Chicken still a high health risk, consumer groups say [Los Angeles Times]
Americans
eat more chicken than any other meat. Yet when it comes to food safety, poultry
is fraught with risks that consumer groups say aren’t being fully addressed by
producers and federal inspectors. That’s the view of two reports released
Thursday….At the core of both findings are calls to strengthen government
oversight in the $70-billion poultry industry….Coincidentally, the two studies
arrive the same month the federal government outlined major new policies to
tackle salmonella in poultry and address the over-use of antibiotics in raising
meat….Federal officials say the measures address some of the concerns raised by
the reports released Thursday.
Freeze
damage hard to pin down [Visalia Times-Delta]
The
damages from this month’s freeze are just now getting tallied at the county’s
packing houses — and the news is mixed. While some citrus groves along the
southeastern side of the Valley saw overnight lows near the teens for five
consecutive nights, other areas stayed close to 30 degrees during the recent
cold snap. The result, according to the Tulare County Agricultural
Commissioner, is that loss estimates will be hard to pin down during the next
few weeks….The freeze hasn’t stopped the orders from coming in to local packing
houses yet, Iacano said. Citrus that doesn’t make the grade can be diverted
from the export bins to local juice plant.
Local
leaders fret over bypass flooding plan [Davis Enterprise]
As
state and federal officials gather input on the controversial Bay Delta
Conservation Plan, Yolo County’s leaders are answering loud and clear that
they’re worried the plan will harm Yolo’s agricultural sector.…One piece of
that proposal, known as Conservation Measure 2, would target thousands of acres
of rich farmland in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area for increased flooding. The
flooding intends to create a safe passage for fish, like salmon, that are
attracted into the bypass. However, in April a UC Davis study found that if the
flooding were to extend into certain sensitive months for rice farmers, the
county’s second most valuable crop would fail to grow — causing up to $9
million per year in lost revenue.
Editorial: A better water bond
unveiled [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
It's
needed and it's a better proposal. These truths were on display Tuesday in
Seaside at a state hearing about a water bond moving toward the November 2014
ballot. The $6.8 billion measure presented by state lawmakers replaces a
twice-postponed and pork-laden $11.1 billion proposal that was widely expected
to fail….California needs more water storage in reservoirs and underground
basins and the more this bond measure specifically provides for collecting
water from storm runoff, mountain snow packs and rivers and streams, the
better.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/opinion/ci_24753347/editorial-better-water-bond-unveiled?source=nav
This
Stanford Ph.D. became a fruit picker to feed California's hungry [NPR]
By
some estimates, we Americans throw away about , from the cabbage that's wilting
in our refrigerators, to the fruit that's falling off the orange tree in our
neighbor's backyard. In California's Central Valley, one woman has started a
grass-roots effort to feed hungry people by rescuing some of that produce….And
that's where Sarah Ramirez comes in. Ramirez has made it her mission to rescue
produce from commercial fields and people's backyards….Ramirez says she noticed
that a lot fruit in the region went unharvested. "And yet, at the same
time, we have hunger and food insecurity," she says. "And it seems
like we should be able to put a need with a surplus. Let's put the pieces
together."
Editorial: Plow under the
ethanol mandate [Orange County Register]
The
nation needs a more sensible approach to energy and environmental issues than a
heavy reliance on corn-based ethanol. Congress should end the mandate to mix
corn ethanol into the nation’s fuel. A handout to the agriculture industry is
not an acceptable substitute for thoughtful federal policies. Sens. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., last week introduced a bill to
eliminate the corn ethanol mandate….Nor is burning a food staple as fuel a
sensible national strategy. The ethanol mandate has diverted increasing amounts
of corn away from food, and the resulting demand also inflated corn
prices….Besides, higher food prices and environmental damage are not desirable
facets of a national energy policy. The practical limitations and deficiencies
of the corn ethanol mandate should make Congress’ course clear: End the
requirement, and find a better approach to energy issues.
Ag
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