·      Urban Agriculture In Brazil’s Favelas Grows Thanks to Hans Dieter Temp and Cidades Sem Fome http://huff.to/KYvCfN

·      Tomato Genome Decoded: Researchers to Publish Fruit’s DNA Sequence in Full http://huff.to/JXvUlt

·      Stanford nutrition guru on how to change our food system (without giving up pizza) http://bit.ly/KJnnrK

·      Extensive List of Organic Pest Control Remedies (recipes are easily made) http://bit.ly/rqmyh5

·      What humans hath wrought: What happens when we mess with Mother Nature? http://bit.ly/N3hk24

·      Last Chemical Gasp for Bees? http://bit.ly/MR3TlH

Colony collapse disorder threatens food crops valued at $15 billion a year. New research says farm chemicals put our food system at risk.

o   Commonly Used Pesticide Turns Honey Bees Into ‘Picky Eaters’ http://bit.ly/LAcaEZ

Biologiests at UC San Diego have discovered that a small dose of a commonly used crop pesticide turns honey bees into “picky eaters” and affects their ability to recruit their nestmates to otherwise good sources of food…

·      The Slow Money Principles http://bit.ly/j4dHry

In order to enhance food security, food safety and food access; improve nutrition and health; promote cultural, ecological and economic diversity; and accelerate the transition from an economy based on extraction and consumption to an economy based on preservation and restoration, we do hereby affirm the following Slow Money Principles…

·      Diary farms struggling in central Wisconsin http://wrtnews.co/KgeUvn

·      Walmart heirs quietly fund Walmart’s environmental allies http://bit.ly/JyMGLR

·      Americans want more fruit and veggies for everyone http://bit.ly/JLb4LF

And nearly all — 93 percent — of those surveyed say they think it’s at least “somewhat important” to “make sure all Americans have equal access to fresh fruits and vegetables.” And three-quarters of the respondents said they support the idea of a national program that would double Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or “food stamps”) benefits at farmers markets…

Is the tide is turning?

·      Global Temperatures Rising on a Devastating Trajectory http://bit.ly/JLByqX

Climate-heating carbon emissions set a record high in 2011, in a 3.2 percent increase over the previous year, the International Energy Agency reported this week…

·      A revolution in Concord’s (MA) cafeterias http://b.globe.com/KstHTU

·      How the US Sold Africa to Multinationals http://bit.ly/KeJdCO

o   Why female farmers need support http://wapo.st/L6czAl

·      Too much caffeine? Fair trade coffees fighting http://bo.st/KKCcGB

·      Ever wondered what 50,000 cattle on a feedlot look like? http://bit.ly/JoyPEb  and http://bit.ly/JoyPEb

Heart breaking…

·      Soft-Shell Lobsters So Soon? It’s A Mystery In Maine http://n.pr/Lxm36A

·      This series of new training videos for Pakistani dairy farmers sure a lot more colorful than our Cooperative Extension http://bit.ly/LAMvMA

But it is advocating mass production…

·      Want to hear industries excuses for destroying the viability of antibiotics http://www.fooddialogues.com/

·      Wholesome Foods and Wholesome Morals? Organic Foods Reduce Prosocial Behavior and Harshen Moral Judgments http://bit.ly/KugYRh

·      Senate farm bill a small step forward for California http://bit.ly/MU3P4O

·      Foundation on Future Farming and Biovision Launch www.globalgriculture.org

“Business as usual is not an option” was the wake-up call of the international Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for

Development (IAASTD). Organized by the United Nations and the World Bank, this groundbreaking report by more than 400 scientists called for a paradigm shift in global agricultural policies, research and development.

On the occasion of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), www.globalagriculture.org make available the IAASTD’s findings by topics and offers updated figures, background information, further reading and news. Users can conveniently browse and search the 2,000 pages of the original reports. Scientific and institutional follow-up reports are presented, including new topics such as land-grabbing and food speculation…

o   Global Agriculture, Agriculture at a Crossroads, Findings and recommendations for future farming http://bit.ly/KRDvln

·      ‘Flash Drought’ Threatens To Destroy Mo. Crops http://n.pr/N09LH7

·      ‘Vertical farm’ blossoms at meatpacking plant http://bit.ly/MUUfhZ

·      Locavore Index: Vermont tops Strolling of the Heifers Locavore Index; state tops nation in local food availability http://bit.ly/LTmfAs and here is a downloadable index http://bit.ly/LTmZG1

How local is the food in your state? Vermont is #1, Cali #41 and NY #42…

·      City to Tomato-Growing Couple: ‘You’re Breaking the Law!” (MA) http://bit.ly/KQw2Dc

Remember, last year a Michigan Woman was criminally charged for growing a vegetable garden in her front yard http://bit.ly/oh0D1K

·      Should Sustainability be a Factor in Restaurant Food? http://bit.ly/JQA8gw

·      Wal-Mart, Sponsor of ‘Acres for America’ Program, Drops Anti-Public Lands ALEC http://goo.gl/R1hrI

·      Food Trucks Draw Hungry Kids For Free Summer Meals http://goo.gl/1kBdb

·      Blame it all on my roots: Local food sees a resurgence in the South http://bit.ly/MWw1Bu

·      Cola Wars: The Big Loopholes in Dooming Bloomberg’s Soda Ban http://bit.ly/Ki7WYG

·      Upstate (NY) Farm Tour connects consumers and farmers http://bit.ly/LaI9za

·      A Global Call: Eco Warriors, Arise! (Rio+20) http://bit.ly/LTna18

·      European ‘green’ agriculture plans could harm environment, report warns http://bit.ly/N3BQzQ

Commons committee warns European commission’s plans will impose ‘one size fits all’ regime across continent.

·       If These Barns Could Talk http://nyti.ms/N4o3Jf

 

Labor

·      American Workers: Shackled to Labor Law http://bit.ly/JReAVA

Some of labor’s dramatic victories in recent years have come from organizations that, by choice or necessity, operate outside of the protections and prohibitions of labor law.

·      Worker Cooperative Federal Credit Union (Unchartered) Individual Survey http://bit.ly/oNZpfF

·      Field Notes on Food Justice: Why Your Local Grocery Store Makes Farmwokers Poor http://huff.to/L3eF6z

·      Working With Your Rapist as Your Supervisor? The Widespread Sexual Abuse of Women in Farm Work http://bit.ly/KI76kM

It should be no surprise that on American’s farms, many women are treated as less than human, since not even the government sees them as worthy of respect under the law.

o   Human Rights Watch Report: Cultivating Fear http://bit.ly/Km0R4i

The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment

·      Could a plastic-eating fungi save world from biggest man-made environmental catastrophe? http://bit.ly/KWtdUV

o   Study: Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Endophytic Fungi http://bit.ly/yUIjt0

o   Plastic-Eating Fungi Found in the Amazon May Solve World’s Waste Problem http://on.mash.to/AnwsPO

·      Minimum Wage for Restaurant Servers Remains Stagnant for 20 Years Under Industry Lobbying http://huff.to/NsSnuA

 

Occupy, Anonymous & Protests

·      Leading Food Writers, Organizations Across US Urge UC Berkeley: Embrace Gill Tract Farm, Don’t Police it http://bit.ly/JAgVnM

·      Occupy the Farm Goes to Court http://bit.ly/K3Rtmz

 

Government/Regulation/Policy/Farm Bill

·      Our Tax Dollars at Work: USAID Special Event: The Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project (ABSPII) and Product-Driven Capacity Building for Emerging Markets http://bit.ly/KIDtiM

About the Event: The Agricultural Biotechnology Support Program II is a USAID funded consortium of public and private sector institutions managed by Cornell University that focuses on the safe and effective development and commercialization of bioengineered crops as a complement to traditional agricultural approaches for small-scale farmers. ABSPII’s management team will share the lessons learned from 10 years of supporting agricultural biotechnology research and product development in India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia, Uganda and Mali. Presentations will include an overview of the ABSPII philosophy and organization, highlights of banana research in Uganda and eggplant product development in Asia, best practices for communicating about agricultural biotechnology and the benefits of public-private partnerships. The experiences here are a collective example of how the development of new technology became a driving force for capacity building for the potential opening of new markets.

·      The Organic Watergate – White Paper http://bit.ly/K2VppI

o   Wildfires Rage at New Mexican Organic (NOSB) Meetings http://bit.ly/KguQ2J

·      FDA Rules Corn Syrup Can’t Change Its Name to Corn Sugar http://goo.gl/kKVPd

·      Federal bill would give nation’s hens bigger cages http://bo.st/N7zXlA

·      Where the Trough Is Overflowing http://nyti.ms/K7aKl4

 

GMOs/Cloning/Nanotechnology/Poisons

·      How California Could Force the Rest of the US Label GMO Foods http://bit.ly/KysNVK

o   Meet the Corporate Front Groups Fight to Make Sure You Can’t Know What’s in Your Food http://goo.gl/MMVLs

·      AMA Press Release: American Medical Association Considers Labels on Genetically Engineered Foods http://bit.ly/JRs7bt

·      Organic Farmers vs. Monsanto: Appeal Filed! http://bit.ly/K1h7vJ

·      European activists draw line against GM http://bit.ly/KfcQ6V

More than 400 growers, bakers and families from across England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Frances and Belgium marched against the return of open air GM field test today. Take the flour Back linked arms with their European counterparts, notably France’s Volunteer Reapersand walked calmly towards the site, before being stopped by police lines…

o   Channel 4 (UK): Protest over GM wheat study http://bit.ly/KGvYKc

o   Vandals! No, not protesters trashing crops but the GM lobby still trying to force increasingly discredited Frankenstein Food down our throats http://bit.ly/k54U8c

o   Feeding a hungry world – or meddling with laws of nature? http://ind.pn/JvZYGz

As scientists at Rothmasted’s GM trials plead with activists not to sabotage their work, Michael McCarthy visits the battle field.

o   GM vandals are shutting down scientific debate http://tgr.ph/MCZe6Y

Experiments to increase food production in a more environmentally friendly way are being attacked by activists. Here, Prof John Pickett defends his work.

·      Agricultural Innovations that are Protecting the Environment http://bit.ly/Kbw34z

·      Meet the Corporate Front Groups Fighting to Make Sure You Can’t Know What’s in Your Food http://bit.ly/Jym761

Here’s a partial lineup of hired guns and organizations behind the anti-labeling advertising blitz soon to hit the California airwaves.

·      Mexican Farmers Block Monsanto Law to Privatize Plants and Seeds http://bit.ly/JnYiT1

Farmers Win a Battle, but the Offensive Continues

·      Richmond, BC Canada Bans GM Plants http://bit.ly/LNoJAu

o   Vancouver Sun: Activists gear up to defend GMO ban http://bit.ly/LMckww

o   Hundreds back council crop resolution http://bit.ly/JRfNpF

·      South Africa Approves Partnership of DuPont Business Pioneer Hi-Bred and Panner Seed http://bit.ly/JJwutv

·      Forbes: Monsanto Still Growing Like A Weed, Looks Like Fertile Investment http://onforb.es/JVzPiM

·      Faked Alaska: Is genetically modified salmon coming soon to a table near you? http://goo.gl/4p17d

·      20 Years of GMO Policy That Keeps Americans in the Dark About Their Food http://goo.gl/Pdx9B

·      File under bad idea: G8 asks Big Ag to take the lead in feeding the world http://goo.gl/kDL4e

 

Healthy/Humane/Safe Food & Water?

·      What’s Inside the 26-Ingredient School Lunch Burger? http://goo.gl/ZsnWT

They are phasing it out in Fairfax County Schools…

·      Studies on glyphosate-induced carninogenicity in mouse skin: a proteomic approach. http://1.usa.gov/LJxLP1

·      Local Health Departments Test Food Ahead of Presidential Conventions http://bit.ly/L042i8

·      Radioactive Bluefin Tuna: Japan Nuclear Plant Contaminated Fish Found Off California Coast http://huff.to/LCTS6i

o   Bluefin Tuna With Elevated Radioactivity Still Safe http://bit.ly/LgWS9A

·      Dairies Pamper Cows with Massage, Waterbeds http://huff.to/LBkUvk

Happy cows…

·      Controversy Continues As Comment Period Closes for HIMP http://bit.ly/L2sMu4

·      San Francisco BeyondChron Blog: School Food Regulation Won’t Take the Cake http://bit.ly/L2Vxad

·      500,000 Pigs in Chile to be Slaughtered After Hog Farm Shut Down http://huff.to/LV00u1

Last week it was 50,000 chickens in Stockton, CA http://bit.ly/J15Upu, maybe it’s time to stop CAFOs…

·      Peanut Butter, Other Fatty Foods Found to Contain Fire Retardants In Recent Survey http://huff.to/NkfPdG

·      McDonald’s Sets 10-Year Timeline to Phase Out Pork Gestation Crates http://goo.gl/5IZ2O

·      Massey WV Coal Battle Take Two: Erie, CO Citizens Fight Fracking http://goo.gl/SsMNn

It ‘plans to frack for natural gas near three local schools and childcare center,” according to a press release disseminated by FWW.

·      Antibiotic – Free Meat Business Is Booming Thanks to Chipotle http://goo.gl/5iWS7

 

Events

·      About ‘Future of Food: Food Security in the 21^st Century’ http://bit.ly/Kmsy1W

June 14, livestream http://bit.ly/aHHHxS, co-hosted by The Washington Post and Slate

·      Lights Camera Food: Perceptions and Realities of Farming and Ranching in America, Los Angeles, June 20 -21, 2012 http://bit.ly/JWdyHg

Leading Discussion On Food Production, Popular Culture and Science At The Food Dialogues: Los Angeles

US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance Assembles Leaders in Entertainment, Foodservice, Academia and Agriculture for Panel Discussions June 20 -21, 2012

Available online (either live streamed or taped) http://bit.ly/r2H3yn

 

Other

·      USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service

Nominations Being Accepted for the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection http://1.usa.gov/JXQfJg