Putting the fat back into America’s food policy is a loud and clear priority for the new majority in Congress this year.  First Lady Michelle Obama launched the “Let’s Move” initiative in February 9, 2010.  A widely acclaimed first step to taking on childhood obesity, the First lady hasn’t been shy about wielding her considerable […]

Posted on January 2nd, 2015 by Debby
Filed under: Childhood obesity, Farm-to-School, FDA, Food, Nutrition, US Congress, USDA | No Comments »

Growing up in Massachusetts means a special kind of connection to the Fourth of July. Along with Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July is one of two holidays all Americans can claim as our own. Both were born in Massachusetts: Thanksgiving in Plymouth around a communal dining table and the American Revolution, which started with the […]

Posted on July 4th, 2013 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Childhood Hunger, Farm Bill 2012, Farms & Farmers, Food, House of Representatives, House of Representatives, Nutrition, Public Option, Rural Urban Partnerships, US Congress | No Comments »

The old rural-urban alliance that married farm and nutrition programs failed to get a Farm Bill through the House this afternoon. The bill lost 195-234, with food stamps apparently the main issue. The House seemed ready to pass the bill this afternoon “after the Agriculture Committee leadership agreed to a sweeping en bloc amendment Wednesday […]

Posted on June 20th, 2013 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Childhood Hunger, Economy, Farm Bill 2012, Food, House of Representatives, Nutrition | No Comments »

Agribusiness food giant Monsanto took on Indiana farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman (NPR photo by Dan Charles) in a dispute over a patent to grow genetically modified soybeans. The case went all the way to the top, with the Supreme Court ruling unanimously yesterday that Bowman violated Monsanto’s patent. Monsanto’s soybeans are resistant to the weed killer […]

Posted on May 15th, 2013 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Farms & Farmers, Genetically modified foods | No Comments »

Posted on February 22nd, 2013 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Farms & Farmers, Food | No Comments »

The case of an Indiana farmer who planted the genetically altered soybeans he got from a local grain elevator has reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Hugh Bowman’s dispute with agricultural giant Monsanto has evolved into a larger debate of the influence big agribusinesses have on farmers. Monsanto, the producer of the powerful herbicide Roundup and the […]

Posted on February 11th, 2013 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Farms & Farmers, Food, Genetically modified foods, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The economy in rural areas of 10 Midwestern and Western states continued to look weak this month as the region begins a slow recovery from this summer’s oppressive drought, according to The Rural Mainstreet Index, an economic survey of rural bankers by Creighton University in Omaha. The economic index for this month is 48.3, up slightly […]

Posted on September 24th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Environment, Farms & Farmers, Food, Rural Life | No Comments »

The House Agriculture Committee passed its version of a 2012 farm bill weeks ago on a bipartisan vote but the GOP leadership refuses to bring it to the House floor for debate.  In fact, the House GOP leadership intends to leave town next week without passing a five-year farm bill for our nation’s farmers. Not […]

Posted on September 14th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Farm Bill 2012, Farms & Farmers, Food | No Comments »

It’s all politics at the Iowa State Fair in this presidential election year, as it has been for decades. Presumptive Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan visited the fair last week, but left John Nichols of The Capital Times in Madison, Wis., wondering what he was doing there after refusing to answer questions about the […]

Posted on August 27th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Election 2012, Farms & Farmers, Food, Rural Issues | No Comments »

There’s good news and there’s bad news out of the U.S. House of Representatves Committee on Agriculture. The Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) passed by a bipartisan 35-11 vote. The committee rejected amendments to alter the no-cost sugar program and also voted not to remove the Dairy Market Stabilization Program (DMSP) from […]

Posted on July 12th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Buy Local, Childhood Hunger, Clean Energy, Farm Bill 2012, Farms & Farmers, Food, Food Safety, Nutrition, Rural Issues | 1 Comment »