Food News

Here's some food news from the Yale Sustainable Food Project:

Food labels in Europe are causing a sticky situation in Africa. As more and more consumers try to limit the food miles on their plate by shying away from food marked by "air-freighted" stickers, angry scientists aren't sure that food miles are all they're cracked up to be--and African farmers are worried that demand for their crops will plummet. Right now, those crops are mostly wheat, rice, and corn. But UN researchers, citing a 75 percent drop in cultivated crop varieties over the last century, are hoping to encourage more niche and value-added production of heritage crops in Africa.

On our own side of the Atlantic, the Environmental Working Group takes a look at the state of the 2007 Farm Bill and the outpouring of citizen interest that somehow failed to positively shape the bill. A Google Map illustrates the diverse sources of editorials calling for reform and lets you read snippets of each article.