High exposure to BPA, a synthetic estrogen commonly used in linings of food, beverage cans, appears to cause erectile dysfunction, other sexual problems in men, study shows. Findings raise questions about whether exposure at lesser levels can affect sexual function, researcher says. FDA has maintained chemical is safe, but research links BPA in lab animals to infertility, weight gain, behavioral changes, early-onset puberty, cancer, diabetes. And: 2 billion pounds of BPA manufactured each year, and endocrine disruptor is in 92 percent of us (click 'See also').

By Lyndsey Layton

The Washington Post 2009-11-11

See also

Protocol proposed for buying farmland in poor countries

New global protocol proposed to temper African farmland buying frenzy caused by growing population, scarce water supplies, climate change. South Korea bought huge areas of Madagascar recently while Chinese interests bought up large plots of Senegal to supply it with sesame. Accord could include ensuring pre-sale consent is given by local people as well as ensuring that smallholders do not lose out. First draft is expected to be released next spring. And: Analyst predicts civil unrest, with investing countries leaving trail of food scarcity for poor countries' local populations (click 'See also').

By Nick Mathiason

The Guardian (UK) 2009-11-02

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With eyes on future food, biofuel profits, fertilizer titans fight

Trio of fertilizer titans, banking that burgeoning global demand for food, biofuel will feed profits, jockey for position with hostile takeover bids. Agrium, of Calgary, Alberta (click 'See also'), is North America's largest agricultural products retailer; CF Industries Holdings is based in Deerfield, IL; Terra Industries is in Sioux City, IA. Personalities and strategies aside, some doubt that either deal will succeed and argue that premiums offered aren't deal clinchers. Likely outcome? Bankers win, shareholders lose, says analyst.

By Michael Erman and Euan Rocha

Reuters 2009-11-09

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Pupils' free breakfast choices often sugary processed items

Nutrition experts warn that sugary processed foods Chicago Public Schools provides to children eating free breakfast make them sleepy and relaxed, and because such foods are digested quickly, children feel hungry well before lunchtime, making concentration difficult. Visits to schools show students pairing doughnuts with Frosted Flakes, syrupy French toast and juice. Health advocates say that's what happens when adults allow children as young as 5 to choose between oatmeal or Kellogg's Froot Loops. Chartwells-Thompson, city schools main caterer, defended brand promotion. And: Cut calories, add vegetables to school lunches, panel says (click 'See also')

By Monica Eng

Chicago Tribune 2009-11-05

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Opinion: Health care new battlefront for more food industry rules

Nevil C. Speer

Agriculture under siege from unrelenting campaign bent on denigrating our mission to feed the world; new front of battle is personal and global connotations (or lack thereof) for all types of food - McDonald's hamburgers, bean sprouts - and/or production systems. Anti-agriculture activists, food police potentially have new venue - health care - for uniting; convergence enables them to leverage ideology, impose new regulation. Agriculture, entire food industry has as much, if not more, stake in this debate than any other industry. We better get with it.

By Nevil C. Speer

Cattle Network 2009-11-04

Opinion: Nominee's pesticides position, experience don't match Obama's agriculture interest

Resume of Islam Siddiqui, nominated for chief agricultural negotiator, doesn't seem to square with administration's professed interest in more sustainable, less chemically dependent approaches to agriculture. His current job representing coalition of major pesticide players is to increase exports of agricultural chemicals; resume also includes Clinton-era draft of organic standards notoriously loose about allowing genetically engineered crops and use of sewage-sludge fertilizers to be labeled as 'organic.' And: Candidate worked previously for California Department of Food and Agriculture (click 'See also').

The editors

The New York Times 2009-11-04

See also

BPA found in green beans, tuna and other canned foods

In analysis, bisphenol A, a plastic hardener, found in range of canned foods - among them Del Monte Fresh Cut Blue Lake Green Beans and 'BPA-free' cans of tuna sold by Vital Choice, advocacy group reports. Findings bolster case for banning BPA from materials that come in contact with food and beverages - can linings, baby bottles and sippy cups- group said in letter to FDA. Some studies link chemical to reproductive abnormalities, higher risk of cancer, diabetes. And: Canned juice is of particular concern, since small children may drink a lot of it, says Consumer Reports (click 'See also').

By Andrew Zajac

Los Angeles Times 2009-11-02

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Cocoa Krispies 'child's immunity' support claims challenged

San Francisco city attorney demands substantiation from Kellogg for claim on boxes of Cocoa Krispies that cereal 'now helps support your child's immunity.' And: Growing number of health and nutrition experts, fed up with misleading marketing ploys, say health claims on foods should be banned (click 'See also').

By Heather Knight

San Francisco Chronicle 2009-10-28

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Opinion: Avoid processed foods, factory-farmed meat to cut warming

Twenty percent of food system's energy use is farm-related; half of food's greenhouse impact linked to farms. The rest comes from processing, transportation, storage, retailing, food preparation. Prevailing method of producing meat - crowding animals in factory farms, storing their waste in giant lagoons, cutting down forests to grow crops to feed them - cause substantial greenhouse emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides. Eaters can lower their global warming contribution by avoiding processed foods and those from industrialized farms; reducing food waste; and buying local and in season. And: Livestock's long shadow (click 'See also' for UN report).

By Nicolette Hahn Niman

The New York Times 2009-10-31

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Ban cow parts, chicken litter from cattle feed, coalition demands

Stop feeding poultry litter to cattle or face lawsuit and/or federal legislation effort, coalition of food and consumer groups tells FDA. Litter includes feces, spilled chicken feed, feathers, farm detritus. Chicken feed, feces contain tissue from cows, other mammals; feeding mammals to cows (which are herbivores) increases risk of mad cow, says expert. Chicken feed also can contain bacteria, antibiotics. McDonald's, nation's largest restaurant user of beef, also wants ban. And: For decades, farmers have used chicken litter as cheap fertilizer for other crops (click 'See also'). In court, Oklahoma says Tyson, Cargill, other poultry producers polluted million-acre watershed with runoff.

By Jerry Hirsch

Los Angeles Times 2009-10-31

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Opinion: We have two choices - cheap meat or health

Factory farming of animals is chief cause of global warming, animal suffering, a decisive factor in diseases like bird and swine flu, cause of food-borne illness. Beyond illnesses linked to them, factory farms foster growth of drug-resistant germs, contribute to risk of pandemics like H1N1 swine flu, avian flu. Factory farm industry has more power than public health professionals because we fund industry by eating factory-farmed animal products. Perhaps, in deafening silence about this problem, we understand that something terribly wrong is happening. And: Factory farming's 335 million tons of manure annually hold infectious microbes that infiltrate air, soil, water, and are transported by houseflies, farm trucks, farm workers (click 'See also').

By Jonathan Safran Foer

CNN 2009-10-28

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Opinion: Time for hard look at behavior of dominant seed businesses

Agriculture is at frontier of technological progress; its innovations will largely determine whether and at what cost world will feed its growing population. No company should dominate such an essential business. Good place to probe potentially anticompetitive behavior is Monsanto, which is trying to block DuPont from adding its own genetic traits to Monsanto's Roundup Ready technology to produce soybeans that would be resistant to multiple pesticides. Monsanto genes, which resist Roundup weedkiller, present in 97 percent of soybean crops, 79 percent of corn.

The editors

The New York Times 2009-10-22

Opinion: Feds must fill safety gaps in beef, other food production

Eating a hamburger should not be a death-defying experience. Too often it is (click 'See also'). Ground beef is major part of American diet. Government needs to quickly fill safety gaps in food production. Congress, USDA should make it illegal to discourage additional testing for pathogens, must give USDA more authority to recall foods or to shut down plants that keep sending out contaminated products. Administration should nominate strong undersecretary for food safety. That vacancy leaves a huge gap.

The editors

The New York Times 2009-10-10

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Toxins at Cold War-era missile sites threaten water supplies

Cleanup continues at dozens of former nuclear missile sites tainted with trichloroethylene, or TCE. In Colorado, one site is near Poudre River, where planned reservoir would partly submerge site and could contaminate river, municipal water supplies. In '90s, chemical was discovered in Cheyenne city wells, which are within eight-mile-long plume of TCE within Ogallala Aquifer. Cleanup is part of work at 9,000-plus sites projected to cost $17.8 billion. And: Pentagon, nation's biggest polluter, has about 25,000 contaminated properties across U.S. (click 'See also').

By Mead Gruver

The Associated Press; The Washington Post 2009-10-11

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Lawmakers want pork bailout; dietitician says school children pay with their health

Lawmakers ask USDA to buy $100 million more pork - beyond the $30 million already announced - to protect industry from its economic troubles. Lawmakers say purchase could go for federal food assistance programs. And: Feds should be improving food served to children, not loading school meals with more pork and its saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, writes dietitian and nutrition director of activist group (click 'See also'). 'We've got to stop using school lunches as a dumping ground for high-fat meat products,' she says.

By Barbara Barrett

The News & Observer (NC) 2009-10-09

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Monsanto probed as part of inquiry into seed industry consolidation

Justice Department is investigating whether Monsanto violated antitrust rules in attempt to expand its market dominance of genetically engineered crops. In U.S., its patented genes are in majority of corn, soybeans. Probe is part of inquiry into consolidation in seed industry. And: From its origins as saccharin manufacturer, Monsanto has grown to global giant, dominating commodity seed stocks, buying seed companies and suing farmers it suspects of saving its seed from last year (click 'See also').

By Christopher Leonard

The Associated Press; ABC 2009-10-08

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Accord allows Costco to test Tyson beef for e.coli

Costco will begin buying beef trimmings for making hamburger from Tyson, one of the largest beef producers, after agreement reached that allows Costco to test Tyson trimmings for e.coli before being mixed with those from other suppliers. Some of largest slaughterhouses have resisted added scrutiny for fear that one grinder's discovery of E. coli will lead to expanded recalls of beef, The New York Times reported Sunday (click 'See also'). Critics in Congress say USDA has irreconcilable conflict between protecting public health and at same time promoting agricultural products.

By Michael Moss

The New York Times 2009-10-08

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Federal agencies directed to conserve water, reduce waste

With executive order, Obama requires federal agencies to measure greenhouse-gas emissions, then meet series of environmental targets over next decade. They include 50 percent recycling and waste diversion by 2015; 30 percent reduction in vehicle-fleet petroleum use by 2020; and a 26 percent improvement in water efficiency by 2020.

By Juliet Eilperin

The Washington Post 2009-10-06

Leafy greens top risk list for foods overseen by FDA

Ten riskiest foods overseen by FDA, which regulates 80 percent of food supply, are leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries, consumer watchdog study shows (click 'See also' for report). Meats, poultry, some egg products not considered because they're regulated by USDA. Tainted foods contained bacteria, from E.coli O157:H7 in spinach to scombrotoxin in tuna; victims suffered range of illnesses, from mild stomach cramps to death. One in four Americans sickened by foodborne illnesses and 5,000 die each year, says CDC.

By Lyndsey Layton

The Washington Post 2009-10-06

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Flawed safety system makes eating ground beef a gamble

Tens of thousands of people sickened annually by e. coli O157:H7, mostly through hamburger. Ground beef blamed for 16 outbreaks in last three years, including one from Cargill that left 22-year-old children's dance teacher paralyzed from waist down. Hamburger patty her mother grilled for her was mix of slaughterhouse trimmings plus scraps from Nebraska, Texas, Uruguay and from company that processes fatty trimmings and adds ammonia to kill bacteria. In weeks before teacher's patty was made, records show Cargill was violating its own ground beef handling procedures. Cargill, which supplies beef for school lunches, has revenue of $116.6 billion last year and is country's largest company.

By Michael Moss

The New York Times 2009-10-04

Farm groups endorse Monsanto phosphorous mine

Idaho's Farm Bureau Federation, Grain Producers Association, Sugarbeet Growers Association endorse Monsanto's proposed Blackfoot Bridge mine to replace its existing mine, which is leaking selenium, heavy metals into Blackfoot River tributaries. Other mines in region blamed for killing livestock poisoned by selenium. New mine would allow for continued domestic production of agribusiness giant's Roundup, a weed killer that generates more than $1 billion in gross profits annually (click 'See also).

Idaho Statesman 2009-09-19

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Palau takes steps to protect sharks from extinction

Palau creates world's first shark sanctuary to protect more than 135 Western Pacific species of sharks and rays considered endangered or vulnerable, but has only one boat to patrol waters the size of Texas. President also calls for moratorium on 'finning' - the practice of hacking off shark fins (for shark-fin soup popular in China) and throwing the body back into sea - and an end to unregulated and destructive bottom trawling. Shark steaks are increasingly served in restaurants, replacing swordfish.

By John Heilprin

The Associated Press; The Washington Post 2009-09-24

Palau takes steps to protect sharks from extinction

By John Heilprin

The Associated Press; The Washington Post 2009-09-24

U.S. farm politics, food aid policies undermine anti-hunger efforts

Despite Norman Borlaug's accomplishments in plant breeding that created bumper crops in once poor countries, hunger prevails because of American farm politics, African corruption, war, poverty, climate change, drought. Years of grain surpluses fostered complacency. Farm programs, subsidies in U.S., plus nation's habit of shipping grain to poor undermines markets elsewhere. 'World peace will not be built on empty stomachs or human misery,' said Borlaug, Nobel winner. 'It is within America's technical and financial power to help end this human tragedy and injustice, if we set our hearts and minds to the task.'

By Andrew Martin

The New York TImes 2009-09-20

Opinion: Waiting for substance from USDA on sustainability

USDA's new farm-to-community initiative is mostly symbol. Backbone of program is a new website for agency's existing 20-odd local-food support programs, plus extra $50 million to get more local produce into school cafeterias, as well as relaxing of rules on shipping meat, poultry across state lines. But most programs were made law in 2008 Farm Bill, which will dole out $35 billion in subsidies to agribusinesses for corn, wheat, soybeans. Until that changes, this is just talk.

By Barry Estabrook

Gourmet.com/Politics of the Plate 2009-09-17

Focus on health care may delay Senate's food safety bill

Senator Tom Harkin says he hopes his committee can get food safety bill done this fall, but observers note that Senate is distracted by health care, financial services. Senate's bill likely to give FDA more authority over the 80 percent of food supply - everything but meat, poultry - that agency regulates. FDA moved ahead recently with rules for egg safety; last week, it revealed online registry where food processors are to report tainted ingredients. Administration also is creating a deputy administrator's position at FDA to oversee food safety.

By Philip Brasher

The Des Moines Register 2009-09-13

Violations of Clean Water Act rampant across nation

One in 10 Americans exposed to drinking water tainted with dangerous chemicals or that fails federal standards. Clean Water Act has been violated more than 506,000 times since 2004 by 23,000-plus firms, facilities. Fewer than 3 percent of violations resulted in fines or other significant punishments. Enforcement lapses were particularly bad under George W. Bush, EPA employees said. Farm pollution, livestock runoff largely unregulated. Best solution is for Congress to hold EPA, states accountable, lawmakers, activists say; others say public outrage is required. And: Interactive database of hundreds of thousands of water pollution records from every state and EPA (click 'See also').

By Charles Duhigg

The New York TImes 2009-09-13

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Dark comedy probes scandal at agribusiness giant

Warner Bros.

New film starring Matt Damon as informant at agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland is dark comedy based on true story. Actor gained 30 pounds, wore mustache to play Mark Whitacre, who turns from corporate golden boy to FBI source to uncover price-fixing practices in industry. And: In 'The Informant,' (click 'See also') Kurt Eichenwald, author, poses unlikely question: What happens when government informant at heart of global criminal conspiracy is a bipolar, serial-lying embezzler?

By Silvia Aloisi

Reuters 2009-09-07

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Donor disclosure rule upheld for lobbying groups

Public has right to know names of donors to trade groups lobbying on bills before Congress, federal appeals panel rules. And: Congress due to update, reauthorize Child Nutrition Act, which includes $9.3 billion National School Lunch Program and sets school food policy (click 'See also').

By Bart Jansen

CQ Politics 2009-09-08

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Proponent of agribusiness now leads senate Agriculture Committee

After death of Ted Kennedy, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) takes chairmanship of Agriculture Committee as Tom Harkin (D-IA) moves to chair Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel, which is responsible for major food-safety bill pending in Congress. And: Lincoln is proponent for large farms, livestock interests - Tyson Foods is based in Arkansas (click 'See also'). Pair her with panel's senior Republican, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, and it's one-two punch for southern perspective on agricultural policy.

By Paul Kane and Ben Pershing

The Washington Post 2009-09-09

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Regulators struggle to keep up with supplements industry

Nearly two-thirds of American adults take dietary supplements, mostly multivitamins, calcium, omega-3, says trade group. Supplements aren't regulated as drugs; study showed 9 percent of 300 drug-induced liver injuries potentially were linked to supplements. Senate subcommittee plans hearing on safety. Since last December, FDA has warned about 70-plus weight-loss supplements; agency urges consumer vigilance.

By Anna Wilde Mathews

The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2009-09-07

Food safety lapses leave families bereft, lawmakers scrambling

Linda Rivera, once teachers' aide and always in motion, now in a mute state; 4-year-old girl partially paralyzed are among 80 people sickened by eating e.coli-tainted raw cookie dough, feds believe. As recalls cause public to lose confidence in food safety, lawmakers scramble; Nestlé resumes supplying chilled dough to supermarkets. And: Cargill slaughterhouse that just recalled 826,000 pounds of beef was slapped with animal handling citations last year after review of processors that supply USDA National School Lunch Program (click 'See also').

By Lyndsey Layton

The Washington Post 2009-09-01

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Cut sugar intake for optimum health, says heart group

Big Stock Photo

Citing links to diet-related diseases, American Heart Association sets suggested limits on sugar intake for men, women. Soft drinks, ketchup, barbecue sauce, 'reduced' salad dressings, granola bars, flavored popcorn among processed, packaged items packing extra sugar calories. And: Our brains aren't fooled by sugar substitutes, fMRI study shows (click 'See also').

By Sarah Baldauf

U.S. News & World Report 2009-08-24

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Monsanto plans price hike for GMO corn, soybean seed

Monsanto plans to increase cost of genetically modified corn, soybean seed as much as 42 percent, effectively splitting expected profits of increased yields. New biotech SmartStax corn seed expected to be planted on up to 4 million acres in 2010, with national potential for 65 million acres; Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean seeds were planted on 1.5 million acres this year, with potential of 55 million acres, Monsanto said. And: After residents' opposition, Boulder county postpones decision on whether to allow farmers to grow Monsanto GMO beets on county open space; GMO corn has been permitted since 2003 (click 'See also').

By Jack Kaskey

Bloomberg.com 2009-09-13

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Spiking weedkiller in drinking water OK, says EPA; critics disagree

EPA says Americans aren't exposed to unsafe levels of atrazine, a weedkiller used on cornfields, gardens, lawns, golf courses that washes into drinking water, particularly in summer. Others say EPA rules are insufficient, that local water systems must monitor atrazine more often, issue alerts of spikes. 43 water systems sue Syngenta, other chemical companies to force them to pay for removing poison from water. Studies suggest link of small amounts of atrazine to birth defects, premature births, menstrual woes. Home filtration system can avoid exposure. And: Atrazine linked to frog decline, egg production in male fish, and found in Washington, D.C.'s Potomac River (click 'See also').

By Charles Duhigg

The New York Times 2009-08-22

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Solving U.S. food crisis begins with awakening the public

Industrial food system is based on selective forgetting and hidden costs: erosion of farmland, dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico, cages for egg-laying chickens so packed that birds can't raise their wings, rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria among farm animals, acceleration of global warming, lapses in food safety, obesity epidemic that cost us extra $147 billion in doctor bills last year, the $50 billion-plus of taxpayer money poured into corn industry in last 10 years that makes fatty, sugary foods cheap and funds factory-farming of meat. With those price supports, a dollar buys 875 calories of soda, 250 calories of vegetables or 170 calories of fresh fruit. Consequences of food choices can no longer be ignored.

By Bryan Walsh

Time magazine 2009-08-20

Window opens wide for school meals reform efforts

School food reform efforts, pushed by diet-related disease epidemic and nurtured by Obama administration, take root. USDA focusing on improving student health through better food, expected to upgrade nutrition standards this year. Agency also is studying farm-to-school, urban school food programs. NY senator's bill would ban trans fats, allow USDA to set tougher standards for a la carte items sold alongside subsidized school lunches. And: School lunch program, part of Child Nutrition Act that Congress takes up this fall, is focused path to food policy reform (click 'See also').

By Kim Severson

The New York Times 2009-08-19

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Pollution history shouldn't stop more mining, Monsanto says

Monsanto's history of polluting Idaho shouldn't stop more mining for Roundup ingredient, company says. Three of firm's previous mines in region now under federal Superfund authority; a fourth is now violating federal clean water laws (click 'See also'). Two fertilizer makers J.R. Simplot, Agrium also linked to pollution there. Roundup will generate $1 billion-plus in gross profits annually; in one county in mining region where 7,000 people live, Monsanto pays more than $29 million in wages, benefits.

By John Miller

The Associated Press; The Spokesman-Review 2009-08-09

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Council says no to biotech sugar beets on public open space

After 47 of 58 speakers show opposition, Colorado county's food policy council considers that it represents taxpayers, votes against recommending GMO sugar beets for planting in open space land. Dilemma for group was balancing economic well-being of six farmers with community. Genetically modified corn already is allowed on public land. And: Because public acceptance of biotechnology in Europe is lower than in U.S., all Kellogg products sold in Europe are free of any biotech ingredients (click 'See also').

By Laura Snider

Daily Camera (CO) 2009-07-31

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Mountaintop removal battle tests Obama's clean energy vow

Battle over mountaintop removal coal mining will test Barack Obama, who vowed clean energy economy but in May oversaw EPA's OK of 42 permits for mining method that devastates landscapes, uproots hundreds of communities. Peak shearing of up to 1,000 feet buries streams, damages water systems. It deposits selenium, which can cause reproductive ills in humans and is deforming fish, downstream from mine fill sites. Meanwhile, Senate takes up bill (click 'See also') to prohibit mining companies from dumping debris in streams. Almost half of America's electricity is coal-powered.

By Suzanne Goldenberg

The Guardian (UK) 2009-08-04

See also

Obesity epidemic ignored in health-care reform bills

Most health-care reform legislators ignore obesity epidemic. Expert says society uncomfortable with, or hasn't determined, reasons behind fat. She says it's a health care issue; conservative districts with most obese populations see fat as personal willpower/responsibility issue. Political danger alarms ring over data showing that obesity disproportionately affects poor and minority communities. Soda tax proposal seen as radical; food and beverage lobby spent $20 million-plus in Washington lobbying in 2008, contributed $15 million-plus to political campaigns in 2008 cycle. And: Obesity causing diseases that cost $147 billion last year, nearly 10 percent of all medical spending in nation (click 'See also').

By Lisa Lerer

Politico 2009-07-30

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High-profit stakes rise for agrichemical companies

Chemical industry, hit by lack of interest in consumer products, relies increasingly on the sale of high-tech seeds, fertilizer, weedkillers. High-stakes fights break out between leaders - Monsanto claims DuPont broke licensing agreement; Germany-based BASF and DuPont have asked court to invalidate the other's patents for lines of herbicides.

By Ernest Scheyder

The Associated Press; The Washington Post 2009-07-22

Finding parallels in strategy of food industry, Big Tobacco

As diet-related disease epidemic continues, food industry strategy following page from Big Tobacco's playbook: Focus on personal responsibility as cause of nation's unhealthy diet, raise fears that government action usurps personal freedom, vilify critics with totalitarian language, criticize studies that hurt industry as 'junk science,' emphasize physical activity over diet, say there are no good or bad foods, and plant doubt when concerns are raised about industry.

By Kelly D. Brownell and Kenneth E. Warner

Milbank Quarterly 2009-03-01

Cargill cuts plant's production of hydrogenated oil

Cargill ends production of hydrogenated oil at Kansas plant. Demand has declined by 75 percent over last five years. Oil has been linked to artery clogging, heart disease; in 2006, FDA began requiring its presence listed on nutrition labels. Artificially created trans fats have been banned in New York City, Philadelphia and in California. And: FDA rules that allow up to 0.49g of trans fat per serving to be rounded to zero dupes shoppers (click 'See also').

By Caroline Scott-Thomas

nutraingredients.com/Decision News Media 2009-07-21

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First Lady, staff focusing on children's food issues

Challenge for Michelle Obama and staff is to craft strategy that uses her clout to make how we eat an integral part of national health-care debate. In September, during Congressional debate over funding for child nutrition programs including school meals, staffers say First Lady will continue to link personal to political by gardening and by cooking - and by eating with her family and with students.

By Jane Black

The Washington Post 2009-07-15

Wal-Mart to label sustainability of every product

Wal-Mart developing fiendishly complex plan to measure, label sustainability (life cycle assessment) of its every product. Company's grand plan will require manufacturers to dig deep into supply chains, measure environmental impact, and compete on those terms for favorable treatment from retailer. Faculty at University of Arkansas, Arizona State University, Duke, Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan have been involved in planning sustainability index (click 'See also') led by Sustainability Consortium.

By Marc Gunther

Slate/The Big Money 2009-07-13

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Opinion: Changing the food system, one meal at a time

Solutions to myriad problems with industrial food system aren't simple, and they may mean paying more for what we eat. But that could mean costs savings for fewer cases of diabetes, other diet-related diseases. We have power, the film, 'Food, Inc.' points out: 'You can vote to change the system three times a day.'

By Nicholas D. Kristof

The New York Times 2009-06-20

Concern grows over farmland investments in poor countries

Concern for equitable resource allocation grows as rich countries and world's largest food, financial and car companies invest $20 billion to $30 billion annually on farmland in developing countries (click 'See also'). UN says investment has doubled to nearly 20 million hectares (50 million acres) since last year. Analyst predicts civil unrest, with investing countries leaving trail of food scarcity for local populations, as well as devastated soils, dry aquifers and ruined ecology from highly intensive, chemical-based farming.

By John Vidal

The Guardian (UK) 2009-07-03

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USDA organic certification erodes as market share grows

USDA

As processed, packaged food makers increase market share of organics - now a $23 billion annual business - USDA bows to lobbying pressure, relaxes stringent standards to allow non-organic ingredients, additives, processing agents. National Organic Program, by not issuing growing, treatment, production standards, has created haphazard system that leaves private certifiers to set organic standards. And: USDA seeking replacement for Barbara Robinson, program's acting director (click 'See also').

By Kimberly Kindy and Lyndsey Layton

The Washington Post 2009-07-03

See also

Analysis: Brazil's big beef firms tighten deforestation oversight

Brazil's cattle industry bends to demands to curb destruction of Amazon after Greenpeace report links JBS, other meatpackers to illegal deforestation (click 'See also'). After report, World Bank withdrew $90 million loan to one firm; Wal-Mart, other supermarkets vowed to stop buying beef from 11 producers. Bertin, JBS, Marfrig, Minerva make up 70 percent of Brazil's beef export market but account for 30 percent of domestic cattle purchases; it is unclear whether thousands of smaller processors, ranchers will change their ways.

By Reese Ewing and Stuart Grudgings

Reuters 2009-06-29

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Physicians, others ask Obama for anti-obesity commission

Group of physicians, health organizations, nutrition experts ask Obama to create presidential commission to fight obesity. Commission would stimulate, coordinate agencies involved in food and health policy. Obesity costs $95 billion annually in medical expenditures, half of which are paid through Medicare and Medicaid; obesity rates have increased by 50 percent in 20 years. And: Previous corn-based public health crisis was not obesity but alcoholism, in early 19th century (click 'See also').

Center for Science in the Public Interest 2009-06-24

See also

'Inert' ingredient in herbicide kills human cells, researchers say

Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup, commonly used on food crops, contains ingredient listed as inert but is potentially toxic, says French research group. The chemical, POEA, helps main ingredient, glyphosate, penetrate cells. In tests, PEOA killed human cells. Monsanto questions methods. Product, derived from animal fat, is allowed in certified organic products. And: EPA decision due in fall on petition of 250-plus environmental, health, labor organizations to change rules for identifying pesticides' inert ingredients (click 'See also').

By Crystal Gammon

Environmental Health News 2009-06-22

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Review: Serving up a horror film for the dinner table

Food, Inc.

Needy family skips high-priced fruits, vegetables, choosing cheap fast food so dad can afford diabetes medicine.

"Food, Inc.," a mind-boggling, heart-rending, stomach-churning expose on food industry, makes case with methodical, relentless urgency of muckrakers trying to radicalize - or rouse - a dozing populace. And: Film shows we're living in a simulacrum, fed by machines run by larger machines with names like Monsanto, Perdue, Tyson that make everything (click 'See also'). We humans can win, but we should hurry, before Monsanto makes a time machine and sends back a Terminator to get rid of Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollan.

By Amy Biancolli

San Francisco Chronicle 2009-06-12

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Under pressure, McDonald's to study alternative hen housing

Humane Society asks McDonald's shareholders to mandate phased-in use of eggs from cage-free hens, but fast-food giant tells them to reject resolution. Firm announces 2-year hen housing study - a delay, says Humane Society. Burger King, Hardee's, Quizno's, Carl's Jr., Denny's have agreed that up to 5 percent of egg purchases from U.S. suppliers will come from cage-free hens. And: Chain uses 3 billion eggs and 290 million chickens a year (click 'See also').

By Mike Hughlett

Chicago Tribune 2009-05-21

See also

With eye on profits, food firms push health, wellness products

Health, wellness food products leap past other processed foods as economic downturn settles in. Major processors use sector as strategic pillar. Nestle, says expert, seeks to 'transform itself into a nutrition, health and wellness company' to sell more products.

By Shane Starling

nutraingredients.com/ Decision News Media 2009-05-20

Costco takes NYC tax credits, but not food stamps from neighbors

With eligibility for millions in tax credits and New York city pension funds holding about $65 million of company's stock, Costco sets up shop in city, wins permission for its tractor-trailers to drive on residential streets in East Harlem between midnight and 5 a.m. But its no-food-stamp policy cuts off 30,000-plus of those neighbors in East Harlem, as well as the rest of the 1.4 million city residents who received the aid in April.

By Jim Dwyer

The New York TImes 2009-05-12

Senate mulls soda 'sin tax' to fund health care reform

Senate leaders consider watchdog group's proposed tax on soda, some fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas to help pay for health care reform. Proponents cite research linking consumption to diet-related disease, say tax would cut consumption, health problems, medical costs. Soda lobbyists say tax would hit lower-income Americans and wouldn't deter consumption. And: Amount of decline in smoking directly tied to size of state tax increase on cigarettes, analysis shows (click 'See also').

By Janet Adamy

The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2009-05-12

See also

Smithfield accused of hogging European markets

The number of hog farmers in Romania fell 90 percent in four years as Smithfield Farms swept into Eastern Europe with factory farming methods that drove down pork prices. Political influence, aggressive business strategy opened huge markets but also raised environmental and health complaints and has has displaced hundreds of thousands of small farmers. Poland had 56 percent drop in hog farmers in 12 years.

By Doreen Carvajal and Stephen Castle

The New York Times 2009-05-05

In Mexico, flu focuses complaints about Smithfield farms

Flu outbreak focuses complaints in poor neighborhoods near industrial pig farm owned by Smithfield subsidiary in Mexico. Overpowering stench, dogs feasting on pig carcasses, massive manure lagoons among neighbors' concerns. Conglomerate says it has funded reforestation, irrigation and has bought computer equipment for schools. It says it has built clinics and provides free medical care, and that Mexican health officials attribute persistent illness in area to temperature changes, malnutrition, unsafe drinking water.

By Steve Fainaru

The Washington Post 2009-05-10

Opinion: Pork is bacon, and 'the other white meat,' not a virus

American pig farmers probably are on to something when they complain that some countries are happy for excuse to enact emergency trade barriers that benefit their own farmers. It's time we stop dragging pig's reputation through the mud.

The editors

Chicago Tribune 2009-05-03

Opinion: Obama's pick for HHS should veto milk disclaimer bill

As Obama's pick for Health, Human Services which oversees FDA, Governor Kathleen Sibelius should veto biotech milk disclaimer bill as 29 groups have requested. Kansas bill would require that milk labeled hormone-free include disclaimer saying that FDA sees no 'significant difference' between milk products with or without it. Bill will become law unless she vetoes it by Thursday.

By Barry Estabrook

Gourmet.com/Politics of the Plate 2009-04-21

Pesticide makers must test for endocrine disruption, EPA says

EPA will require pesticide manufacturers to test 67 chemicals in products to determine whether they disrupt endocrine system, which regulates growth, metabolism, reproduction. Researchers cite male fish in Potomac River bearing eggs. Tests eventually will encompass all pesticide chemicals. And: Cornfield weedkiller linked to frog deaths (click 'See also').

By Juliet Eilperin

The Washington Post 2009-04-16

See also

Opinion: Siphoning spectacular profits from Florida's aquifers

Despite water shortage, Florida state water managers allow Nestle, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and the like to siphon and bottle nearly two billion gallons annually from fresh springs, aquifers for puny fee, then sell it for a huge per-unit profit. Although agriculture draws billions of gallons from the same sources, few ranches or farms enjoy spectacular profits that water bottlers do. And: Bottling cash in Florida (click 'See also').

By Carl Hiaasen

The Miami Herald 2009-03-08

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Perchlorate found in baby formula, CDC reports

Fifteen of 15 powdered infant formulas contain perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel linked to thyroid disease, says CDC study, but scientists haven't named brands tested. Legislator calls on EPA to set safe drinking water standard for perchlorate, water testing. And: Pasadena begins construction of perchlorate-removing water treatment plant near Superfund site. Wells nearby have been shut down (click 'See also').

By Liz Szabo

USA Today 2009-04-02

See also

Industry works to polish peanut's tarnished image

Big Stock Photo

The peanut - an American icon - has been pounded by years of allergy fears and, more recently, an ongoing salmonella outbreak linked to a peanut manufacturing plant (click 'See also'). Now the peanut industry is fighting back at NASCAR events and beyond, trying to regain its wholesome, all-American image.

By Ted Anthony

The Associated Press; Houston Chronicle (TX) 2009-03-22

See also

Activists seek food/agriculture policy reform - beyond Obama garden

As Americans flock to farmers' markets and buy local at Wal-Mart, sustainable-food activists, who see cheap, processed, subsidized food as profiting agribusiness, causing (and deferring costs of) diet-related disease, ruined environment, seek fundamental change. Chef/gardener Alice Waters urges tripling of budget for school lunches (with costs shared by Department of Education - click 'See also'); author Michael Pollan wants diversified, regional food networks. But he worries about movement's lack of infrastructure.

By Andrew Martin

The New York Times 2009-03-21

See also

Opinion: One cost of cheap bacon may be fiery saucer-sized lesions in people

Doctor in tiny town sees link to hog farms and fiery, saucer-sized lesions of MRSA (superbugs, or flesh-eating bacteria) in too many patients. Infections likely came from routine overuse of antibiotics in feed. Our model of agriculture produces cheap bacon but evidence is building that shows it risks our health. And: Factory-farm pigs are infused with huge range of antibiotics and vaccines and doused with insecticides so they can survive in confined spaces; they are in state of dying until they're slaughtered (click 'See also').

By Nicholas D. Kristof

The New York Times 2009-03-12

See also

Factory farms would report emissions under new rule

EPA's revived system for reporting methane, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions would apply to confined animal feeding operations and other large industrial sources. The 25,000-metric-ton threshold is roughly equal to emissions of 4,500-plus passenger cars. Coal-fired power plant spokesperson warns that including schools, hospitals sets 'dangerous precedent.'

By Juliet Eilperin

The Washington Post 2009-03-11

Banana firm wants wrongful death suits dismissed

Chiquita asks judge to dismiss wrongful death suits associated with payments it made to rival Colombian paramilitary groups in region that encompassed 200 of its banana farms (click 'See also'). Suits argue that payments aided terrorist groups, which pacified region with murders, kidnappings and improved Chiquita's profits; banana company says payments were extortion.

By Jane Musgrave

Palm Beach Post 2009-02-27

See also

Tomato graft cultivating pricier sauce?

Graft could be boosting consumer prices for ketchup, salsa and sauces according to charges in a federal price-fixing case. Kraft Foods, Frito-Lay purchasing managers admitted taking bribes from broker for central California company that processes 15 percent of nation's bulk tomato paste. The broker pleaded guilty of soliciting bribes.

By Bob Egelko

The San Francisco Chronicle 2009-01-28

Selling water conservation to 200 million customers a year

Shoved into reforms, Wal-Mart vowed in 2005 to go green. Now, among tens of thousands of products, it has made some progress, dragging suppliers along. Example: It sells only concentrated laundry detergent, which, company says, saves 400 million-plus gallons of water, 95 million pounds of plastic resin, 125 million pounds of cardboard, 520,000 gallons of diesel fuel over three years. Sustainability efforts have saved Wal-Mart hundreds of millions of dollars, experts say. And: Price hikes in grocery, health, wellness categories drove majority of Wal-Mart's sales growth in 2008 (click 'See also').

By Stephanie Rosenbloom and Michael Barbaro

The New York Times 2009-01-24

See also

Salmonella-tainted peanut products linked to six deaths, 485 illnesses

With six dead, nearly 500 ill from suspected salmonella outbreak, U.S. says to avoid cookies, cakes, ice cream, crackers made with peanut butter or peanut paste. Major-label peanut butter not included in recall. Food makers call for robust food inspection program to reduce outbreaks, restore consumer confidence. And: Ongoing list of recalled products (click 'See also').

By Lyndsey Layton

The Washington Post 2009-01-21

See also

Profits top estimates for agri-biotech giant

Profit more than doubles for biotech giant Monsanto, world's biggest seed maker. Boost came from sales of seeds for genetically modified soybeans, corn, and accompanying Roundup weedkiller. U.S. farmers will plant about 90 million acres of corn this year; up to 35 million with Monsanto's triple-stack seeds, up 20 percent from last year, company head predicts.

By Jack Kaskey

Bloomberg 2009-01-07

Economic ills may cut processed food prices

Prices may head lower in 2009, as processed food makers look to stimulate demand in weak economy. Long-term trends pushing food prices higher - growing global demand, increasing flow of grains to fuel production - may hibernate as world's economy slows. Economist predicts food inflation rate will fall to about 4 percent.

By Mike Hughlett

Chicago Tribune 2008-12-26

Soft drink makers roll out stevia-sweetened beverages

With FDA OK of herb stevia as a zero-calorie sweetener, Coca-Cola introduces Sprite Green and Pepsi launches three flavors of a zero-calorie SoBe Lifewater, plans March launch of Trop50, an orange-juice drink. And: Such sweeteners are key in reversing sales decline of carbonated soft drinks, says Pepsi head (click 'See also').

By Betsy McKay

The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-12-18

See also

Food system unspoken in Obama's USDA pick

Tom Vilsack's selection as Obama's USDA secretary may be 'agribusiness as usual,' since words 'food' or 'eaters' unspoken in news conference, says Michael Pollan, author. Food system responsible for one-third greenhouse gases, 'catastrophic' diet that causes chronic disease in half the U.S. population and drives up health care costs (click 'See also'). Food must be included in plan to address climate change, energy independence, health care.

By Renee Montagne

National Public Radio/Morning Edition 2008-12-18

See also

Chapter 11 for nation's biggest chicken producer

Pilgrim's Pride seeks protection of bankruptcy court after battling year of volatile feed, fuel costs, low poultry prices, and drop in demand from restaurants. And: Tyson, Perdue, Sanderson, Wayne are other big poultry players (click 'See also').

By Miriam Marcus

Forbes.com 2008-12-01

See also

Palm oil feeds population surge at environment's expense

Palm oil production surges with population; one in 10 processed food items contains it and it's a source of biodiesel. Plantations planned in Brazil; S. Korea owns rights to half the available farmland of Madagascar, much of it rainforest, and plans corn, palm plantations. Slash-and-burn expansion of Cargill crop spews carbon, replaces tribal homelands, displaces orangutans, destroys rainforests - and raises farmers' living standards. And: 'Our Hungry Planet' series (click 'See also).

By Matt McKinney

Star-Tribune (MN) (may require registration) 2008-11-30

See also

Opinion: Melamine links industrial waste to U.S. food production

Melamine has pervaded U.S. food system. It's added to fertilizer and accumulates in the farm fields. Last year, millions ate chicken that had been fed tainted gluten from China; Tyson Foods butchered hogs that had eaten tainted feed too. Meat was not recalled. China melamine scandal is opportunity for U.S. to pass fertilizer standards and to test for chemical.

By James E. McWilliams

The New York Times 2008-11-17

Corn powers $100 billion fast-food industry

Mosaic/youtube

In 'King Corn,' college pals follow the trail of the ubiquitous grain into the U.S. food supply.

Corn was sole food for all chicken, 93 percent of beef in 486 servings of food from McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's in six states, study shows. Environmentalist predicts that corn-based biofuels mandate could push industrial farmers to soy-based feeds. And: 'King Corn' documentary follows myriad paths of corn into food supply (click 'See also').

By Catherine Brahic

New Scientist 2008-11-10

See also

New ethical, environmental rules for Wal-Mart suppliers

Equating water pollution, other lapses with cheating on customers, Wal-Mart announces new supplier standards, including ban on child labor, forced labor and pay below local minimum wage. New rules also will include audits of factories for working conditions and compliance with standards regarding water, air, land pollution and waste disposal. Critic says incentives to cheat include pressure to offer low prices, plus lucrative, long-term contracts.

By Stephanie Rosenbloom

International Herald Tribune 2008-10-22

Opinion: EPA water protection would be welcome in coal-mining region

Government's dash to effectively repeal key water protections during mountaintop removal coal mining likely a response to presidential candidates' opposition to environmentally ruinous practice. In 2002, EPA rewrote rules that had prohibited use of mining waste as 'fill' in streams, wetlands. And: Rubble from mountaintop removal fouls drinking water, kills fish (click 'See also').

The editors

The New York Times 2008-10-21

See also

Profits of biotech agribusiness giant continue to rise

Monsanto reports increased profits of $2 billion; seed revenues rose from $4.9 billion in 2007 to $6.4 billion in 2008. Sales of Roundup, other glyphosate herbicides climbed from $2.6 billion last year to $4.1 billion in latest year. Greater grain demand drives need for more yield, more yield requires more innovation and companies that innovate will grow, says chairman.

By Dan Piller

The Des Moines Register 2008-10-08

A sweet deal for Big Sugar?

Florida's celebrated decision (click 'See also') to buy U.S. Sugar to restore Everglades may help Fanjul family's Florida Crystals. Critics say $1.7 billion deal is bailout to replace federal props as foreign sugar moves in. Fanjuls control Domino, C&H and other brands, put sugar in everything from packaged foods to pharmaceuticals.

By Mary Williams Walsh

The New York Times 2008-09-13

See also

Pork producer drops NASCAR sponsorship

bobbyhamiltonjr.com

Smithfield Foods pulls NASCAR sponsorship, citing rising corn and oil prices. The pork producer had supported Bobby Hamilton Jr. and his No. 25 Ford in the Nationwide Series, but, like other meat businesses, it faces high input costs, sagging demand and an oversupply that is keeping meat prices low (click 'See also').

By Tom Kreager

The Tennessean (Nashville, TN) 2008-09-19

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Food firms turn to lab to woo health-conscious shoppers

Food processing firms plug one food into another, claim health benefits of both. But new 'functional foods' don't have rigorous studies behind them, unlike those that added vitamin B to flour (reduced rates of pellagra), added vitamin D to milk (eliminated rickets). Benefit to eating fish might not be omega-3 fatty acids, but that you're eating less steak, says nutritionist.

By Julia Moskin

The New York Times 2008-09-16

Kraft takes insurance giant's place on stock market listing

Kraft to become first food producer on Dow Jones Industrial Average when it replaces American International Group. Stocks added to DJIA index are considered leaders in their industries. And: Kraft's new green initiative includes biomethane plant, which turns methane waste from cheese production into energy at New York site (click 'See also').

The Associated Press; Chicago Tribune 2008-09-18

See also

Grain boom lifts biotech agribusiness profits

Monsanto raises earnings outlook after aggressively raising prices of genetically modified corn seed and its matching weedkiller. Agribusiness firm's stock is up 48 percent from a year ago. Lower net income projection reflects settlement with chemical maker Solutia Inc., and writeoffs after buying De Ruiter Seeds. And: Monsanto breaks ground for a new GMO corn seed plant in Iowa (click 'See also').

By Lauren Etter

The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-09-17

See also

Food no longer included in price of many United Airlines tickets

United Airlines plans October price hike to $9 for boxes containing salads and sandwiches on longer flights and won't offer free snacks on flights of two to three hours. Airline also will charge for meals on most flights to Europe. Price of jet fuel has jumped 52 percent during the past year; industry's combined losses could reach $10 billion this year.

By Mary Schlangenstein

bloomberg.com 2008-08-19

Pay cut for uneven performance at ConAgra Foods

ConAgra Foods CEO compensation down 41 percent to $7.9 million in 2008 fiscal year. Board cites uneven performance and blames commodity costs and two recalls: pot pie and peanut butter. Company shifting focus to packaged items, including Healthy Choice, Chef Boyardee and Egg Beaters.

By Christopher Leonard

The Associated Press; The Boston Globe 2008-08-15

Rice farmers' suits against biotech firm denied class-action status

Rice farmers' suits against maker of biotech rice too dissimilar to consolidate into class-action, judge rules. After Bayer CropScience's Liberty Link rice contaminated public food supply in 2006, mostly likely from plot at Louisiana State University, some countries temporarily banned U.S. rice exports, drying up foreign markets and causing drop in U.S. rice price.

The Associated Press; International Herald Tribune 2008-08-14

Opinion/Blog: Monsanto dairy hormone business for sale

After shoppers and businesses shun biotech hormone that increases milk yields, agribusiness giant Monsanto looks to sell its Posilac business. Company says it will focus on its genetically modified seed. And: Sale of business means sale of Georgia facility, which employs 200 (click 'See also').

By David Biello

Scientific American 2008-08-07

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Review: 'Eat Your Heart Out'

Amazon

In her latest book, journalist Felicity Lawrence takes an engaging, restless look at Cargill, Unilever and others who decide what we eat and how they persuade us to buy in the name of choice, health and, increasingly, the environment. If there is a flaw in the book, it's not getting close enough to genius of capitalism - how it makes us want what it has to sell.

By Fred Pearce

The Guardian (UK) 2008-07-05

Grain costs hound world's largest meat processor

Tyson Foods

Tyson wrestles with costs of grain in chicken farming and ingredients for processed and pre-cooked items. Tyson has raised prices, closed a Kansas factory, cut 1,500 jobs. It also faced bird-flu scare, floods in Midwest and was required by USDA to pull a 'raised without antibiotics' label off some chickens (Tyson is suing over decision). And: corn price was 69 percent higher on average during the quarter than a year earlier (click 'See also').

By David Benoit

The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-07-28

See also

Corn, soybean seed sales push DuPont earnings up

Strong demand for corn, soybeans (click 'See also'), pushes DuPont quarterly earnings higher than expected. Its $9 billion revenue aided by global agriculture boom, which offset weak performance in housing, automotive markets. Delaware-based chemical company sells genetically modified seeds, other agriculture products.

By Euan Rocha

Reuters 2008-07-22

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Opinion: Icing on the cake

Farm/food bill will protect sugar industry from free trade. Bill also will require government to buy sugar at inflated rates and sell it cheaply for ethanol production. Sugar policy estimated to cost taxpayers $1.9 billion a year in high prices, plus another $1 billion-plus in the next decade for other programs used to prop up prices.

By Jay Hancock

The Baltimore Sun 2008-05-16

Food crisis and agribusiness windfall

As UN faces $755 million shortfall for World Food Program, Archer Daniels Midland and other agribusiness giants report record profits. Other winners: Monsanto, which makes genetically modified seed and complementary weedkiller; Deere & Co., which makes tractors; and Mosaic Co., a fertilizer maker. And: Spot shortages and prices of fertilizer, worldwide, threaten progress in battle against malnutrition and hunger (click 'See also').

By David Kesmodel, Lauren Etter and Aaron O. Patrick

The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2008-04-30

See also

Cargill gets bigger

With growth of its Polish wheat processing factory, Cargill completes three-pronged push after last month's new wheat processing plant in Manchester, UK, and a $60 million investment in Russian operations in 2006. The Wroclow site will produce sweeteners such as glucose and fructose and wheat gluten for U.S. food, animal feed industries.

By Charlotte Eyre

Confectionery News 2008-04-24

Candy company drops coloring

Cadbury Schweppes to drop use of six artificial colors by end of 2008. Action comes after Southampton study (click 'See also') suggests links of behavioral problems in children to additives. Major step by leading confectionery company in Western Europe could spur others into action as pressure mounts on manufacturers to reformulate their products.

By Laura Crowley

Confectionery News 2008-04-14

See also

Owning the food supply

From its origins as a saccharin manufacturer, Monsanto has grown to global giant, dominating commodity seed stocks, buying seed companies and suing farmers it suspects of saving seed from last year. It is potentially responsible for more than 40 EPA Superfund pollution sites after longtime production of chemicals and byproducts, including PCBs and dioxins, and is fighting the labeling of milk that isn't from cows injected with its artificial milk-increasing hormone. And: 'The World According to Monsanto' (click 'See also' to view video).

By Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele

Vanity Fair 2008-05-01

See also

Betting on grains

Facing unprecedented costs for ingredients, some food makers manage surges by buying long-term contracts for delivery from grain giants Cargill or Archer Daniels-Midland. But some producers don't, for fear of being locked into high prices. Milk costs can't be hedged - there's only so much cold storage available.

By Matt Andrejczak

The Wall Street Journal (may require subscription) 2008-03-24

Fire levels meat packing plant

Cargill meat packing plant in Arkansas burns after welding work on Easter Sunday afternoon; no injuries reported. Plant employed about 800 and was Booneville's largest employer. It produced more than two million pounds of ground beef and steak per week and had just undergone a $40 million expansion.

By Tom Parsons

The Associated Press; Chicago Tribune 2008-03-23

Cereal thriller

General Mills boosts profit, sales despite skyrocketing grain prices. Maker of Cheerios, Nature Valley, Progresso soups and Yoplait spends more on advertising and sampling; CEO says company will raise prices when necessary, and continue reducing costs and introducing higher-margin products.

By Julie Jargon

The Wall Street Journal (may require subscription) 2008-03-20

See also

Opinion/blog: Keeping up with the Greenses

Michigan State University

Click 'See also' to see the changing landscape of organics as existing companies are gobbled by bigger food companies and multinational conglomerates make their own versions of popular foods. Here's the key: organic brands are green; multinational food processors, yellow; investment firms, blue; organic versions of mainstream brands, red.

By Tara Parker-Pope

The New York Times 2008-03-19

See also

Rising up against biotech sugar beets

Faith-based investors' group launches web campaign (click 'See also') to boycott genetically modified sugar beets, citing 'weak governmental review and oversight, and the lack of long-term, independent and peer-reviewed safety studies.' Pre-written letter for visitors to send to food companies urges public opposition to unlabeled GM sugar from Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beets. Environmental groups have filed lawsuit to prevent spring planting.

By Chris Jones

Food Navigator 2008-03-05

See also

Building industry

World's largest beef processor in talks to buy third U.S. beef firm in a year. If deals go through, Brazil's JBS would become the largest U.S. meat packer, with ability to kill more than 42,500 cows daily. Second is Cargill Meat Solutions, with capacity to kill 29,000 cattle per day. News comes amid concerns about meat safety after Hallmark/Westland beef recall.

By Matthew Karnitschnig

The Wall Street Journal (may require subscription) 2008-03-05

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Tracking food to its source

Massive beef recall tests food companies' ability to track supplies. Heinz learns by its own sleuthing that its Boston Market lasagna with meat sauce contained recalled beef; General Mills put a team on the question to learn of five days in which Hallmark/Westland beef was added to canned soup. After 9/11 attacks, new laws to block bioterrorism required companies to trace their production forward and back.

By Julie Jargon

The Wall Street Journal (may require subscription) 2008-03-04

Littlest seed pickers

Though agribusiness giants have strict policy against child labor, children in India often found working in pesticide-treated vegetable and cotton fields for Monsanto, Syngenta and Bayer to produce genetically modified seeds. UN International Labor Organization estimates 218 million child laborers worldwide, 7 in 10 of them in agriculture.

By Megha Bahree

Forbes magazine 2008-03-10

See also

Cruelty to chickens?

Tyson Foods fires several workers in two plants after animal rights group goes undercover and films what appears to be abuse of chickens in slaughterhouses. Group reported concerns to USDA in mid-January, then posted video online. USDA spokesperson says there is no rule for humane handling of poultry, as there is for cows and pigs.

By Elizabeth Lee

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (may require subscription) 2008-02-16

See also

Not quite ready

Sugar industry, banking on customers' diminished resistance to genetically modified foods, plans big crop of Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beets engineered to tolerate the company's weedkiller. Food safety groups sue, pointing out risks of cross-pollination with table beets and Swiss chard. A similar lawsuit, using similar arguments, stopped the planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa last year.

By Dan Charles

National Public Radio 2008-02-14

See also

Commodities cachet

Stock strategists see sunny future for corn, wheat and soybeans, as well as for agribusiness giants Monsanto, Potash Corporation and Archer Daniels Midland. Reasons include rise in crop prices, diversion of land for growing biofuels crops, and increase in food consumption in emerging markets, particularly in Asia - a 'fight between feeding people, cattle and cars.'

By J. Alex Tarquinio

The New York Times 2008-02-10

Opinion: What's the message?

With integrated North American market finally in place, domestic sugar growers scheme instead to rewrite trade treaty and create continent-wide cartel. Sugar lobby, one of world's richest and most destructive special interests, wants fixed prices, limited exports and imports, U.S.-Mexico oversight commission, and limit on sugar from third countries - at taxpayer expense.

The editors

The Wall Street Journal 2008-01-23

New at Starbucks

As McDonald's adds baristas and coffee bars, new CEO takes over at Starbucks and plans to refocus, concentrating on expanding overseas, closing poor-performing stores domestically, improving the customer experience and maintaining quality of coffee and ethics of purchasing.

By Janet Adamy

The Wall Street Journal 2008-01-07

See also

Seeding the future

Demand in Brazil and Argentina for Roundup herbicide and genetically modified seed pushes Monsanto stock to all-time high, and company considers expanding production. Its cash flow shows that U.S. farmers are buying corn seed early for springtime planting.

By Christopher Hinton

Marketwatch 2008-01-03

Sweets fix?

Hershey, Cadbury and Nestle investigated for alleged "anti-competitive practices in the chocolate-confectionary industry" in Canada. Hershey, based in Pennsylvania, makes Hershey's bars and Skor; Cadbury, of London, makes Dairy Milk and Fruit & Nut; Nestle, of Vevey, Switzerland, makes KitKat and Coffee Crisp candies.

By Kevin Bell

Bloomberg News 2007-11-28

Take and give

After filling politicians' coffers and nurturing alliances with Democratic-leaning labor unions, sugar lobby sees Congressional legislation that would keep our sugar prices well above world levels and sugar subsidies that would cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year.

By Dan Morgan

Daily Globe (MN) 2007-11-06

Opinion: Treating symptoms

Slashing commodities subsidies addresses only a symptom, not the problem of the farm/food bill. Real reform in federal farm policy will come from changing the message to farmers, which, since the early '70s has increasingly been: Produce as much as you can."

By Tom Philpott

Grist 2007-11-08

Reforming food

China approves, in principle, new food safety law designed to standardize production, processing, sale and supervision; law also requires better release of information about food safety, higher fines and punishments and public's right to sue.

By Ben Blanchard

Reuters 2007-10-31

See also

Iraq rip-off?

Federal investigators suspect large American food companies, including Sara Lee and ConAgra, may have overcharged for supplies to troops in Iraq. The investigation also questions whether Agility Logistics, the firm that distributes the food, took improper payments from food companies.

By Eric Schmitt, Andrew Martin

International Herald Tribune 2007-10-18

Biotech future

Despite strong community opposition, European Union OKs imports of genetically modified corn and sugar beet for human and animal food; varieties were developed by subsidiary of DuPont, a unit of Dow Chemical, Monsanto and a German plant breeding company, KWS SAAT and taps into the $6 billion biotech crop market.

Bloomberg News; Reuters; International Herald Tribune 2007-10-24

Chemical connection:

Monsanto and Dow agree to stack designer-modified bug-killing, herbicide-resisting genes in corn seed, with eye on maximum yields; with 93 million acres dedicated to crop in U.S., critics worry about unintended deaths of insects beneficial to ecosystem and soil.

By Ana Campoy

Wall Street Journal 0000-00-00

What's organic?

Keeping the organic label pure may be tough to do as Wal-Mart and other behemoths are ramping up; already the industry is split between true ideals (localism and sustainability, in addition to no pesticides) and those willing to sacrifice for growth.

By Jake Whitney

San Francisco Chronicle 2007-01-28

Review: Bittersweet

"The Price of Sugar" focuses documentary lens on Dominican Republic and horrific conditions of mostly Haitian illegal immigrant sugar cane workers there, then tells story of Catholic priest who sets out to improve their lot.

By Stephen Farber

The Hollywood Reporter 2007-08-23

No dumping:

Grand Forks city council says sugar beet residue won't smell so sweet, and bans its dumping on rented land west of the city; American Crystal Sugar Co., disagrees, saying that the sugar, which causes odor as it decays, will be gone.

The Associated Press; The Bismarck Tribune 0000-00-00

Modified sugar:

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

Call for change:

In groundbreaking presidential report, cancer panel calls down governmental polices that have made fruits and vegetables more expensive and less available, have limited physical education in schools and created an environment that discourages physical activity; food industry with its unhealthy food sales implicated as well.

MSNBC; Reuters 2007-08-16

See also

Orphan organics?

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

Review: No time

Judging from plastic bottles clogging the landfills and SUVs clogging the highways, the news that we're killing ourselves and our world hasn't kicked in, so that makes "The 11th Hour," an unnerving, surprisingly affecting documentary, essential viewing.

By Manohla Dargis

The New York Times 2007-08-17

Harvest worries:

Bush administration's plan for fines, sanctions against growers whose workers have improper documentation could be devastating to the coming fall harvest, and could encourage an underground economy, California farmers say.

By Ashley Gebb

Appeal-Democrat (CA) 2007-08-14

No, thank you

CARE turns down $45 million in food aid from U.S., citing practice of selling tons of often heavily subsidized American farm products in African countries that compete with the crops of local farmers; other charities disagree.

By Celia W. Dugger

The New York Times (may require subscription)

Ad attack

Humane Society targets Wendy's for its egg-buying choices, comparing it unfavorably to Burger King, which is phasing in cage-free policy; company responds that its interests are focused on welfare of chickens and pigs, the meat of which they buy in larger quantities.

By Monique Curet and Tracy Turner

The Columbus Dispatch

Disappearing aquifer

To irrigate crops, farmers have pumped billions of gallons annually from the Ogallala Aquifer, a lake under parts of Great Plains states, but now, water table has dropped steeply, forcing new "dryland" methods of farming for conservation.

By Debbie Elliott

National Public Radio

Wal-Mart's adventure:

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)

Fast-food kids?

With growing rates of obesity in mind, FTC issues 44 subpoenas to food and beverage companies to learn how they advertise their wares to children; similar studies undertaken in the past with alcohol and tobacco companies.

By Mary Jane Credeur and Chris Burritt

bloomberg.com 2007-08-11

See also

Review:

In "Twinkie, Deconstructed," Steve Ettlinger describes the work of making unnecessarily complicated snacks; the book is the polar opposite (complete with smiley face) of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Michael Pollan's frowny faced take on simplifying food.

By Chelsea Martinez

Los Angeles Times

Wheat increase:

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

Food/Farm bill:

Bush administration's buy-local request for emergency food aid could help Kenyans, some of the world's poorest people, advocates say, but U.S. is mired in domestic farm subsidies and lobbies of shipping interests; aid for agricultural projects lags as well.

By Celia W. Dugger

The New York times (may require subscription)

OPINION

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)

See also

Saving water

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

Supplement setback:

Cargill's attempt to add Regenasure, a vegetarian version of shellfish-derived glucosamine, to European list of food products for addition in mostly beverages and fermented milk products, hits snag with questions of safety for diabetics.

By Alex McNally

nutraingredients.com

Opinion: Proud of rBST:

Despite activists' efforts to bamboozle public, price-conscious customers appear happy buying milk containing synthetic hormone, and squeezing more milk from cows via drugs saves natural resources, reduces corn prices, greenhouse gas emissions and manure production; in a more rational world, customers would choose milk so labeled.

By Henry I. Miller

The New York Times (may require subscription) 2007-06-29