- A new report on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 was released on June 15th and will be open for comments until July 15th. To read the report and share your thoughts, visit the USDA website here.
- The USDA has launched a fantastic new tool: the U.S. Food Environment Atlas, which provides maps and statistics on food environment indicators, and gives "a spatial overview of a community’s ability to access healthy food and its success in doing so." You can see some sample maps drawn from this tool on La Vida Locavore; one example illustrates the correlation between soda consumption and diabetes rates.
- First Lady Michelle Obama has just launched her "Let's Move" campaign, aimed at ending childhood obesity. Two major components of the campaign focus on school food, and access to healthy and affordable food in our communities.
- New Jersey grocer who builds supermarkets in poor neighborhoods to be a guest for President Obama's State of the Union Address on Jan 27. Read article here.
- Getting at the Roots of Climate Change: Food.Even in Copenhagen, where agriculture is getting less attention than it arguably should be considering its impact and potential for mitigating climate change, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke about the need for research, and seeing agriculture as an opportunity for climate change mitigation. Read article here.
- Food Insecurity: The number of Americans who lived in households that lacked consistent access to adequate food soared last year, to 49 million, the highest since the government began tracking what it calls "food insecurity" 14 years ago, the Department of Agriculture reported Monday. Read the NYTimes article here.
- Justice Department and USDA to explore anti-trust violations in the agriculture industry. Read the Justice Department press release here.
- Sidewalk farms? Veggies on parking strips? You bet! Anything is possible in Seattle..
- Urban gardens are flourishing around the country on vacant lots, rooftops, the occassional Dodge flatbed, and in school yards. Politicians at all levels of government are taking notice. Check out this article about White House officials in Philadelphia exploring Philly's Fresh Food Initiative as a potential model for urban food system reform.
- Community gardens and urban agriculture get a boost of support from the Nashville Davidson County Council.
- Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld District Court Judge Charles Breyer'searlier ruling of May 2007, in which he found that the USDA failed to address concerns that Roundup Ready alfalfa will contaminate
conventional and organic alfalfa. The Ninth Circuit decision affirms
that USDA violated national environmental laws by approving GE alfalfa
without a full Environmental Impact Statement. To learn more about genetically engineered foods, visit the Center for Food Safety. - In his address to the American Medical Association on Monday, June 15, President Obama publicly acknowledged the ability of healthy dietary habits to prevent the occurence of chronic illnesses in America. President Obama also referred to the First Lady's organic vegetable garden as an example of how we can prevent chronic illness in future generations, noting that we should incorporate gardening into school lunch programs. You can see the entire address here.
- First Lady Michelle Obama invited Bancroft Elementary students back to the White House vegetable garden to harvest lettuce, peas and other goodies on Tuesday, June 16. In her address to the student farmers and the nation, the First Lady urged us to tackle epidemic rates of obesity and chronic illness by improving access to fresh produce in low income communities, and by including more nutritious food in school breakfast and lunch programs. The policy implications are clear: prevention is possible, we can eat our way to health, and save about $120 billion a year in medical costs. Watch her address here.
