Daily Loaf

According to this Reuters article, “Hog producers have lost, on average, nearly $23 for each hog marketed since September 2009, ‘and things look bleak going forward,’ said NPPC president Don Butler at House Agriculture subcommittee hearing.”

You might want to blame this porcine problem on idiots who believe that they’ll contract H1N1 from ham, but the National Pork Producers Council website actually says that the industry has lost $23 per hog since September, 2007. What? Amidst the greatest outpouring of love for the humble pig by restaurant chefs, television food celebrities and people like me, pig ain’t selling?

Actually, sales haven’t been the real problem until recently. Grain prices started rising dramatically during the international food crisis that started a couple of years ago, thanks to the rise of environmentally unstable bio-fuels. And that grain makes up 60 percent of the cost of raising a hog, according to the NPPC. Add in a ban on U.S. pork imports by China and Russia — ostensibly because of H1N1, but more likely political maneuvering — and the industry suffers.

Why, you may ask, should I care? Read the rest of this entry »

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Hillsborough County receives $7.6 million federal energy efficiency grant- The county plans to use these funds to undertake energy efficiency and conservation projects on its facilities and vehicles.

The pursuit of sustainable happiness- Sustainability in relation to happiness here is used to denote something that is generative, something that will complete us and not deplete our energy levels, something that would inspire us to be better.
Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, the USDA announced a new initiative — called “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” — aimed at linking consumers with local agricultural products. The organization said that there’d be $65 million in funding for the program announced within the next week.

Impressive? Sure, but keep that number in perspective. The USDA’s 2010 budget will likely top $134 billion, making KYFKYF a meager .5% of total expenditures. And that’s only if we assume that $65 million will be spent in a single year, which, likely, it won’t.

Perhaps the most exciting quote from the press release, however, is a promise to Read the rest of this entry »

In the past, whenever you’ve seen “Naturally Raised” stamped on a shrink-wrapped pack of chicken breasts, it’s meant zilch. Thankfully, the USDA is here to protect American consumers with new guidelines for using that content-less term. Kinda.

Ethicurean sums it up: Read the rest of this entry »

Washington and the USDA just passed the COOL bill – Country of Origin Labeling -which requires food producers to identify where your produce and meat were grown. Just in time to allay the Chinese milk, Mexican peppers and California spinach fears. But, like all other legislation these days, there are plenty of loopholes.

“It will be a very good thing because we’ll have a lot more information,” said Jean Halloran of Consumers Union. But, “you can still be fooled by the COOL label.”

How? The labeling rule doesn’t apply to processed foods that have been cooked or altered in any way. For example, raw pork chops apply but not smoked bacon. Even bagged salad mixes with more than one ingredient may or may not have the COOL label. Glaringly large loopholes if you ask me, but it’s at least a start.

One advantage: it will be easier to identify locally grown produce.

Want more information?
Minnesota Public Radio
Associated Press
The Goverment’s FAQ