Monthly Archives: February 2019

GrowCalgary Blog Posts

Jenny’s Food & Ag Update for February 22, 2019

 

  • Northern California is suddenly awash in locally grown black truffles (San Francisco Chronicle) https://bit.ly/2Gtzfkg
  • The Dark Side of Innovation for Family Farmers: Reflections on an International Symposium on Innovation (Agroecology Now!) https://bit.ly/2S68f1j
  • US academics feel the invisible hand of politicians and big agriculture (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2CY4GzY
  • Dairy Dilemma: Food Shelters Awash In Surplus Milk They Can’t Afford To Store (WFPL) https://bit.ly/2BmR9Sz
  • This Magic Ratio Of Fat To Carbs Makes The Perfect Comfort Food (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2G9rvEV                                  Human breast milk contains a 1-2 ratio of fat to carbohydrates, suggesting some people may still be chasing the feeling it gave them.
  • Panicky Portlanders Strip Grocery Shelves Bare of Kale as Snowstorm Descends (Willamette Week) https://bit.ly/2GxujuN
  • Three Micheline stars! Meet the first woman to smash America’s boys club (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2DyVGBQ
  • Can Eating Organic Lower Your Exposure to Pesticides? (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2BFjRhL
    • What the pesticides in our urine tell us about organic food (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2SWYimA
    • Study: Organic diet interventions significantly reduce urinary pesticide levels in US children and adults (Environmental Research) https://bit.ly/2DLjuCu

Highlights: Diet is a primary Source of pesticide exposure

  • Organic die reduced neonicotinoid
  • OP
  • pyrethroid, 2,4-D exposure in US families
  • 2,4-D exposure in US families
  • Greatest reduction observed for malathion, clothianidin, and Chlorpyrifos
  • It’s time to think big in Maine agriculture (Portland Press Herald) https://bit.ly/2WOrLhL                                                                                    State policy can encourage cooperative to help small farmers get more food to market.
  • How to Stop Hating Your Least Favorite Foods (The Atlantic) https://bit.ly/2XeLCHd                                                                                                I can’t stand cucumbers, but I’m ready to change if I can.

 

Farmers, Farming, Ranching, Herding, Fishing & Production

  • ‘This One Here Is Gonna Kick My Butt’ – Farm Bankruptcies Are Soaring (WSJ) https://on.wsj.com/2RSM7CU                                       Trade disputes over agriculture add pain to low commodity prices that have been grinding down American farmers for years
  • The Mental Health Crisis Hidden Behind Your Grocery Store Vegetables (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2SXkVao                            One of the nation’s biggest industries is staffing by workers facing grueling conditions and sky-high depression rates.
  • At 25 years, Straus diary still pioneering (Point Reyes Light) https://bit.ly/2SERKJW
  • Montana Ranchers are Kicking Up Dust to Bring Back Country of Origin Labels on Meat (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2WSf4Ck            Newly proposed bill would require COOL placards for beef ad pork sold in Montana, and supporters want to see the return of a national policy.
  • “This has poisoned everything” – pollution casts shadow over New Mexico’s booming dairy industry (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2tvnimJ                                                                                    Pollution from Cannon air force base has gone unreported for decades. Now it’s threatening the US food supply
  • California’s ‘dry farmers’ grow crops without irrigation (Santa Cruz Sentinel) https://bit.ly/2Du6IrQ                                                            The environmentally conscious practice relies on rainwater to grow seasonal crops

 

Land and Soil

  • There’s More Foreign-Owned American Farmland Than the Size of Tennessee. That We Know Of. (Modern Farmer) https://bit.ly/2WXRS60

 

Climate

  • Study: Earth system impacts of the European arrival and Great Dying in the Americas after 1492 (Quaternary Science Reviews) https://bit.ly/2RuXvog
  • Extreme weather events are fueling ‘food shocks’ and jeopardizing global security (Think Progress) https://bit.ly/2WFKcov                                                                                  Climate change is driving more severe weather which in turn is threatening food.
  • Climate Change Is Causing Food And Mental Health Crisis For These Indigenous People (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2UMLaOi

 

Plants, Seeds & Cultivars

 

Water & Our Oceans

  • Wild rice waters a big reason Indian tribes oppose Enbridge pipeline project (Star Tribune) http://strib.mn/2TyjhZO        Precious wild rice grows downstream from Enbridge’s proposed route across northern Minnesota.
  • Crew injured, diesel fuel spilled into river when train derails in remote Wyoming canyon (Casper Star Tribune) https://bit.ly/2tcVKlZ
  • Images taken from space in 2018 and 2019 show two very different Californias (SF Gate) https://bit.ly/2Bug3zC                          We have water!
  • Massive Pacific Coast Starfish Die-Off Is Linked To Global Warming (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2BdxnZC                             The “marine heat wave” is triggering a “continental-scale collapse of a pivotal predator,” says new study.
  • Study: Disease epidemic and marine heat wave are associated with the continental-scale collapse of pivotal predator (Pycnopodia helianthoides) (Science Magazine) https://bit.ly/2DQv4xy
  • After 16 Months Of Dead Fish, Manatees and Dolphins, Florida’s Red Tide Ebbs (NPR) https://n.pr/2BNQASb

 

Food Culture & History

  • Bed-Stuy’s Trinidadian Bakery Wins James Beard Award (Patch Bed-Stuy) https://bit.ly/2t696As                                                                   A&A Bake & Double and Roti Shop has been deemed an American classic by the renowned culinary institute.
  • I’m a Queer Brown Immigrant Chef. I Don’t Have the Luxury of Staying Silent (Time) https://bit.ly/2tcC3uy
  • How corporations shaped the American diet, from Jell-O to pineapple pizza (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2S4Y4VW
  • Book Review: The Limits of Home Cooking (Pacific Standard) https://bit.ly/2WUHhsf                                                                                              A richly reported new book offering powerful insights into the cooking habits – and daily struggles – of working-class Americans.

 

Hunger, Food Access & Security, Obesity, Malnutrition & Nutrition

  • 1.4 million Puerto Ricans face deep cuts in food aid without federal action (NBC News) https://nbcnews.to/2E4y61d                    The federal food assistance program Puerto Rico is set to run out of money next month.
  • GAO Report: Food Insecurity: Better Information Could Help Eligible College Students (US Government Accountability Office) https://bit.ly/2LYG8uT
  • Metro Buses Converted Into Mobile Food Markets For Low Income Neighborhoods (Black Business) https://bit.ly/2D8dSSj
  • Soda industry influence on obesity science and policy in China (Journal of Public Health Policy) https://bit.ly/2Rz9Yvh

 

Gleaning, Foraging, Reuse, Recycling, Composting & Waste

 

Healthy Food & Food Safety

  • Trump’s NYC eateries written up for ‘live mice,’ other ‘critical health code violations in recent months (New York Daily News) https://nydn.us/2Sawbf5

 

Food Fraud, Scandals, Weird & Funny

  • How NYU and Food-Service Giant Armark Stumbled Into a Black History Month PR Fiasco (NY Magazine) https://nym.ag/2UR1rl3
  • World War I Grenade Discovered Among Potatoes at Hong Kong Potato Chip Factory (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2DajQlY          The mud-caked device was found on Saturday morning in a shipment of potatoes from France.

 

Training & Education

 

Labor, Unions & Coops

  • A minimum-wage worker needs 1.5 jobs just to afford half the rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in most of the US (Business Insider) https://read.bi/2MW4mGD
  • Worker Cooperatives Are More Productive Than Normal Companies (Yes!) https://bit.ly/1qoQace                                                  When maximizing profits isn’t the only goal, companies can actually work better.

 

Pollinators & Insects

  • Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’ (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2GAMHD1
    • Insects Are Dying En Masse, Risking ‘Catastrophic’ Collapse Of Earth’s Ecosystems (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2DqT88E
      • Study: Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers (Biological Conservation) https://bit.ly/2DQB6ya                                                                      Habitat loss by conversion to intensive agriculture is the main driver of the declines.

 

Animals, Fish & Seafood

  • California City Launches “Goat Fund Me” for Wildfire Preventing Goats (Modern Farmer) https://bit.ly/2Tu8Qq9
  • Where beef is more than dinner (Food & Environmental Reporting Network) https://bit.ly/2MMz6d4                                      Think a cow is only destined to be eaten? Think again. Cow parts are hot commodities in the biomedical research industry.
  • Down of the slow chicken (Food & Environmental Reporting Network) https://bit.ly/2RwP3Vv                                                                  Big poultry producers are turning to slower-growing birds, making it possible to cut antibiotic use and improve animal welfare.

 

Business, Social Enterprise & Our Economy

  • Calabash: An Afro-Caribbean, Malaysian and Persian restaurant-market takes shape in Oakland (San Francisco Chronicle) https://bit.ly/2BupQ93
  • The Last Pioneer (theLAnd) https://bit.ly/2IcD93t                                    A savage journey to the heart of the greasy-as-hell California fast food dream.
  • Munchery, Sprig: What went wrong with on-demand, artisanal food (San Francisco Chronicle) https://bit.ly/2TAqoRM
  • Costco to be the first major retailer to dump Monsanto’s Roundup and Glyphosate herbicide from its shelves (Waking Times) https://bit.ly/2TATzE2
  • Maine lobster orders tank as Chinese turn to tariff-free Canada (Portland Press Herald) https://bit.ly/2GoFpmJ
  • 50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat (NPR) https://n.pr/2UUDt8T
  • Danone is struggling to sell Its Earthbound Farms unit (New York Post) https://nyp.st/2tbah1q                                                                          Food conglomerates that have moved into the organics market are struggling, it might have something to do with integrity and green washing…
  • Some History: Carmel Valley-born Earthbound Farms Sells to massive WhiteWave Foods. (Monterey County Weekly) https://bit.ly/2RLQgbz

 

Government, Regulation, Policy & Farm Bill

  • EU glyphosate approval was based on plagiarized Monsanto text, report finds (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2ALO3qS
    • Report: Detailed Expert Report on Plagiarism and superordinated Copy Paste in the Renewal Assessment Report (RAR) on Glyphosate (European Free Alliance) https://bit.ly/2VUqkhd
  • The White Earth Ban of Ojibwe Legally Recognized the Rights of Wild Rice. Here’s Why (Yes!) https://bit.ly/2SNm18H                    Finally plant species have rights, too.
  • President’s State of the Union Neglects Dire Farm Economy Conditions, NFU Says (National Farmers Union) https://bit.ly/2UINeGQ
  • “Pink Slime” gets reclassified as ground beef (Fox17 West Michigan) https://bit.ly/2IvGmvx
    • ABC News called it “pink slime.” Now, USDA says it can be labeled “ground beef.” (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2taFcuR                                                                                          On the semantics of a product that scandalized America—is now on a comeback tour.
  • Trump EPA Oks ‘Emergency’ to Dump Bee-Killing Pesticide on 16 Million Acres (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2In6Sa2
  • Trump Trade War Helps Push Farmers Into Record Number Of Bankruptcies (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2tfwpro
  • While Everyone Was Focused on the Shutdown, the White House Rolled Back Worker Safety Rules (Fortune) https://bit.ly/2S1da3G
  • Court orders ban of top-selling pesticide, says EPA violated law, ignored scientific studies (Chicago Tribune) https://bit.ly/2Gt2Bzx
  • Killing 22 Hogs a Minute, Meatpackers Test Old Limits of Safety (Bloomberg) https://bloom.bg/2TtIm8z                                                Trump’s USDA is looking to speed up the slaughter line.
  • Trump’s EPA Refuses to Limit the Nasty Teflon Chemicals Lurking in Our Drinking Water (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2G7J4oI
  • Alberta to evict urban community farm that supplies shelters with organic produce (The Globe and Mail) https://tgam.ca/2WFhOCW
  • Illinois Governor to Sign Bill Raising Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour by 2025 (WSJ) https://on.wsj.com/2TUjcQz                      Business groups oppose labor-backed measure raising minimum from $8.25
  • (Maine State) Rep. Pleucker concentrates on bills supporting farms, pesticide control, municipal revenue (Penobscot Bay Pilot) https://bit.ly/2tgFvE9

 

Non-Governmental Organizations

  • ‘Breathtaking and Terrifying’: UN Food Relief Agency Partners With CIA-Funded Software Firm Palantir (Common Dreams) https://bit.ly/2WN4Xi9                                                                                        Data privacy advocates decried the $45 million deal as “horribly irresponsible and potentially incredibly harmful.”

 

Food Science, Technology & Nanotechnology

 

Poisons

  • Culprit found for honeybee deaths in almond groves (Ohio State University) https://bit.ly/2TzunOs
    • Study: Combined Toxicity of Insecticides and Fungicides Applied to California Almond Orchards to Honey Bee Larvae and Adults (Insects) https://bit.ly/2tccI3T
  • Analysis Show Exposure to Monsanto’s Glyphosate-Based Roundup Increases Cancer Risk More Than 40% (Common Dreams) https://bit.ly/2Gt5YHA                                                                    “The future will wonder just what we thought we were doing blanketing the world in this poison.”
  • Study: Is soil contamination by a glyphosate commercial formulation truly harmless to non-target plants? – Evaluation of oxidative damage and antioxidant responses in tomato (Environmental Pollution) https://bit.ly/2NkT5Qg

 

Education & Training

  • Rural colleges are ignoring one of their largest industries: agriculture (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2TqyJHD