·      How did somebody steal half a million bees? http://goo.gl/Nb5xc

o   Massive Bee Infestation Transforms Roof Into Huge Hive http://huff.to/NQeeju

·      Devon Peña’s response http://goo.gl/Dls7L to Ag Professional’s Commentary: Urban Farming is an urban myth http://goo.gl/kKpdM

·      Food for thought: This summer, Oakland libraries are serving free lunches to children, five days a week http://goo.gl/VBq8H

·      Tuna Packers Settlement: Bumble Bee Foods LLC & Tri-Union Seafood (Chicken of the Sea) LLC Reach A Deal with California http://goo.gl/Jh9N6

·      It’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ For Food http://goo.gl/L3n1b

·      Washing State: First cottage food permit goes to law’s prime mover http://goo.gl/EWrcK

·      Farm Bureau Gets a Closer Look in New Report http://goo.gl/7cvFi

“[The Farm Bureau] opposes the labeling of genetically engineered food, animal welfare reform and environmental regulations. In Washington, its well-funded team of lobbyists and lawyers seek to dismantle the federal Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, opposing pesticide restrictions and increased scrutiny of green house gas emission and the pollution from CAFOs,”

o   Whose Side is the Farm Bureau On? http://goo.gl/Zhx8s

·      There Is More Than One Way to Grow a Tomato – Biodynamic Farming Is Probably the Weirdest http://goo.gl/FXvfb

Biodynamic farming produces wholesome, pesticide-free food and drink – but the methods are a little out of the ordinary.

·      Potatoes For Breakfast http://goo.gl/BRCT2

·      Pineberries and cream? The new summer fruit which looks like a white strawberry… but tastes like pineapple http://goo.gl/zf4id

·      Coca Cola Booted From Bolivia http://goo.gl/iCuw0

·      Trading Recycling for Food and Services http://goo.gl/ASqOQ

·      Edible Bus Stop turns London Transit routes into a network of community gardens http://goo.gl/g5rKD

Guerrilla gardening at it’s best…

·      Method’s New Soap Bottle Is Made Fro Pacific Garbage Patch Trash http://ht.ly/cA4Pt

·      Butan Bets Organic Agriculture Is The Road To Happiness http://goo.gl/Ay3MD

·      Drought and Heat

o   US Drought 2012: Half Of Nation’s Counties Now Considered Disaster Areas http://goo.gl/IwX9y

o   Drought bill offers livestock farmers up to $100,000 each http://goo.gl/XlY0B

o   Voice of America: US Drought Linked to Climate Change http://goo.gl/ZYSzT

You think?

o   Activists Call on Agriculture Secretary to Discuss Links between Drought and Climate Change http://goo.gl/ZJiJH

o   Rising Food Prices Will Make It Even Harder to Eat Healthy http://goo.gl/BxB5Z

o   Drought May Mean Fewer, Small Animals at Fairs http://goo.gl/rmDBl

o   Climate Change Study Ties Recent Heat Waves To Global Warming http://goo.gl/C5BGW

·      Rebranding the Food Movement to Broaden Its Appeal http://goo.gl/3CZhL

·      Mushrooms can be green too! http://goo.gl/V5dtN

Premier Mushrooms (Calusa Calif.) and the triple bottom line…

·      Bucky Box (NZ)

o   5 Tips for Local Food Delivery http://goo.gl/Kmgqq

o   Tips for Local Food #1: Get Social – a guide to social media for local food enterprises http://goo.gl/r0JU0

o   Tips for Local Food #2: Existing Resources & Support – standing on the shoulders of giants http://goo.gl/8v4rf

·      Russia to Slaughter at Least 33,000 Pigs After African Swine Fever Outbreak http://goo.gl/B0KUv

·      Enormous Asian Tiger Prawns Invading US Waters Worry Environmentalists http://goo.gl/PteHI

·      Threatened sharks and rays granted critical protection in the Mediterranean http://goo.gl/8meiX

·      5 Perennial Veggies to Plant Once and Enjoy… Forever http://goo.gl/NqETb

·      A Greenhouse Effect (Brooklyn, NY) http://goo.gl/rIxOp

·      Edible City: The Movie http://goo.gl/yKewm

·      Farms Threatened by Palm Beach Florida Zoning Changes and New Rules http://goo.gl/F9tWC and Petition to Protect Our Right To Farm, Palm Beach County http://goo.gl/98Z0G

·      Generation Food Project http://generationfoodproject.org/

·      Oregon at the Forefront of Battle Against Nestlé Water Grab http://goo.gl/p5lLo

·      An Urban Farm (Portland, OR) Feeds Local Neighborhood with Help from Disabled http://goo.gl/FZGcB

·      Food Shift: Building a Just and Sustainable Food System http://goo.gl/7JJvn

Saving the food we waste…

·      Center for Investigative Reporting: The hidden costs of hamburgers http://bit.ly/T4QCXy

 

Labor/Economics

·      Forced to Work on a Broken Ankle? Workers Defy Abusive Supervisors for Big Union Win http://goo.gl/xvIda

A firsthand look at the backbreaking conditions that lead Pilgrim’s Pride employees to fight back – and win.

·      Marysville, California (Peach) Farms are Desperate For Workers, Despite High Unemployment http://goo.gl/lJE94

They seem to think the labor problem is due to “People just sitting at home doing nothing…” and claim “You could easily make $20 an hour over here.” Emm, I think that working conditions, pay and immigration laws may have more to do with it… Fieldwork is specialized, not just anyone can walk out and harvest, each cultivar takes specific skill set for harvesting well…

·      Some Alberta seniors will soon be eating better meals – they can thank the union for them http://goo.gl/2wLIh

·      Wal-Mart punishes its workers http://goo.gl/Lm4Lt

Employees who demonstrated against the company tell Salon they’ve lost their jobs and faced other consequences

·      A Better Economy Through Empowered Foodmakers http://goo.gl/3fHTi

·      Monsanto sued for underpaying workers http://goo.gl/pJ0Mx

·      To end poverty in America we need to stop paying poverty wages http://goo.gl/JMXBn

·      Beyond Throwaway Cities: How To Build An Export-Proof Local Economy http://goo.gl/dyK0a

We invest billions to create a functioning city. How do we create local businesses that won’t be tempted to pack up our jobs and leave town?

·      Number of Farmers Markets In US Surges (up 9.6% in the last year) http://goo.gl/pEcYj

 

Government/Regulation/Policy/Farm Bill

·      San Luis Obispo, CA Announces ‘Buy Local’ Food Policy http://goo.gl/7dvhB

The city of San Luis Obispo, located in central California has announced a “buy local” food policy for its jail and Juvenile Services Center, reports the San Luis Obispo’s Tribune.

·      It’s All About the Farm Bill

o   Congress Set to Take Food Aid Away From Millions of Hungry Americans

This makes no sense from a humanitarian point of view or from an economic one.

·      Kids Sue to Force (US) Government Action on Global Warming http://goo.gl/QpU6s

·      GOP Senators Celebrate ‘Meat Monday’ After USDA’s ‘Meatless Monday’ Mishap http://goo.gl/7UDxv

o   Much Ado about Meatless Monday: Why the USDA Retraction Matters

·      Richmond, California Unanimously Approves Pesticide Restrictions http://goo.gl/J3lv8

·      Hog-tied… Muscatine County (IA) Supervisors tell residents: our hands are tied when it comes to keeping a hog confinement operation out of Nichols http://goo.gl/hGI8d

·      USDA, EPA Launch Tool to Better Assess Pathogen Risk http://goo.gl/KqAsG and here is the USDA link http://goo.gl/YfrCA

·      US judge strikes down EPA water rules for mines http://goo.gl/rDGNZ

·      US government sues New Mexico for damages in groundwater case http://goo.gl/x10gv

Feds trying to take over New Mexico’s water supply?

 

GMOs/Cloning/Nanotechnology/Poisons

·      Please make comments to the USDA on Arctic Apple (GMO, non-browning) http://goo.gl/S1aPf

·      Olympic sponsor (DOW) speeds up pesticide arms race http://goo.gl/v6DoD

… has just been granted approval in South Africa for a new GM 2,4-D tolerant maize…

·      California Proposition 37, GMO Labeling

o   California Democratic Party… Officially Endorses Proposition 37, California Right to Know http://goo.gl/YDxZ7

o   Why Major Food Organization is Teaming Up With Monsanto and Friends to Block Your Right to Know What’s in Your Food http://goo.gl/UkQ8x

“Big Food companies like ConAgra, Smucker, Hormel, Kellogg, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo want to block consumer protection legislation.”

o   Fighting GMO Labeling in California Is Food Lobby’s “Highest Priority” http://goo.gl/nxIjc

o   Who Supports Truth-in-Labeling on GMOs? http://goo.gl/J4EfE

o   Big 6 pesticide corps want your vote http://bit.ly/NRDy8A

·      Pepsico Global Genetically-Modified Food and Ingredient Policy http://goo.gl/SfodG

I kid you not…

·      Wal-Mart OK with selling genetically modified sweet corn (Agent Orange Corn) http://goo.gl/ENaAA

·      International Standards for Trade in Nano-coated Produce? http://goo.gl/cKqJa

·      Cows make ‘human’ milk http://goo.gl/BZaWG

Scientists in China have created genetically modified cows that produce “human” milk.

·      Roundup Herbicide Linked to Parkinson’s Related Brain Damage http://goo.gl/vViH3

·      Secrecy and spoiler studies – the Monsanto method http://goo.gl/S5sC2

·      Swedish food company (Lantmannen) shuts feed line because of GM contamination http://goo.gl/x6Yzg

·      GMO in Your Food Supply: The Seeds of Freedom (film) http://goo.gl/MgWm9

The story of seed has become one of loss, control, dependence and debt. It’s been written by those who want to make vast profit from our food system, no matter what the true cost. It’s time to chance the story. ~Seeds of Freedom

·      GMOs Causing Mass Crop Die Offs, Infertility, and Miscarriages http://goo.gl/yK17C

The USDA and Secretary of State, ignore warnings and evidence of in-process disaster to crops and animals. What about the implications to human life?

·      Scientific American: Weed-Whacking Herbicide Proves Deadly to Human Cells http://goo.gl/5tapR

Used in gardens, farms, and parks around the world, the weed killer Roundup contains an ingredient that can suffocate human cells in a laboratory, researchers say.

·      Ultra-Tough GMO Corn May Force Tire Manufacturers to Use Kevlar http://bit.ly/Owq5lu

·      Minnesota Supreme Court: Pesticide drift isn’t trespassing http://goo.gl/PRZzT

 

Healthy/Humane/Safe Food & Water?

·      Doctors prescribe fruits and vegetables – literally – to encourage healthy eating (DC metro area) http://goo.gl/hQPNm

·      The Frack War Comes Home http://goo.gl/RCSUc

o   Cincinnati Becomes First Ohio City to Ban Fracking Injection Wells http://bit.ly/QtxUZl

·      General Mills ‘Natural’ Lawsuit Alleges Deceptive Marketing By Food Giant http://goo.gl/zjsE4

·      How Much Glyphosate is on your dinner plate? http://goo.gl/dY6gn

·      Contaminated Inquiry: Prof with Money Ties to Industry Led Fracking Study http://goo.gl/WFQFA

Report: UTexas Study Spun the Facts and Mislead the Public

The PAI Study: http://goo.gl/5wC45

·      Dow Chemical: When Great Ideas Rise http://goo.gl/yrYKu

Gluten sensitivity affects many people around the world. Learn how Dow has developed a plant-based cellulose that mimics gluten attributes and helps gluten-free bread, pasta and dough taste more like the real thing.

Also available, fat replacement and vegetarian versions…

All I can say is scary… they also have lactose intolerant and diabetic solutions…

·      Study links autism with industrial food, environment http://goo.gl/sRGmL

New research models real-world exposures to environmental cause of autism

·      China Sneaks its Chicken in on Man’s Best Friend http://goo.gl/27tmS, but remember, the WTO declared Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) illegal http://goo.gl/UisgH

·      US exports obesity epidemic to Mexico, says new study http://goo.gl/sZtaM

Declining public health linked to NAFTA, and influx of low quality, processed foods

·      Investigation: Drug Resistance, Chicken and 8 Million UTIs http://goo.gl/MqzoQ

·      Trial against applications of pesticides on people, Ituzaingo district, Córdoba Argentina http://goo.gl/Z733l

·      Do Students Eat Like Prisoners? http://bit.ly/kSNuhW

Hopefully you haven’t gotten the chance to taste jailhouse cuisine, but if you’re a product of the American school system, you probably have childhood memories of standing in line for grey mashed potatoes, half-thawed mystery meat, and slimy canned peaches. How do the trays measure up?