Friday, June 22, 2012

Food for Thought (June 17 – June 23)

Food and Health

The average person makes more than 200 decisions about food every day, and most of the time isn’t even aware of it. We may take a stand each morning when it comes to ordering a tall, nonfat, no-foam latte, but for the most part, we tend to consume what’s put in front of us. When we eat out, everything from a restaurant’s lighting to the menu design to the size of the plate or cup influences how much we eat and drink.  http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/how-can-a-big-gulp-look-so-small/

Food scientist, Luis Cisneros-Zevallos and team showed that compounds that exist in stone fruits (nectarines, plums, peaches) could be useful in the fight against metabolic syndrome, in which inflammation and obesity eventually lead to serious illnesses and health problems.  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/246727.php

Eating disorders and aggressive weight loos strategies are not just problems for young people.  A recent study shows women over fifty wrestling with body issues, with 70% saying they are trying to lose weight, 8% reporting purging (forcing themselves to throw up after eating), and 3.5% confessing to binge eating. Overall, 62% of women in the study said weight negatively impacted their lives. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/246919.php

Food Safety

A bill that would put some teeth into federal organic food law was introduced Tuesday by a bipartisan pair of representatives from opposite sides of the country.  Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) and Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY), introduced the legislative to ensure that products carrying the USDA's organic seal comply with the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/06/bill-introduced-with-tougher-enforcement-for-organic-label/

In a nationwide survey of more than a thousand people, Consumers Union found that 86% of people said they would like to see more antibiotic-free meat on store shelves, and more than 60% said they'd be willing to pay more for it.  http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/20/report-consumers-demand-drug-free-meat/

Coinciding with the new "Meat Without Drugs" campaign announced this week, tech start up Real Time Farms launched a crowd-sourced map to help consumers locate meat from animals raised without antibiotics. The FixAntibiotics Food Finder allows shoppers to look up retail locations, farmers markets, farms, and restaurants sourcing antibiotic-free meat using their zipcode or by zooming into a geographic area.  http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/06/antibiotic-free-meat-map-launched-for-consumers/

The CDC reports a total of 390 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Bareilly (376 persons) or Salmonella Nchanga (14 persons) have been reported from 27 states and the District of Columbia.  Collaborative investigation efforts of state, local, and federal public health agencies indicate that a frozen raw yellowfin tuna product, known as Nakaochi Scrape, from Moon Marine USA Corporation is the likely source of this outbreak. http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/bareilly-04-12/index.html

Food Assistance

The Senate today passed its version of the farm bill, which included $4.5 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program). The Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012 (S.3240) could impact 500,000 families and would reduce monthly SNAP benefits by $90. It was passed with 64 yes votes and 35 no votes. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/senate-passes-farm-bill-cuts-45-billion-from-snap-159941455.html
The 1,000-page "farm bill" being debated in the Senate is somewhat of a misnomer. Four of every five dollars in it — roughly $80 billion a year — goes for grocery bills for one of every seven Americans through food stamps.  Republicans say Congress could cut the cost $2 billion a year by just closing a pair of loopholes that some states use to award benefits to people who otherwise might not qualify. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/republicans-food-stamps-cut-big-farm-bill-16599292
The U.S. Senate Tuesday rejected a farm bill amendment that would have restricted eligibility for food stamps to those already receiving cash assistance.The Senate approved several other amendments to the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act, but eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps -- already a partisan issue in Washington -- has also split Senate Democrats, Politico said. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/06/19/Food-stamps-fodder-for-farm-bill-debate/UPI-91491340149797/
To abide by a federal mandate that enforces a healthy menu, the price of school lunch is going up 15 cents at the elementary level and 25 cents at the high school in Milford, MA. http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x345283262/Milford-schools-to-increase-lunch-prices
The Clover, SC school board Monday approved a 10-cent price increase for school lunches and a 25-cent rise in the cost of breakfast, effective when school opens in the fall. That brings the cost to $1.25 for school breakfast and $2 for lunch at elementary schools and $2.25 for standard lunch at the middle and high schools. The Clover board also increased meal prices last year. http://www.lakewyliepilot.com/2012/06/22/1571129/clover-oks-school-lunch-price.html


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