Trade
New food safety law needs funding but GOP looks to cut FDA budget; agency inspects only 1 percent of 10 million products, yet imports account for 60 percent of fresh fruits, vegetables and 80 percent of seafood
By Steven Gray
Time magazine 2011-04-24
Zynga, company that owns addictive video game Farmville, in which people spend real money to buy virtual goods such as seeds to produce crops, valued at more than $7 billion
By Nick Wingfield, Spencer E. Ante and Anupreeta Das
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subscription) 2011-02-14
Farm lobby says China's probe into tide of imports of U.S. distiller's dried grains - leftovers from making ethanol - could be disruptive; salvo is latest in tit-for-tat import taxes
By Chuin-Wei Yap
The Wall Street Journal. (may require subpscription) 2010-12-31
Russia's ban of chicken imports over chlorine wash used by US processors creates surplus of dark meat leg quarters; USDA buys some for school meals, food banks
By Roberta Rampton
Reuters 2010-06-15
Review extended on inspection rules for imported catfish as concern grows over trade war with Vietnam
By Kimberly Kindy
The Washington Post 2010-02-17
Russia's ban on chlorine-treated poultry risks U.S. export market worth $800 million in 2008
By Dasha Korsunskaya
Reuters 2010-01-14
Opinion: Goods from China earning reputation for shoddiness
Chinese drywall scandal just the latest in long string of contaminated products, including honey adulterated with antibiotics in 2002, cough syrup tainted with solvent in 2006, melamine-laden milk products in 2008. Consumers don't take well to being poisoned. Chinese goods are earning a reputation for shoddiness that will be hard to shake.
The editors
Chicago Tribune 2009-07-16
Cocoa prices rising on instability, bad weather
Cocoa prices up from last year, expected to continue climbing in new year. Crop-damaging harmattan wind from Sahara will affect cocoa production in Ivory Coast, Ghana - suppliers of more than half the world's cocoa - and exacerbate low deliveries in Ivory Coast due to crop disease, political turmoil (click 'See also'). Manufacturers may start stocking up.
By Caroline Scott-Thomas
nutraingredients.com/Decision News Media 2008-12-10
Opinion: Rice in every bowl
When it comes to food production, we need free trade. Rice feeds about half the world, but only about 5 to 7 percent of rice is traded across borders. Now, recent export restrictions are expected to lower international trade in rice. Those restrictions show farmers that their crops are least profitable precisely when the food is most needed, and could make shortages and high prices permanent.
By Tyler Cowen
The New York Times 2008-04-27
Meat rift:
Canada complains about mandatory testing for e.coli, salmonella and listeria of all meat imports to U.S., and calls it "excessive." New tougher measures were put into place after e.coli outbreak was traced to Canadian packing plant for U.S.-based Topps Meat Co.
By Roberta Rampton and Christopher Doering
Reuters 2007-11-05
Trading fair:
As market increases for products grown with higher environmental and social standards, fair trade coffee pays off for farmers, who must adhere to rules on pesticides, farming techniques, recycling and even enrolling their children in school.
By Andrew Downie
The New York Times 2007-10-02
Opinion: China quality
As country's importance grows in the international market, Chinese people should understand that there will be greater scrutiny of both country and products, so greater care for quality and food safety is important; errors would victimize its own people first.
By Wu Jianmin
People's Daily Online (China) 2007-08-27
Mangosteen madness
After years-long import ban for fear of exotic pests, first commercial crop of luscious purple-red tropical fruit has reached New York and is being snapped up at $12 to $15 per piece; more shipments expected from Thailand, Puerto Rico.
By Andrea Hu
National Public Radio 2007-05-07
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)
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)
GMO in EU:
It won't be used directly as food, but in a key concession and after years of restrictions and over environmentalists' objections, EU is poised to allow growth of GMO potato to make paper coating, with remainder going for livestock feed; in U.S., 89% of soybeans and 61% of corn reportedly are modified.
By John W. Miller
Wall Street Journal
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)
China syndrome
For mom-and-pop enterprises, food safety isn't important when the question is how to feed the family, so hidden and unregulated businesses spring up at home, behind closed doors - and they thrive.
By Audra Ang
Associated Press