U.S. regulators need to provide a clear path for drug companies to develop new antibiotics and should consider offering financial incentives, experts told a Congressional panel on Wednesday.

They said doctors are running out of effective antibiotics, yet inconsistent regulatory guidelines at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the need to reduce the use of antibiotics has given companies little incentive to develop new drugs, experts told the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health.

Robin Robinson, director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority at the Department of Health and Human Services, called antibiotic resistance a biodefense threat and said the federal government should provide financial incentives to encourage companies to develop new antibiotics. Read more...

The Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals
Guidance from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine
June 28, 2010

This guidance document is being distributed for comment purposes only. It cites reports produced in 1969, 1970, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005, which generally agree sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics in agriculture is a threat to human health. The report then states,"FDA has reviewed the recommendations provided by the various published reports and, based on this review, believes the overall weight of evidence available to date supports the conclusion that using medically important antimicrobial drugs for production purposes is not in the interest of protecting and promoting the public health." The document goes on to provide principles for use of antibiotics in animal agriculture but does not mandate a ban on sub-therapeutic use. Read more and/or download the document...

Where’s Science Behind FDA Antibiotics ‘Guidance’?
from the National Pork Producers Council, June 28, 2010

“Guidance” on the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry production issued today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could lead to the elimination or costly review of previously approved animal health products. The National Pork Producers Council said there appears to be no science on which FDA based the guidance. Read more...

Grass shows promise for removing antibiotics from water
from www.feedstuffs.com, June 28, 2010

Antibiotics, like many pharmaceuticals, pass through the digestive tract largely unchanged. The waste from farms, feedlots or munincipalities may be treated, but conventional methods don't break down excreted antibiotics, the Michigan Tech announcement said. Scientists grew vetiver [grass] hydroponically in a greenhouse, exposing the plants to various concentrations of tetracycline and monensin.

"We wanted to see if the vetiver would uptake them, because if you give these antibiotics to cows, 70% is excreted in active form," Smith said.

At the end of the 12-week study, all of the tetracycline and 95.5% of the monensin had disappeared from the hydroponic solution. Tests showed that the vetiver had taken and metabolized both drugs up into the plant tissue. Read more...

2.) Study shows gardening makes children happy and teaches new skills

June 28 2010 from the BBC

The study of 1,300 teachers and 10 schools was commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It found children in schools that encouraged gardening became more resilient, confident and lived healthier lives. The RHS says school gardening should be used as a key teaching tool, rather than as an extra-curricular activity. Researchers at the National Foundation for Educational Research carried out the study and found teachers who used gardening as part of learning said it helped improve children's readiness to learn. They also said it encouraged pupils to become more active in solving problems, as well as boosting literacy and numeracy skills. Read more from the BBC and the Royal Horticultural Society...

3.) Northeast Organic Farming Association 36th Annual Summer Conference

August 13-15, 2010 at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Over 200 workshops on organic farming, gardening, land care, sustainability and homesteading. Teen and children’s program, dozens of outdoor exhibits and vendors. Entertainment including dancing, country fair, live auction. Dorm rooms, camping and wholesome organic meals. To register visit www.nofasummerconference.org. For more information contact the NOFA Summer Conference office at (978) 355-2853 or info@nofasummerconference.org.

4.) Re-regionalizing the food system

Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, June 2010

This edition of the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society is devoted to examining food system (re)-regionalization — a topic that has exploded in academic and public policy circles over the last 5 years. The growing interest in regionalizing food systems is linked to broader concerns that the conventional agro-industrial food system has not effectively provided a nutritious, sustainable and equitable supply of food to the world's population. The majority of the papers in this issue begin with the assumption that the conventional agro-industrial food system is malfunctioning. The interpretation of how broken and what to do about it, however, is where these papers diverge and offer varied perspectives on food system re-regionalization. Read more...

5.) U.S. updates Dietary Guidelines, calls for comments

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the cornerstone of Federal nutrition policy and nutrition education activities. The Dietary Guidelines are jointly issued and updated every 5 years by the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). They provide authoritative advice for people two years and older about how good dietary habits can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have announced that public comments are now being accepted on the Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 (Advisory Report). Individuals and organizations are encouraged to view the Advisory Report now posted along with public comments at www.dietaryguidelines.gov. Written comments will be accepted from June 15, 2010 to July 15, 2010. Oral testimony may be provided at a public meeting to be held in Washington, DC, on July 8, 2010. Please make sure you review the current comments and comment yourself.

6.) Comparing the structure, size and performance of Food Supply Chains

The Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has looked into the matter and recently released a report entitled, “Comparing the Structure, Size, and Performance of Local and Mainstream Food Supply Chains.” The report is based on a coordinated series of 15 case studies involving direct, intermediate, and mainstream supply chains for five products in five locations: apples in Syracuse, NY; blueberries in Portland, OR; spring mix leafy greens in Sacramento, CA; beef in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; and milk in Washington, D.C.

The study found that local food supply chains are more likely than main-stream chains to provide consumers with detailed information about where and by whom products were produced, and that local supply-and-demand relationships and product differentiation based on attributes other than local origin, such as organic or grass-fed production, appear to be the primary influences on prices in local supply chains.

Key comparisons between supply chains include the degree of product differentiation, diversification of marketing outlets, and information conveyed to consumers about product origin. The cases highlight differences in prices and the distribution of revenues among supply chain participants, local retention of wages and proprietor income, transportation fuel use, and social capital creation.

Read the publication and/or read detailed versions of the case studies...

7.) 3 perspectives on Monsanto and GM crops

West Virginia probing Monsanto soybean seed pricing
By Carey Gillam for reuters.com, June 25, 2010

West Virginia officials have notified global seed giant Monsanto Co. that they are probing whether or not the company engaged in unfair or deceptive practices in marketing its new genetically altered soybean seeds. West Virginia officials said that farmers had relied on advertising claims by Monsanto that its Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean seeds would yield 7-11 percent more than Monsanto's original Roundup Ready soybeans.

"My office is concerned that West Virginia farmers are paying much higher prices for soybeans with the Roundup Ready 2 trait when the yields do not live up to the claims and do not justify the increased prices," the letter from West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw Jr. states.

Monsanto's patent on the product is expiring in 2014 and Monsanto has been trying to convince customers to move to the newer version, which has been priced, by some accounts, more than 40 percent higher. Read more...

Supreme Court Case a Defeat for Monsanto's Ambitions
by Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety
Huffington Post, June 21, 2010

The 7-1 decision issued today by the Supreme Court was on the appeal of the Center for Food Safety's (CFS) successful suit, which resulted in a ban on GMO alfalfa. And, while the High Court ruled in favor of Monsanto by reversing an injunction that was part of the lower court's decision, more importantly, it also ruled that the ban on GMO alfalfa remains intact, and that the planting and sale of GMO alfalfa remains illegal. Read more...

Supreme Court Rules on GMO Alfalfa
By Helena Bottemiller, June 22, 2010 for Food Safety News

Yesterday's 7-1 decision, with only Justice John Paul Stevens dissenting (Justice Stephen Breyer recused himself because his brother ruled on the lower court case), the high court ruled in favor of Monsanto in Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, agreeing that the nationwide injunction was too drastic.

While unlikely to speed up the planting of now-prohibited alfalfa, the decision gives the agency the ability to allow restricted or partial planting of the seeds while it continues to complete the Environmental Impact Statement, which the court agreed was indeed required under federal law. Read more...

8.) 4 perspectives on changes in the dairy industry

NY State Senator Aubertine's eloquent testimony on the importance of dairy farms
June 3, 2010

State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine today submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently created Dairy Industry Advisory Committee stressing the need to address vertical integration in the industry, anti-trust concerns, and the risks of dependence on foreign food.

“The struggling dairy industry puts other sectors of the Agriculture industry as a whole in jeopardy,” said Sen. Aubertine, chair of the NY Senate Agriculture Committee. “In New York and other areas of this country, dairy supports the infrastructure used by all farmers and the collapse of the dairy industry, or just the collapse of domestic milk production, would drive this nation into a food crisis. We must not become dependent on a world food supply that is already expected to be running short in the next few decades. Protecting the family farmer is a matter of national security and good economics.” Read more...

Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Deans Foods at Center of USDA/DOJ Hearings
By Jim Dickrell for Dairy Today, June 25, 2010

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack noted that dairy farms numbered 110,000 a decade ago but are approaching 60,000 today. At the same time, the top 10 food retailers now control 82% of food retail sales compared to 65% a year ago.

Ed King, a registered Holstein breeder with 900 cows from upstate New York, noted that farmer share has dropped from 38% in 2007 to 25% in 2009. “Processors and retailers are flexing their muscle, and there’s been a feeding frenzy for lower prices on the farm,” he says. “We need competitive provisions in contracts because farmers have no control in this process.”

Other speakers noted that though less than 1% of cheese is traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), it is used as the basis for setting minimum prices under the Federal Milk Market Orders. There is general agreement that the CME is thinly traded, and many allege this makes the market prone to manipulation. Read more...

This Economy: Is new rule a boon for Pennsylvania organic milk sales?
By Harold Brubaker for the Philadelphia Inquirer, June 13, 2010

Five years ago, sales of organic milk were booming, but the industry was embroiled in controversy over big dairy operations in Western states that were flouting the spirit of federal organic rules by giving cows only limited access to pasture. Now, with growth in sales of organic dairy products soft for the first time since the USDA’s organic-food rules took effect in 2000, a new rule sets tough standards for how much of its food a dairy cow should get from grass during grazing season. This rule, which gives farmers a year to come into compliance, should be to the advantage of small organic-dairy farms in Pennsylvania and the other big Northeastern dairy states, New York and Vermont. Read more...

Keep Local Farms initiative aims to help New England dairy farmers
By Jessie Salisbury for the Nashua Telegraph, June 27, 2010

About 70 percent of actively farmed land in New Hampshire is associated with dairy farming, including farmers who raise hay and silage corn, but there are only 126 dairy farms left in the state.

To stop – or at least slow – the loss of farms, concerned people across New England have formed the Keep Local Farms initiative. Keep Local Farms, begun in 2001, is supported by a coalition of colleges and universities, local producers and processors, and retailers to establish a fund that would provide dairy farmers with an income above the current low price of milk.

The goals of the program are to drive the sales of dairy products and educate the consumer and dairy farmers as good land stewards, keeping land open and find contributors to the KLF fund. The plan is supported by, among others, all six New England commissioners of agriculture, the Vermont Dairy Promotion Council, the New England Dairy Promotion Council, the Family Farm Cooperative and the four major dairy corporations.

Polls have shown people are willing to pay up to 30 cents more per gallon to continue to get local milk. Read more...

9.) Unprecedented cropland study confirms conservation practices work on farms in Upper Mississippi River Basin

A USDA draft report presents key findings from the study, "Effects of Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Upper Mississippi River Basin," including the following:

• Suites of practices work better than single practices;

• Targeting critical acres improves effectiveness significantly; practices have the greatest effect on the most vulnerable acres, such as highly erodible land and soils prone to leaching;

• Uses of soil erosion control practices are widespread in the basin. Most acres receive some sort of conservation treatment, resulting in a 69 percent reduction in sediment loss. However, about 15 percent of the cultivated cropland acres still have excessive sediment losses and require additional treatment;

• The most critical conservation concern in the region is the loss of nitrogen from farm fields through leaching, including nitrogen loss through tile drainage systems.

10.) Weekend at Farm Camp for food professionals

New York Times, June 12, 2006

Since Farm Camp began last fall, scores of food professionals from New York City — including the chefs at Jean Georges and Savoy, the food writer Betty Fussell and a former investment banker now working with sustainable farms — have trekked 200 miles upstate to learn skills like how to slaughter chickens at farms across Washington County.

Instead of swimming holes, these adult campers slosh through the muck beside manure lagoons. They hold piglets during castration procedures and hike at night — not to study constellations but to choose fowl for supper.

The camp’s hub is the Flying Pigs Farm, whose rare heritage-breed pork is often featured at restaurants like Gramercy Tavern and Il Buco. The farm’s owners, Jen Small and Mike Yezzi, created Farm Camp to educate city residents about the realities and challenges of producing food. Read more...

11.) The Wisconsin Pickle Bill — States ease food safety rules for homemade goods

Associated Press, June 28, 2010

At Wisconsin farmers markets, vendors no longer need licenses to sell pickles, jams and other canned foods, while small farmers in Maine can sell slaughtered chickens without worrying about inspections. Federal and state laws require that most food sold to the public be made in licensed facilities open to government inspectors. But as more people become interested in buying local food, a few states have created exemptions for amateur chefs who sell homemade goods at farmers markets and on small farms.The exemptions have touched off a debate about how to balance the need for food safety with a dose of regulatory common sense. Supporters say they recognize food safety regulations designed for big commercial food handlers can be a burden for small-time cooks who just want to make a few extra bucks selling canned goods or other specialty products. Opponents say that without regulation, the public is at risk for food-borne illnesses. Read more...

12.) Steven Colbert and United Farm Workers say Take our jobs!

United Farm Workers and Comedy Central talk show host, Stephen Colbert, have teamed up saying, "Want a migrant worker's job? Come and get it." To make their point, they've created a website called Take Our Jobs where you can sign up to be a farm worker. Once signed up, a farm worker will train applicants and connect them to a working farm. Read more...

13.) Proposed livestock marketing rules produce heated debate

by Gary Truitt for Hoosier Ag Today, June 21, 2010

USDA is looking to make major livestock and poultry marketing reforms. According to the American Meat Institute, the proposed rule, unveiled last Friday, attempts to dramatically change the way livestock are procured and marketed in the U.S. The debate is whether that change is for the better. AMI called it a regulatory end-run around judicial rulings which would have a severe and detrimental impact on livestock producers and the meat industry.

Many of the concerns, expressed by USDA, were related to increasing consolidation and vertical integration in the livestock and poultry marketplace and in shrinking farm numbers. For instance, there were over 666,000 hog farms in 1980, but only roughly 71,000 today. In the cattle industry, there were over 1.6 million farms in 1980, but only roughly 950,000 today. In the hog industry, producers received 50% of the retail value of a hog in 1980, but only 24.5% in 2009. For cattle, producers received 62% of the retail value of a steer in 1980, but only 42.5% in 2009. In the poultry industry today, a grower makes $0.34 per bird; while the processing company, on average, makes $3.23 per bird. Read more, including a list of proposed rule changes...

+ JOBS JOBS JOBS

SEEKING INTERN
"Fresh the Movie" is looking for an intern! Minimum is 12 hours/week and you must be available to come into our Brooklyn office. Tasks include researching and connecting with various networks in the sustainable food world, developing outreach and activism initiatives and light administrative tasks. This is an opportunity to contribute to a growing food movement and a unique distribution model for activist documentaries. This is a substantive internship and requires a passion for the food movement and a willingness to learn and work hard. Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to Lisa Madison, lisa@FRESHthemovie.com. Only applications with cover letters will be considered. This is an unpaid internship but you’re sure to eat well! Posted 6/29/10, applications accepted until position is filled.

CHILD HUNGER CORPS
This August Feeding America is launching a Child Hunger Corps, a national service program designed to increase the capacity and capability of food banks to execute programs targeted toward the alleviation of child hunger. Corps members will serve for two years at a food bank and work to expand and implement programs that provide children with access to nutritious food. We have one spot remaining in the 1st cohort of Corps members. The placement is at the Mid-Ohio FoodBank in Grove City, Ohio. If you have questions about the program please email Lindsey Baker at lbaker@feedingamerica.org

FOOD SERVICE DIRECTOR - EXECUTIVE CHEF
Sustainable Food Systems seeks a Food Services Director/Executive Chef to run a high quality, sustainable foodservice program at a private school in Manhattan as soon as possible. Lunch and continental breakfast are served daily to a community of 700 students and teachers. Please email resume & cover letter to sfs@sustainablefoodsystems.com with the subject Manhattan Chef Position.

DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING ASSOCIATE
Chefs Collaborative
Chefs Collaborative is looking for a mission-driven individual with a commitment to the sustainable food movement, and strong project management, relationship-building and writing skills to serve as our Development & Marketing Associate. The right candidate has at least three years development experience, has marketing skills and experience, enjoys strategizing about how to garner support for our work, and understands the needs and interests of our membership base of culinary professionals, food producers and food activists. The Development & Marketing Associate reports to the Executive Director and is responsible for all aspects of membership development – including stewardship and new member cultivation, development of corporate sponsors, implementation of fundraising events, online giving, and related member communications. Send cover letter and resume to Melissa Kogut, Executive Director, at melissa@chefscollaborative.org by July 12, 2010.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Red Tomato
The Director of Development (DD) is responsible for: developing and implementing a comprehensive, multi-year fundraising strategy; participating in annual budgeting and strategic planning processes; managing the department; supervising the Development Associate; and maintaining outstanding funder relations. The work includes grant writing, cultivating individual and major donors, identifying and pursuing new funding sources, preparing evaluation reports for funders, and conducting annual fund appeals.The DD leads and coordinates the staff and board in development activities. The position is full time and reports to one of RT's Co-Directors. Please contact Betty MacKenzie at devdirjob@redtomato.org. Position open until filled.

SENIOR POLICY DIRECTOR
Community Food Security Coalition
The Policy Director will direct the policy activities for the Community Food Security Coalition. S/he works as a team with staff members and the Policy Committee, collaborating with allied organizations to formulate and implement strategies to further policy objectives. The Policy Director acts as a conduit to translate policy goals into action by connecting with advocacy groups, policymakers and their staff, and other actors in the domestic policy community. This position requires a high level of autonomy, initiative, and ability to work with a range of players in the policy world. Send resume, cover letter, salary history, and contact information for three references to Andy Fisher at andy@foodsecurity.org. Deadline for applications is July 15, 2010, with a preferred (but flexible) start date in September, 2010. Open until filled.

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