Welcome once again to Tasty Bits! This is a weekly round-up of news bits, links and recipes I find that I think might be of interest to fellow Kossacks. The focus is on ecological, food and household issues with a bit of helpful tips, suggestions and recipes for your enjoyment. You are welcome to share any of your own tasty bits in the comments!
And this week's "What is this?"
Jump on over the orange doo-dad for this week's savory morsels. . .
News
Three Approved GMO's Linked to Organ Damage
Three varieties of Monsanto’s GM corn – Mon 863, insecticide-producing Mon 810, and Roundup® herbicide-absorbing NK 603 – were approved for consumption by US, European and several other national food safety authorities. The data used for this approval, ironically, is the same data that independent researchers studied to make the organ damage link.[. . .]
The data “clearly underlines adverse impacts on kidneys and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs, as well as different levels of damages to heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system,” reported Gilles-Eric Séralini, a molecular biologist at the University of Caen.
Fast Food Industry Challenges Happy Meal Ordinances
Now, the fast food industry is lobbying for legislation that would restrict local governments from trying to enact so-called Happy Meal ordinances, Reuters reports.
The lobbying effort paid off in Arizona, where a state law will take effect July 20 barring counties and cities from regulating toys, games, coupons, crayons, or prizes that are offered at restaurants to appeal to children, according to Reuters.
Budding connoisseurs seek new food options on college campuses
While universities nationwide have updated their dining hall menus to meet the increasingly epicurean expectations of students like Latto, many students are also taking things a step further and bringing fancy fare to campus on their own.
For some, it means launching co-ops to get everything from fair-trade coffee to fancy herbs or hand-rolled butter from nearby farms. For others, it means collaborating with the vendors who stock their dorm cafeterias to get quinoa, kohlrabi or other non-traditional items on their menus.
Local food movement gets trucking (Montana)
Shopper interest in local food products is growing. Local food manufactures are obliging. But the once-beaten path to market is now as hard to find as an old highway that long ago gave way to interstate.
The missing link to a full-blown local food movement, say Matheson and others, is local food distributors. That’s where Randy Lindberg and a handful of other start-up food distributors come in.
Sensing the local food movement needed distributors, Lindberg and his wife Nancy Lindberg opened Quality Food Distributing just west of Bozeman in Four Corners.
Randy had worked the West as an executive officer for United Natural Foods, America’s largest wholesaler of natural and organic foods. He noticed several Montana-produced products that weren’t widely distributed and thought he could use his business contacts to get them on regional store shelves.
SOU Students ban bottled-water sales on campus(Ashland, OR)
On May 3, the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University, the student government of SOU, passed legislation banning bottled-water sales on campus to make the university more environmentally friendly.
"Clean water is one of the most essential elements of human life," said Isaac Taylor, a member of ASSOU, during a presentation before student government. "It shouldn't be privatized. We're hoping that SOU can become a leader in the fight against these corporations and bottled water."
The Green Movement: The Tree-Huggers Grow Up
By the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was president and the age of conspicuous consumption had begun. Environmentalists (“tree huggers”) became subjects of ridicule. The green-building movement and its young practitioners got pushed to the margins. “We were alone,” William McDonough recalls. “We just got attacked.” But fundamental change takes time (note to disillusioned Obama supporters). The movement’s major players continued to hammer away at the problem while growing their practices and gaining the kind of credibility that only comes with age and experience. Gradually, their ideas infiltrated the mainstream.
FDA issues first food safety regulations under new law
The first regulation allows the FDA to detain foods that the agency believes to have been produced under unsanitary or unsafe conditions, when until now the FDA had only been authorized to hold products if they had been produced or mislabeled in a way that could cause “serious adverse health consequences or death” to people or animals. From July 3, the FDA will have the authority to hold products that it believes are adulterated or misbranded for up to 30 days.
In addition, a second rule will prohibit food from being imported into the United States if any other country has already blocked the same product. This means that anyone importing food into the US will have to report to the FDA if a country has refused entry to the same product, including animal feed.
Weak U.S. harvest, bigger demand could mean higher food prices
Higher food prices could be coming as U.S. farmers struggle to plant crops in soggy fields, while global demand for grain increases from an expanding Asian middle class, increased use by the ethanol industry and speculation by commodities traders.
It's a precarious balance, as earlier this spring U.S. corn reserves fell to their lowest level in 15 years. Relatively slight declines in supply from delayed spring planting, droughts and other disruptions in the growing season could send grain prices soaring.
The world has come to depend on bountiful U.S. harvests. There isn't much of a safety net if things go wrong, said Chris Hurt, a Purdue University agriculture economist.
Expect a 4% increase in food prices this year, Hurt said, and bigger increases if the U.S. doesn't have at least an average grain harvest.
FEMA Assistance available for lost food
There are federal eligibility guidelines for food assistance money, but they are adaptable.
Your home must be in the disaster area and your household has to be buying and preparing meals. Also, if you fall under at least one of the following criteria:
Your home or self-employment property is damaged; you have disaster-related expenses you have paid, or will pay, not reimbursed by May 26th; the disaster stopped or delayed your income; the disaster made your bank account inaccessible; or if you lost food because of power outage. (emphasis mine)
Victims can file a claim by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or can register online at disasterassistance.gov.
Crafty Aid for Tornado Victims
Lots of links to cool stuff you can buy and orgs you can donate to that will help out those affected in the Southeast.
Our hearts have been with all those affected by the tornadoes across the southeastern United States in April. We've scouted out several crafty outreach efforts for folks in the area and wanted to share them with you.
Home & Garden
Top 10 Tips for Grilling Season
Video Tutorial: making paper pots
Instructables: Self-Watering Veggie Table
Kelly and Erik's Urban Farm Green Tour
Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen didn't set out to become back –and front!– yard farmers. But once this Los Angeles couple discovered the pleasures of making things by hand and living close to the natural world, one thing led to another and today their ever-evolving urban homestead (if we dare call it that) is a true inspiration in the heart of the city.
5 Ways to Extend the Life of Your Paint Job
Make a slug trap out of a used plastic bottle
How we cut our energy bill by an average of 30%
Recipes
Candied Jalapenos
Orange poppy scones
Muesli with Nuts and Dried Fruits
Warm fingerling potato and tuna salad
Pickled ramps
Savory galettes with caramelized onion, bacon and brie
Curried sweet potato chips
Goat cheese brownies
Lavendar brownies
Vanilla Bean Sables cookie recipe
I wanted to add a quick note to say that we have a lot of great diaries here on Kos that deal with environmental food issues and the reason I don't include them in my roundup is that it is my intention to bring attention to bits from outside the Kos-verse. If you follow our group, or tags such as environment etc. you'll see the great work being done by fellow Kossacks. There is also the amazing eco-diary roundup that gets posted weekly on Saturdays and it is chock full of the brilliant work being done by all.
Thanks for stopping by and enjoying this week's tasty bits!