices.
By Larry Johnsrude
The Edmonton Journal (Canada) (entry)
When discount superstore partnership enters India through wholesale stores, obstacles will include supply chain made up of mostly small shopkeepers, long chains of middlemen, each of whom takes a cut, and up to 60 percent waste during food transport.
Wall Street Journal (may require subscription) (entry)
"The Zen of Fish," and "The Sushi Economy," offer lessons in how global economy works, dangers of over-fishing and how it thrives on demand, and why trout might not be the best choice for eating raw (think tapeworms).
By Stuart Biggs
bloomberg.com 2007-08-08 (entry)
Ethanol craze blamed for high prices across the supermarket, but other factors include surge in global food demand, high oil prices, uncooperative weather, and the slide of the dollar against other world currencies.
By Barrett Sheridan
Newsweek magazine (entry)
If refrigerator and other appliances are older than 10 years, it's likely that newer versions would be more efficient and cheaper to use, but don't put the old one in the basement - it will be a guzzler there as well.
By Ken Sheinkopf
The Ledger (Lakeland, FL) (entry)
With ethanol craze and escalating corn prices taking all the attention, worldwide drought has gone almost unnoticed, but it is driving wheat prices up; breadmakers are paying more for flour and weak dollar makes U.S. wheat attractive.
By Jeff Cox
CNNMoney.com (entry)
New interactive map allows users to tract proliferation of factory farms by state and county - even number of animals - and it raises questions of whether we pursue the logic of industrialism to its limits, and how badly will it harm the landscape, the people who live in it and democracy itself?
The editors
The New York Times (may require subscription) (entry)
See also
Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Läckeby Water Group join other food, drink producers in UN agreement to use water more efficiently; lack of access to clean water and sanitation undermines humanitarian, social, environmental, and economic goals.
By Ahmed ElAmin
foodproductiondaily.com (entry)
Current agricultural policies distort food costs, waste billions of taxpayer dollars, and subsidize a handful of large farming operations that raise a few selected crops - and subvert subsistence farmers across the globe by dumping cheap surplus goods at below-market prices.
By Senator Richard Lugar and Representative Ron Kind
The Modesto Bee (CA) 2007-07-15 (entry)
It's a $70 billion annual bill, and before, only agribusiness cared, but a tsunami of activists now believes that its subsidies for corn and soy encourage diet-related disease and climate change; instead, they advocate money for sustainable and organic food production, agricultural conservation and for a priority on fresh, local fruits and vegetables.
By Carol Ness
San Francisco Chronicle (entry)
