EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
"Strong Sales of Organic Foods Attract Investors"
NY Times, 05/25/2011"Even during a period of rising food prices and economic uncertainty, Damien Bignon, a poultry farmer in the Paris region, cannot meet the demand from local markets and stores for his organic eggs."
Foodmakers Resist Proposal for Guidelines in Marketing To Children
Wash Post, 05/25/2011"The food and advertising industries are pushing back against an Obama administration proposal that calls for food makers to voluntarily limit the way they market sugary cereals, salty snacks and other foods to children and teens."
"Report Faults FDA Over Risks From Imported Seafood"
Wall St. Journal, 05/18/2011"The Food and Drug Administration is doing a poor job ensuring that imported seafood doesn't pose health risks to Americans, failing to properly assess foreign producers and inspect the products they ship to the U.S., according to a congressional research report released Monday."
"Produce Industry Presses USDA on Pesticide Report"
Wash Post, 05/16/2011Eighteen non-organic produce industry groups have written the Agriculture Secretary in an an effort to muffle the impact of the upcoming USDA report on pesticide residues. The Environmental Working Group uses the annual data to highlight the "Dirty Dozen" fruits and vegetables.
"MRSA Germ Found in Supermarket Meats"
AP, 05/13/2011"MRSA, a bacteria resistant to common antibiotics, has been discovered in supermarket meats, and the germ is apparently being introduced by human food handlers, a new study reports."
"FDA Agents Launch Covert Ops Against D.C.-Area Raw-Milk Buying Club"
Grist, 05/09/2011"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just filed a complaint in federal court, seeking a permanent injunction against Amish farmer Dan Allgyer in Pennsylvania. It accuses him of violating a federal prohibition on interstate sales of raw milk by shipping unpasteurized milk to a Maryland buying club's members."
"Study Ranks Food Pathogens by Cost To Society"
Wash Post, 04/28/2011"Of the food pathogens that cost society the most money — in terms of medical care, lost days of work, long-term chronic health problems or deaths — half are found in poultry, pork, beef and other meat products, according to a study due for release Thursday."
Safe Spinach: "USDA Seeking Comment on Food Quality Agreement"
AP, 04/27/2011"The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to hear from the public about what's being called the National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement." Consumer advocates say it puts people at risk of food-borne disease by allowing the spinach and lettuce industries to police themselves when it comes to food safety.
"Lamb the Conquistadors Would Recognize"
NY Times, 04/20/2011Spanish settlers the wake of Coronado's visit in 1540 brought sheep to New Mexico. Four centuries later the settlers' descendants are scrabbling to produce the only certified-organic spring lamb (also descendants) in New Mexico. There is a close relationship between the food and the land.
"Is Sugar Toxic?"
NY Times, 04/19/2011If Robert Lustig is right, in a lecture that has gone viral on YouTube, "then our excessive consumption of sugar is the primary reason that the numbers of obese and diabetic Americans have skyrocketed in the past 30 years. But his argument implies more than that. If Lustig is right, it would mean that sugar is also the likely dietary cause of several other chronic ailments widely considered to be diseases of Western lifestyles — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers among them."
"Almost Half of Meat in Stores May Have Drug-Resistant Bacteria"
LA Times, 04/18/2011"47% of samples tested had the type of bacteria that most commonly causes staph infections. Food animals routinely fed antibiotics are a possible source."
"Rush to Use Crops as Fuel Raises Food Prices and Hunger Fears"
NY Times, 04/07/2011"Each year, an ever larger portion of the world’s crops — cassava and corn, sugar and palm oil — is being diverted for biofuels as developed countries pass laws mandating greater use of nonfossil fuels and as emerging powerhouses like China seek new sources of energy to keep their cars and industries running."
"KFC To Stop Using Palm Oil"
UK Independent, 04/07/2011"Fast food chain KFC is to stop frying chicken in palm oil."
"U.S. Farmers Going All Out, But Grain Bins Thinner"
Reuters, 04/01/2011"U.S. farmers say they will plant some of the biggest corn and soybean crops ever this spring, racing to keep pace with unrelenting global demand that's rapidly depleting stockpiles and driving up food costs."
"Low Levels of Radiation Found In US Milk"
AP, 03/31/2011"Very low levels of radiation turned up in a sample of milk from the West Coast state of Washington, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday, but federal officials assured consumers not to worry."

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