Synthetic chicken breasts plucked from bubbling vats in laboratories - freaky or phenomenal?

It’s possible they’ll be at the grocery store before you’ve come up with a good answer to that. As the New York Times reported, the first In Vitro Meat Symposium convened in Norway this week, where scientists came together to present and discuss research on laboratory created meat.

Scientists involved with the In Vitro meat movement identify themselves as environmentalists. Twenty-six percent of all land on earth is grazed by livestock, and 33% of all cropland is already used for animal feed, and is responsible for everything from deforestation to oceanic dead zones. The scientists say that their creations are a way to ethically and environmentally respond to the fact that global meat consumption is rising by 4.7 million tons each year.

New Harvest, a group promoting research and marketing for laboratory meat, explains the interesting process of its creation:

The production of such "cultured meat" begins by taking a number of cells from a farm animal and proliferating them in a nutrient—rich medium. Cells are capable of multiplying so many times in culture that, in theory, a single cell could be used to produce enough meat to feed the global population for a year. After the cells are multiplied, they are attached to a sponge-like "scaffold" and soaked with nutrients. They may also be mechanically stretched to increase their size and protein content. The resulting cells can then be harvested, seasoned, cooked, and consumed as a boneless, processed meat, such as sausage, hamburger, or chicken nuggets.

PBS offers an on-line virtual taste test, along with a two-minute video documenting the creation of this sci-fi meat.

Soybean farmers may have an upperhand in biodiesel now, but hazelnut farmers might have the more sustainable edge.

Currently, 99% of US commercial hazelnuts come from Oregon, but farmers in Minnesota and Wisconsin are looking to get in on the action. Not that Oregonians should be wary; the Midwestern hazels are actually smaller and tougher, not so suitable for human nibbling, but perfect for animal feed and conversion to biodiesel.

Consider this: soy is composed of 20% oil and canola is 40%. But hazelnuts are a whopping 60% oil. Hazelnut biodiesel involves a one-step crushing and chemical process with a $16,000 German machine. Biodiesel makers say the machine is still a work-in-progress, but it's getting there. With so much oil in each hazelnut, it apparently would take very little for a nut farmer to grow his own operating fuel, and make a profit off the rest.

Farmers also say that they can produce a ton and a half of hazelnuts per acre, and that as perennial crops with hardy root systems, hazelnuts are environmentally-friendly, drought-resistant, and protect the soil from erosion.

Sound like a miracle? Well, it sounds promising, at least. We'll have to see if farmers who take the hazelnut path are able to maintain sustainable practices as operations expand.

Sources: Capital Press, Biodiesel Now

A recent report was snubbed by the U.S., Britain, Canada and Australia despite its resounding support from sixty countries, the World Bank, most UN bodies, and 400 scientists.

The reason?

The report states that world hunger is a distribution problem, not a shortage problem. And given this diagnosis, genetically-modified foods – which are usually manufactured to increase yields – appear to be irrelevant. It's not what the U.S. and Co. wanted to hear considering their countries' intensive GMO research and connections with GM corporations.

It also states that biofuel crops are threatening to plunge the world into crisis. Staple food prices have risen over 100% in some countries, resulting in hunger and riots, with more violence on the horizon. The report, entitled International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development says that the world produces enough for everyone, but still 800 million+ go hungry.

Backers of the report are critical of governments who stress food production increase, without regard to food security and natural resource conservation. Food production and worldwide food trade has led to unequal distribution of benefits and is contributing to climate change.

Most of all, GMOs are not a panacea but a distraction from the real solutions. "Assessment of the [GM] technology lags behind its development, information is anecdotal and contradictory, and uncertainty about possible benefits and damage is unavoidable," said the report.

Source: The Age (Australia)

Remember methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) – a bacterial infection that causes more deaths in the U.S. than HIV/AIDS?

While MRSA has typically invaded people in hospitals – patients undergoing medical procedures with weakened immune systems, for example – it's proving to be much more pervasive than originally thought. People who are otherwise healthy, including those who haven't been hospitalized and haven't been taking antibiotics, are contracting MRSA bacteria.

Now, food products are a culprit, as discovered in pork sold in retail stores across Canada.

Researchers have found MRSA in 9 percent of pork products tested for the deadly bacteria, the first confirmed report of MRSA in retail meat in North America (and one of the first in the world). Similar studies are reportedly underway in the U.S.

There isn't a huge food poisoning concern, as the bacteria is destroyed when the meat is cooked properly. Still, researchers wonder if people who handle meat with MRSA would end up carrying the bacteria on their skin, leading to a full-on infection. (The lead researcher's recommendation to just be sure and wash our hands doesn't make me feel better.)

It was only a matter of time until this bacteria showed up in meat products, I guess, given the conditions of some livestock operations where antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been found. Envirovore told you about a study where 100 – 1,000 times more resistance genes in soil bacteria were found around conventional hog farms than soil around organic farms, giving kudos once again to small livestock operations that don't administer antibiotics.

Source: The Toronto Star

Are organic foods really more nutritious than conventionally grown food?

The commonplace answer among skeptics has been "we don't know" or "there isn't enough scientific evidence." Even the National Organic Program declares that organic food is no more nutritious than its conventional counterpart.

But oodles of research on the subject does exist and a new report by scientists at The Organic Center summarizes this data for us. They examined nearly 100 studies to reach the conclusion that organic fruits and vegetables on average had higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than their conventional counterparts.

This is the first in-depth review of scientific peer-reviewed literature on the nutritional benefits of organic food since 2003. (Forty new studies have been published since then.)

Lucky for us, The Organic Center is going to update these findings online as new studies that compare organic and conventional foods are published.

So, yes, organic foods are generally more nutritious than their conventional counterparts. And now there's science to back it up.

Source: The Organic Center

The organic and local food movement is sometimes criticized for catering to the elite, an argument summarized well in the title of Mark Winne's recent article (an excerpt from his book, Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty): "The Poor Get Diabetes, the Rich Get Local and Organic."

It's a no-brainer that fresh local food must become accessible to everyone, especially those in need. One important market to focus these efforts on is getting more attention lately: the thousands of food banks across the U.S.

At food banks, people in need can pick up three-days worth of food (typically) for the month to help them through tight times. In 2005, USDA estimated that more than 35 million Americans were "food insecure."

While it's widely known that food banks get food donations from grocery stores in their area, it's less known that some of these leftovers come from farmers' markets – usually providing the fresh local food we're talking about here. Still, food banks never have enough fresh produce, yet it's these vegetables and fruits that provide food bank goers "a sense of dignity," offering a choice between fresh and canned green beans, for example.

But some farms are going a step further by growing produce for food banks, not just donating food that can't be sold, but making this market a part of their production plan.

Kraft has developed yet another bizarre strain of stuffed food – the “Bagelful.” As you’ve already guessed, it’s a bagel tube stuffed with cream cheese. Testers complained there was too little cream cheese, but said the convenience was hard to match.

Two states on the opposite sides of the country – Maine and California – are charging forward with legislation that protect farmers whose crops are contaminated by genetically engineered crops.

Both the Maine bill (LD 1650) and California bill (AB 541) would shield farmers from liability in cases where they unknowingly acquired patented seed material. Maine's bill passed the legislature and is expected to be signed by the Governor, while California's bill is still undergoing discussion.

Maine's LD 1650 follows Montville, Maine's decision to pass a town moratorium on planting transgenic crops, as Envirovore reported two weeks ago.

In addition to protecting farmers from liability, these two bills establish the following: