More hospitals in the U.S. are offering organic produce and hormone- and antibiotic-free meats and dairy foods in response to a trend toward healthier eating habits.

Los Angeles Times
By Elena Conis

The days of bland chicken, reconstituted potatoes, frozen peas and a side of syrupy, canned peaches appear to be coming to a close at a growing number of hospitals across the U.S.

Spurred by patient demand, concerns about setting a healthful example and a desire to make notoriously bad hospital food nutritious and appetizing, more hospitals are making strides in serving their patients fresh, organic and local produce alongside meats and dairy foods that are hormone- and antibiotic-free, as well as minimally processed.

Some hospitals have taken small steps Read Full Article »

Posted in Media/News

Farm Press – Editorial Staff
By Paul L. Hollis

The impact of the nationwide peanut butter recall has been far reaching and could ultimately cost America’s peanut producers up to $1 billion in lost production and sales, said Don Koehler, executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission, testifying before Congress last month.

“Farmers, as small businesses have felt the real economic impact of this recall,” said Koehler. “Because farmers do business with other small businesses who supply them their inputs, the ripple will not likely stop at the farmer.” Read Full Article »

Posted in Media/News

Mexico swine flu outbreak should alert us to a highly globalized industry with global political clout

Mike Davis
guardian.co.uk

The Mexican swine flu, a genetic chimera probably conceived in the faecal mire of an industrial pigsty, suddenly threatens to give the whole world a fever. The initial outbreaks across North America reveal an infection already travelling at higher velocity than did the last official pandemic strain, the 1968 Hong Kong flu.

Stealing the limelight from our officially appointed assassin, H5N1, this porcine virus is a threat of unknown magnitude. It seems less lethal than Sars in 2003, but as an influenza it may be more durable than Sars. Read Full Article »

Posted in Opinion/Editorial

The London Times
Chris Ayres in Mexico City

The first known case of swine flu emerged a fortnight earlier than previously thought in a village where residents have long complained about the smell and flies from a nearby pig farm, it emerged last night.

The Mexican Government said it initially thought that the victim, Edgar Hernandez, 4, was suffering from ordinary influenza but laboratory testing has since shown that he had contracted swine flu. The boy went on to make a full recovery, although it is thought that at least 148 others in Mexico have died from the disease, and the number is expected to rise.

News of the infected boy is expected to create controversy in Mexico because the boy lived in Veracruz state, home to thousands of farmers who claim that their land was stolen from them by the Mexican Government in 1992. The farmers, who call themselves Los 400 Pueblos – The 400 Towns – are famous for their naked marches through the streets of Mexico City. Read Full Article »

Posted in Media/News

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Publications/Food-Beverage-Nutrition/FoodNavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Organic-apples-beat-conventionals-on-antioxidants

Posted in Media/News