Ray of Sunshine?
In the ongoing struggle to prevent biotech companies from patenting genetic material obtained from traditional plants.
Federal Court: You Can’t Patent DNA Obtained From a Known Protein
The view from here
While We’re Out Enjoying the Farmers Market
Du Pont has more than 800 salespeople out helping farmers improve their yields – with genetically engineered seeds and industrial chemicals. As the Des Moines Register headlines it: In hard times, chemical industry is buoyed by agricultural need.
I didn’t put help in ironic quotes because Dupont’s reps are also offering expensive technology like satellite imaging analysis, something that is genuinely helpful when you’re managing thousands of acres.
Food Safety Alert
but not about polluted peanut butter or killer burgers. It’s something ( potentially) even worse: legislation that in its present form could wipe out small farms, just when the government is starting to understand their enormous value.
In spite of the freakout that’s been careening around the blogosphere, these proposed laws are not a fascist plot. It’s simply that – as you may have noticed – congress has gotten into the habit of being so spooked by current events it rushes into action without considering unintended consequences.
And it looks like they’re about to do it again, this time with an avalanche of well-meaning regulations (S425, HR 759, HR 814, and HR 875 *) aimed at making our food system safer, all the way from farm to fork.
Great idea, except for the part where the laws see no difference between a California corporation with a thousand acres of lettuce and Joe the farmer with fifty acres whose lettuce is only one of twenty assorted vegetables. Read More…
Civil War in California
Familiar battle lines are being drawn. Salts of the Earth versus Clueless Elitists. Some farmers in California are up in arms about Proposition 2, which bans tight confinement of animals. They’ve started a secessionist movement to divorce the state’s agricultural heart from its cosmopolitan coast.
As this New York Times article about it makes clear, ain’t gonna happen. But it does underline the huge gulf between most traditional farmers and most consumer activists (and not just in California). Read More…
Single Cup Coffee Makers (Pod Type)
Are they an Eek of the Week or are they too old hat? I just discovered them yesterday, in a flyer I was leafing though after lunch to avoid going back to work. THERE’S an eek, sez I, a little plastic cup in the landfill for every cup of home brewed coffee. So much for greener than takeout.
My George H.W. Oh boy is he ever out of it Bush moment. I did know disposable pods were part of the espresso boom, but until I went to Amazon to check how common these things might be…
OMG. Double eek. But there in the list was an oddity that almost defies imagination: ” The Java Wand is a portable, single serve, miniaturized French Press filter attached to a durable, hand blown, glass straw that brews and filters coffee and tea leaves in your cup.”
If any of you have ever used one of these things, please send us a review. I burn to know, I really do.
Scientists Refused Permission to Study Genetically Engineered Seeds
As Dave Barry is wont to say, I am not making this up.
As usual with the Times, the interesting agricultural news is over in the business section. First paragraph below gives you the flavor; click on the title to read the whole thing.
Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research
Biotechnology companies are keeping university scientists from fully researching the effectiveness and environmental impact of the industry’s genetically modified crops, according to an unusual complaint issued by a group of those scientists…
New Day at the Department of Agriculture?
Hard to say – but Secretary Vilsack is making many very encouraging noises. The mainstream press has been busy with other things, but this press release lays out a whole bunch of priorities that if implemented would be quite the turnaround. Excerpt below is shortened but not otherwise edited. Italics mine:
• Combating childhood obesity and enhancing health and nutrition, indicating that the department should play a key role in the public health debate and that nutrition programs should be seen as an opportunity to both alleviate hunger and prevent health care problems.
• Advancing research and development and pursuing opportunities to support the development of biofuels, wind power, and other renewable energy sources ( and he’s not just talking about corn).
• Making progress on major environmental challenges, including climate change. Vilsack said it’s important that farmers and ranchers play a role with USDA in efforts to promote incentives for management practices that provide clean air, clean water, and wildlife habitat, and help farmers participate in markets that reward them for sequestering carbon and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
• Supporting the profitability of farmers and ranchers by providing a safety net that works for all of agriculture, including independent producers and local and organic agriculture, and enforcing the Packers and Stockyards Act…
• Restoring the mission of the Forest Service as a protector of clean air, clean water, and wildlife habitat; a provider of recreation opportunities; a key player in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration…
There’s quite a bit more, so for convenience here’s the link again.
Safe Peanut Butter Brands
Or at least they don’t deal with Peanut Corporation of America. List is ( not surprisingly) at the American Peanut Council website . Just scroll down a little way.
Organic Peanut Butter – safe? or not
Being a peanut butter fan who eats only the freshly ground organic version, I’ve been thinking the big salmonella scare had nothing to do with me. The ever-lengthening list of suspect cookies and crackers and snacks just seemed to confirm that eating junk food wasn’t such a red hot idea. I simply couldn’t imagine a plant like the one described would meet the stringent requirements for organic certification. Read More…
Ta Daaa! ( News from the White House kitchen)
This just in. The Obamas finesse it again.
Instead of saying she would replace the current White House chef (Christeta Comerford) with a high profile sustainability star, Michelle announced – some time ago – that that they had asked Comerford to stay on. Explanation: she shares the Obamas’ interest in promoting local agriculture and healthful food.
Then they quietly bring in Sam Kass, a young private chef from Chicago ( their private chef from Chicago, from the sound of it) who will cook, as the New York Times puts it, “alongside” Ms. Comerford. You will not be surprised to learn that Sustainability-R-him. Read the announcement here. Read about Mr. Kass’s philosophy here.
