Growers and Grocers

Last month, Democrats reclaimed the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. What will this victory mean for the Farm Bill, scheduled to be revised next year? Not much, argues Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns. While this response may be another example of the Bush administration’s Pollyanna outlook on the state of the world, Johanns feels […]

Elections are right around the corner in the United States, and candidates in agricultural regions have used their Farm Bill plans to woo voters. This set of legislators will be the ones who make or break next year’s new Farm Bill, and rural communities want to know what to expect from their representatives. While the […]

In 2007, should we keep the Farm Bill as it stands, or revise it? This will be the focal point in the debate about the policy for our food supply, which will be in place until 2012. What does your political representative think about the Farm Bill? You should find out.
As predicted last month, many […]

Michael Pollan spoke about the U.S. Farm Bill as he promoted his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. He urged Americans to talk to their representatives about their stance on the Farm Bill, which is due for renewal in 2007. “It should be called the Food Bill,” he said. The Farm Bill sets the policy that controls […]

The American war between federal rights and states rights is as old as the Constitution.
The latest salvo has been fired by the House of Representatives, who want to pass a bill that would prevent states from passing stricter pesticide laws than the federal government’s. Curiously, the bill has been put forward by Republicans. Didn’t they […]

Construction crews broke the ground on a future State Farmers Market in Columbia, South Carolina. Given that most markets around me in the Bay Area happen in parks or other public places, I had to wonder how you “break ground” for a new site.
Turns out the future State Farmer’s Market is a little bit more […]

One of the many oddities about American food regulations is that state-inspected meat processors can not sell across state borders, unless they process unusual meats. This has created some contradictions: Foreign countries that meet minimal U.S. standards can sell anywhere in the country, while small processors who follow the same rules can’t. The law has […]

Navigating the semiannual Fancy Food Show can be an adventure in sensory overload. Endless amounts of marketers urge you to taste new sauces, marinades, meat products, olive oils, candy, fake meat products, cheeses, and more.
But the packed aisles can offer a glimpse of foods coming soon to a store near you. Fortunately, the New York […]

Packaged-food giant ConAgra will urge its poultry providers to use a more humane slaughter technique, according to this AP story. With the new procedure, euphemistically named “controlled-atmosphere killing,” a poultry processor herds the chickens into a room and sucks out all the air. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals prefers this method to the […]

The USDA wants to redefine the grass-fed label, but for once they want to make it harder for large corporations to slap the eye-catching label onto their products. The government agency is considering a change that would require 99% of an animal’s energy to come from “grass or forage.” And they’re looking for comments on […]