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.
"World Food Price Index Headed Up"
Farm Progress, 10/09/2012"The overall food price index, calculated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was up in August with a total of 216 points, up three points and 1.4% from August. FAO says the increase is attributed to dairy and meat prices and increases for cereals."
"A New Breed of Hunter Shoots, Eats and Tells"
NY Times, 10/03/2012"Who is the most famous hunter in America? If you’re over 30, the first names that come to mind are probably Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent or Dick Cheney. If you’re under 30, the answer is easier. The most famous hunter in America is Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Facebook."
FDA Chief Says Scarce Funding Hobbles Sweeping Food Safety Regulations
Reuters, 10/02/2012"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is having difficulty implementing expansive new rules to improve food safety, nearly two years after President Barack Obama signed the standards into law, because of a lack of funding."
"Weather A Factor in Looming Global Bacon Shortage"
Capital Weather Gang, 09/26/2012"Global weather conditions are taking their toll on the artery-clogging guilty pleasure known as bacon. A world pork shortage is now 'unavoidable' says Britain’s National Pig Association (NPA)."
"U.S. Needs Arsenic Limits in Rice -- Consumer Reports"
Reuters, 09/20/2012"Consumer Reports is urging U.S. limits for arsenic in rice after tests of more than 60 popular products -- from Kellogg's Rice Krispies to Gerber infant cereal -- showed most contained some level of inorganic arsenic, a known human carcinogen."
School Tuna Contains Excessive Mercury, Environmentalists' Report Says
EHN, 09/20/2012"Canned albacore tuna purchased by U.S. schools contains more mercury than what government officials have reported, raising the risks for some tuna-loving kids, according to a new study from a coalition of advocacy groups."
Stanford Organics Study: Did Methods, Politics Threaten Kids' Health?
Huffington Post, 09/14/2012After a study by Stanford researchers, published September 4, concluded that organic foods had negligible health benefits, controversy occurred. Now critics, mostly from the environmental health and organic food communities, are challenging the study's methods, its accuracy and completeness, its framing questions, potential conflict of interest stemming from funding support, and the competence of the news media in reporting it.
NY: "Health Panel Approves Restriction on Sale of Large Sugary Drinks"
NY Times, 09/14/2012"Seeking to reduce runaway obesity rates, the New York City Board of Health on Thursday approved a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters, the first restriction of its kind in the country."
"Drought Hurt World Crops Less Than Many Had Feared: USDA"
Reuters, 09/13/2012"Searing droughts in the United States and Russia will deplete harvests of wheat, corn and soybeans, the U.S. government said on Wednesday, but global food supplies were not hurt as badly as many had feared."
"Nearly 17 Million Americans Repeatedly Short of Food: Report"
Reuters, 09/06/2012"The number of poor Americans who repeatedly ran short of food shot up by 800,000 in 2011 to nearly 17 million compared with 2010, the U.S. government said on Wednesday."
"Experts Issue a Warning as Food Prices Shoot Up"
NY Times, 09/05/2012"With the worst drought in half a century withering corn across the Midwest, agricultural experts on Tuesday urged international action to prevent the global spike in food prices from causing global hunger."
"10m Pounds of Maple Syrup Have Mysteriously Gone Missing in Canada"
Grist, 09/05/2012"The province of Quebec is responsible for 75 percent of the maple syrup produced in the ENTIRE WORLD. So it’s no surprise that they keep a strategic maple syrup reserve -- hot weather ruins the volume and taste of the syrup crop, and pancake fiends can get ugly, so it pays to have backup. Which is all very good planning, until more than a quarter of the syrup nest egg disappears."
"Farm Use of Antibiotics Defies Scrutiny"
NY Times, 09/04/2012"The numbers released quietly by the federal government this year were alarming. A ferocious germ resistant to many types of antibiotics had increased tenfold on chicken breasts, the most commonly eaten meat on the nation’s dinner tables. But instead of a learning from a broad national inquiry into a troubling trend, scientists said they were stymied by a lack of the most basic element of research: solid data."
"Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce"
NY Times, 09/04/2012"Does an organic strawberry contain more vitamin C than a conventional one?"
"Health Groups Sue U.S. For Failing To Protect Food Supply"
Reuters, 08/30/2012"Two U.S. health and environment organizations sued the federal government on Wednesday for what the groups say is a failure to implement and enforce a new food safety law that could help prevent thousands of deaths caused by food-borne illnesses each year."

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