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Will Obama Change the Country's Food System?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:03:39 -0800

Will Obama Change the Country's Food System? With President-elect Barack Obama taking office in two months, changes to our country's economy, national security, and foreign policy are imminent. But will America's agricultural system change with Obama in the White House as well?

Did Hugo Chavez Call Bio-Diesel Lover Sean Penn a Criminal?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:55:24 -0700

In the ever complicated environmental tussle between clean fuel and responsible use of resources the differing opinions over the use of biofuels has produced an interesting contrast of ideas — fueled by Ethanol.

Sean Penn, actor/activist has just initiated a cross-country trek using a fleet of biodiesel buses carrying about 300 people that will burn the corn fuel for 1,800 miles from the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and ending in New Orleans for the annual jazz festival. Penn appeared twice yesterday at Coachella. He said of the trip, "I see this as a reckoning. My generation and those that came before have to recognize the numbing of incentive that we've passed on to the change hungry, imaginative, smarter than us youth of today." To see the larger implications of Penn's good intentions,

Rationing! It's Not Just For Your Grandparents Anymore

CitizenSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:02:57 -0700

Call it the Big-Box Tipping Point, but you know the global food crunch has solidified from sad headline to international reality when your local Costco gets walloped.

Shoppers at the Costco in Mountain View, CA felt the first tremors of the clamp down this week — no rice! The usually packed shelves held but a few jumbo bags of rice and shoppers faced something the US hasn't really seen since WWII: rationing.

That's right. Rationing. The sign above the dwindling supply read: "Due to the limited availability of rice, we are limiting rice purchases based on your prior purchasing history." It's not just limited to rice — a Costco store in Queens has limits were imposed on purchases of oil and flour. The meager supply is partially responsible for emptying the shelves, but it's also human nature. To see how,

Is Your Pantry Partisan? Having Our Vote and Eating It Too?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:01:59 -0700

In a tight race, political advisers have to stop at nothing to figure out how voters are thinking — all the way down to scrutinizing what's in their shopping carts. By looking closely at consumer behavior, including how people eat, savvy advisers are seeing a way to scavenge for votes. In the voting biz it's called microtargeting (hello Soccer Moms!) and it's as much political discipline as cute concept.

In the Coke-vs-Pepsi United States, the brands we buy and how we spend our free time can be a pretty good predictor of our politics. So the same way you get a mailbox full of targeted catalogs, people can figure out your votes based on shopping habits.

Although advisers still consider gender, religion, and other big categories most useful, info about eating, travel, and hobbies provide a good second-tier crystal ball into the mind of the voter. Clintonite Mark Penn wrote a book all about this practice of microtargeting — and said about Obama in an email just last week, “He has more of the arugula vote.” Are you an arugula or an iceberg vote? To see which parties eat what,

USDA Closes School Lunch Meatpacker, Kids Don't Know Pork

CitizenSugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:00:50 -0800

The USDA just shut down an LA slaughterhouse that had been the distributor for Westland Meat Company, the ground beef supplier for the National School Lunch Program.

Meanwhile, on the UK side of the pond, LEAF, Linking Environment and Farming, just released a video to help kids learn that sausages don't grow on trees. The video "demonstrates the sausage-making process, from farm to plate." True story. This comes after a survey last year showed that 22 percent of adults didn't know that bacon and sausage come from farms.

Knowing where your food comes from and safety regulations are crucial. LEAF was founded to help environmentalists, consumers, and farmers make positive strides for all concerned. To see how the UK is winning at the smart and sane farm game,