There are some people who would be fine with the idea of the whole world eating jojo potatoes and fried chicken from local convenience stores. And there are others who feel that the diversity of food global markets bring is somehow the pinnacle of civilization. But what about the idea of culturally appropriate, local food?

On the Flathead Reservation in Pablo, Montana, three Native American women -- Heather Cahoon, Jody Perez and Genevieve King -- have just launched a cooking show called Rez Chef that takes a look at preparing traditional Native Indian foods. The idea of the cooking show (which is broadcast on the Salish Kootenai College's public television station, KSKC-TV) stemmed from a Traditional Living Challenge Camp that gave Pablo residence the opportunity to prepare elk, camas, skunk cabbage, buffalo and salmon -- among other traditional foods -- in new and old ways. It's one approach some residents are taking in order to help families combat diabetes and cardiovascular diseases that have become so prevalent.

In a Missoulian article, Anita Dupuis, director of the Salish Kootenai College Community Health and Development Department said, “Historically, Native American genetics weren't made to properly digest and metabolize non-Native cuisine, i.e., sugar, flour and trans fat.” Her goal is to help people return to those native diets.

But is this just a health issue? Culturally-appropriate eating has often included community gatherings, and a connection between older generations who teach the younger ones about how to prepare foods. It's also local eating, which often allows the eater to see how their food choices impact the economic and environmental aspects of where they live.

Environmental Protection Agency scientists know that factory farms emit toxic gases that pose threats to human health, but that's not stopping the agency from allowing farms to shirk the reporting process for these emissions.

Under existing rules, farms report toxic gas emissions that exceed a certain amount. The agency asserts these records aren't used and therefore unnecessary. Yet, without a record of the pollution livestock operations create, people have no way to link suspicious patterns of illness to emitters of mass amounts of culpable pollutants, and no recourse for holding these farms accountable.

You don't have to visit one of these farms to know this stinks of corporate interest. Livestock lobbyists have been pushing this change for years, especially after facing lawsuits from environmental groups and rural communities.

Livestock operations produce an estimated two-thirds of the ammonia emissions reported in the U.S. Fingers point to emissions from manure pits, which include both ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, for the cause of illnesses (and even deaths) of farm workers and residents around large livestock operations.

EPA surreptitiously published a notice in the Federal Register on December 28, 2007, when Congress was on holiday, which describes its plan to exempt factory farms from emission reporting requirements.

But it's not a done deal. You can provide public comment through March 28.

Sources: The Washington Post and EPA

There's a new farm-to-school program in South Carolina – the first in the state – that illustrates the nationwide trend and the growing concern over the slop we're putting in our kids' mouths everyday, like the recently recalled beef.

Across the U.S., nearly 11,000 schools in 38 states have a farm-to-school program. These programs are connecting schools with local farms to improve student nutrition and support the local economies of area farmers.

South Carolina's Anderson County established the state's first farm-to-school program last week, which is taking farmers into new terrain and children back to the farm.

The "Grow With Me" program supplies the county's schools with fresh produce from local farms, everything from melons and strawberries to broccoli and sweet potatoes. For some farmers, this is their first foray into vegetable and fruit production. Yet they view the risk as minimal. After all, a school lunch program provides a steady market, and vegetables and fruits fetch a higher price than their commodity dairy milk, for example. And kids get to visit the farms where their food is produced, which might make lunchtime that much more interesting (outside the jello experiments).

I mean, when the National School Lunch Program spends 72 cents per kid on ingredients, how can food taste like it should?

Sources: IndependentMail.com and National Farm to School

Breaking news: corn cross-pollinates with other corn.

The U.S. government and Dow AgroSciences have publicly acknowledged that an unapproved genetically engineered (GE) corn variety has been contaminating U.S. corn since 2006.

Most of the contaminated seed, called "Event 32" (a Bt variety), was planted in Iowa in 2006 and 2007. Dow is recalling contaminated seed already sold for this year's crop but reports that about 53,000 acres of contaminated corn was planted in 2007 alone.

Some of this corn probably made its way into a variety of products, everything from chips to soda. It may even be responsible for that line of marble in your beefsteak.

Dow said the contamination happened because Event 32 corn (transgenic traits are referred to as "events" during the experimental stage of production) was grown in the same field as a commercial variety of corn. An interesting decision given that corn is an open-pollinated crop – its pollen can travel miles. In fact, a clear pattern of corn contamination events exists: Terra Prima in 1998, the StarLink fiasco in 2001, native Mexican corn in 2002, and Bt 10 in 2004 (to name a few that actually made headlines).

The government is deeming the variety safe for both human health and the environment, similar to its announcement last year after an unapproved rice variety was found in the U.S. rice seed and food supply.

Well, we may be on the cusp of an expensive Twinkie. And though you’ve probably forgotten it’s actually in there – wheat is the reason.

Wheat prices are continuing to thunder ahead. After doubling over 2007, wheat prices gained another 20% just since the beginning of the year, reaching a new record of eleven dollars and thirty-two cents a bushel this month.

China looks to be solving an environmental disaster by moving the toxins up the food chain into its residents. Let's hope that they won't be exporting the carp that will be gobbling up Lake Chao's pollution problem.

Lake Chao (Chau Hu) is one of China's five largest fresh water lakes. As such, it drives all nearby industry, once primarily fishing. But along with China's rapid economic growth, of course you can't forget China's rapid environmental decline. Lake Chao's fish stocks have plumetted in the last 10 years, as untreated sewage and effluent from hundreds of factories have turned the lake into one of China's biggest environmental disasters.

But don't worry, they've got a plan! Actually, if you're planning on buying fish from China, you should definitely worry. China has just begun the release of 1.5 million silver carp fry. These fish thrive in low-oxygen waters (like Lake Chao) and enjoy eating the algae that has flourished in the toxic, high-nitrogen pollution of the lake. The Chaohu Fishery Administration estimates that each fish will consume up to 100 lbs of algea, and all the toxic chemicals contained in it, before reaching full size.

At that point, the fish will be sold into the market as food. Thus a boon to the fishing industry and the environment at an immeasurable cost to public health.

OK, China isn't exactly known for it's intelligent environmental policies but this is ridiculous. To imagine that simply moving the toxins up the food chain into people could be a solution seems outrageous. But there it is.

In the end, there is no way to decrease the amount of pollution in China's water without dealing with the source of that pollution, something that Prefecture officials are loathe to do, as it trades rapid development for health, safety and the environment. As for now, we only have one suggestion. Don't eat anything that comes from China.

Via Yahoo News

Climate change may be contributing to the decline of truffles in Europe where the earthy and rich, sought-after tuber has been used in gourmet cuisine for centuries. Digging for truffles in Europe is tradition, and has included hunting for them with pigs or dogs in a ritual that is just as cultural as it is economic. More recently, black and white truffle prices have doubled, and that's because harvest in the past 5 years has gone down in Spain, France and Italy by 50-75%.

Bad truffle weather here and there is one thing (droughts in the 1960s also affected truffles), but according to farmers in France, truffle production has been in slow decline for the past one hundred years. Though we may not be able to link the truffle shuffle to anthropogenic climate change, certainly a century-long trend indicates something larger than ordinary weather cycles.

But truffles aren't diminishing everywhere. China and some areas in the Southern Hemisphere are finding that their climate is perfect for truffles. In fact, France imported 33 tons of truffles from China last year. The Chinese variety is cheaper (under $20 a pound) and some European trufficulteurs are saying they lack quality – which could be a genuine observation or it could be territorial snipping. One thing is certain: even if the truffle decline doesn't impact Europe's markets, you can bet it will have a painful impact on its pride. In the meantime, Europe is still ruling the truffle world. In Italy last year, one giant white Tuscan truffle (over 3 lbs) sold for $330,000 at an auction to Stanley Ho, an East Asian gambling king.

Source: The Canadian Press

The heritage of particular foods is easily romanticized, like empty glass bottles awaiting the milkman on doorsteps. But it's this tradition that is securing some dairies' future.

As Marion Burros explains in a recent New York Times piece, small dairies are being revived across the nation by filling the growing market for artisanal butter, cream, and yogurt, similar to the artisanal cheese movement that began more than a decade ago.

And the timing is right. Commodity prices are milking dairies for all they're worth, and with more people willing to pay extra for fresh dairy products from small-scale dairies and creameries, such niche markets are keeping some farmers in business.

Restaurants are forming relationships with small creameries (in some cases making up the majority of a single dairy company's market) and giving common foods like butter center stage on fine dining tables. By featuring the origin of these products on the menu, restaurants are fetching a nice price from consumers looking for the kind of quality that only small operations and fresh ingredients can provide. And restaurant owners and chefs enjoy more than a name behind their ingredients – they acknowledge their participation in our food tradition.

Who knows, as the movement toward preserving the farms and people who bring us richly flavorful food grows, the return of the milkman may not be far behind.

Source: New York Times