Food for Thought: The Ethics, Culture, and Politics of Eating

Another UpdateThis Time on GMOs

2009-02-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

Apparently the USDA is reopening the question on regulation of GMO foods in our food supply. To weigh in on the public comment period, please follow this link.

National Public Policy Food System Updates

2009-02-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Class Member Kelly Horton would like the class about the following news:

We are living in exciting times! There is a lot of change taking place at the national level and a lot of voices are weighing in. To keep you in the loop I've put together some of the recent messages going around. Enjoy!

Open letter sent to Michelle Obama about the Child Nutrition Act. Debra is right on target with this letter.
http://civileats.com/2009/02/12/dear-mom-in-chief/

Also check out:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/23/Inside-the-White-House-kitchen/

And Alice Waters wrote an op-ed about this issue too:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/opinion/20waters.html

Encourage USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to move us towards a healthier food system:

http://action.farmland.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Vilsack_Thank_You&autologin=
true

Lastly, but certainly not least, White House announces Deputy Agriculture Secretary: This is awesome news! Kathleen was/is a mentor of mine at Tufts. She is a strong advocate for sustainable agriculture, organics, and nutrition. She has been actively involved with many local sustainable food advocates through the Community Food Security Coalition. Congratulations Kathleen!

From Reuters:

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the follow individuals today:

Kathleen A. Merrigan, Nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Agriculture

Merrigan is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment MS and PhD Program at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Boston MA. Prior to joining the Friedman School, Merrigan held a variety of policymaking jobs at the state, federal, and international level. From 1999 to 2001, she was Administrator of Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From 1994 to 1999, she worked at the Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, and served as an expert consultant at the Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. From 1987 to 1992 she was a staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, working for Chairman Patrick Leahy. From 1986 to 1987, Merrigan worked in the regulatory division of the Texas Department of Agriculture and from 1982 to 1985, she worked for Congressman John Olver during his tenure in the Massachusetts State Senate. Merrigan holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in environmental planning and policy, a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and a B.A. in Political Science and English from Williams College.

I guess I spoke too soon...

2009-02-16T15:17:00.001-08:00

See the following link on Daily Kos about the bills now before Congress that could pose a serious challenge to small-scale sustainable farming.

Food and the Environment

2009-02-11T23:23:00.000-08:00

Please feel free to pose a question or add a comment.

Networking

2009-01-28T22:49:00.000-08:00

It was suggested by a member of the class to open up a discussion area for those who would like to network with others around food issues. Please feel free to send out your feelers via a comment below.

Making Industrial Agriculture

2009-01-28T22:48:00.000-08:00

This is a discussion area for the January 28 lecture by Lucy on Industrialized Agriculture. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question.

Mystery Food Quiz

2009-01-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

Here are the answers to the mystery food quiz:

9 Thank You Brand Creamy French Onion Dip
3 Wish Bone Thousand Island Dressing
10 Heary Cup O'Noodles
47 Weight Watchers Chocolate Mousse
6 Lipton Rice and Sauce (Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce)
2 Wyler's Bouillon Cubes
45 Isomil Soy Protein Formula with Iron
4 Seven Sease Free Ranch Nonfat Dressing (Fat Free and Cholesterol Free)
7 McCormick Green Pepper Sauce Blend

(From Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions, Revised Second Edition, New Trends, 2001)

Feel free to click on the comment icon to post a mystery food that you think might stump the class!

What to Eat?

2009-01-11T23:13:00.000-08:00

This is a discussion area for the first class session. Feel free to post your comments or questions here.