Pleasanton, U.S.A. — The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California, the Alameda County Resource Conservation District (ACRCD) and other partners gathered on August 16 to mark the completion of restoration work to a 600-foot long section of Arroyo de la Laguna.

The restoration efforts included planting native vegetation and returning the waterway to proper hydrologic function. The work was done to protect habitat for threatened species, reduce streambank erosion and reduce flood risks.

“The completion of this project is a great moment for our community, and I was proud to work with folks in our region to make it a reality. Bringing back federal resources to better our neighborhood has always been a priority of mine, and now we see the wonderful result that will not only protect natural resources, but reduce flood risk in our region. I congratulate everyone who made this day happen,” said California congressman Jerry McNerney.

The restored waterway runs underneath the Verona Road Bridge, a popular pedestrian and bicycle bridge in Pleasanton, which now features permanent informational panels to educate visitors on the importance and environmental benefits of the work. Approximately $1.2 million was invested for construction, design work and contracting, permitting fees, monitoring and maintenance.

The Arroyo de la Laguna is the main tributary to Alameda Creek, the second largest drainage to the San Francisco Bay, with a watershed encompassing approximately 700 square miles.

The watershed is comprised of numerous land use sectors including protected parks, wildlife and water supply areas, rangeland and urban and suburban development. Rapid development and other historic changes in the upper watershed caused severe instability in the lower five miles of the Arroyo de la Laguna.

The project is a collaboration of federal and local agencies, including the ACRCD, NRCS, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Alameda County Public Works Department, Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and Zone Seven Water Agency.

NRCS has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America’s private land owners and managers conserve their soil, water and other natural resources since 1935. For more information on NRCS, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov.

Image Courtesy of  Ko:(char *)hook

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Ohio, U.S.A – The manufacturer of the nation’s first organic baby formula announced its expanded purity initiative to minimize or eliminate environmental contaminants known to be in the U.S. food supply, such as arsenic and other heavy metals, pesticide residues and hidden chemicals used in processing like hexane.

Nature’s One encourages other formula and baby food manufacturers to follow its lead utilizing the best science and technology to accomplish this goal.

“Anymore, it is not enough to talk about what is added to a formula to make it beneficial,” said Nature’s One CEO Jay Highman. “Instead, we need to talk about what is not in the formula or baby’s first foods. Unfortunately, many of these chemicals go undetected because they are not tested routinely, or are concealed under current labeling regulations. The company’s founding goal has always been to identify and eliminate toxins that may negatively impact human development.”

For example, according to a February 1, 2012 study, 15 infant formulas sold in the U.S. contained arsenic.  Researchers noted the type of arsenic when identified was nearly 100% inorganic arsenic; considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Drug Administration to be the most toxic form.

Nature’s One announced earlier this year that its formulas meet all world standards for inorganic arsenic in rice-based foods for infants – testing 58% to 73% lower than proposed world standards.  Arsenic is found in all drinking water, foods, infant formulas and even breast milk, according to the WHO. The U.S. has no current regulations for arsenic in food.

Nature’s One has innovated a USDA organic-compliant process to possibly eliminate detectable arsenic in organic brown rice syrup using modern testing equipment and methodologies. This allows Nature’s One to further proclaim the healthful benefits of organic brown rice syrup when compared to other carbohydrate sources like sucrose (table sugar) or glucose syrups (corn syrup) found in other organic and conventional formulas.

Since introducing the first organic formula in 1999 Nature’s One objective was to eliminate the use of pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones, corn syrup, and more recently algae/fungus oils (DHA/ARA) and bisphenol-A (BPA).  The scope of this purity pledge has now expanded to include contaminants that transcend both organically and conventionally grown foods. Highman adds, “Our purity initiative has no ending point; eliminating or minimizing these toxins should be a goal for all companies who want to provide the very best in nutritional and developmental health.

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Higher food costs and rising gas prices could prove to be damaging to the nation’s food banks and their ability to provide adequate emergency food to the nearly 49 million Americans who are currently living at risk of hunger, Feeding America, the network of the nation’s largest food banks announced.

Although recent reports indicate that the economy is beginning to improve and that the unemployment rate is also beginning to shrink, Feeding America’s food banks continue to face significant struggles as America recovers from the worst economic recession in decades.

The Feeding America network of more than 200 food banks and 61,000 local partners are feeding 37 million Americans a year, including nearly 14 million children and 3 million seniors. But with rising operating costs and decreasing supply, a number of factors are contributing to a “perfect storm” of challenges that threaten to leave food banks unable to meet the need in their communities.

Gas prices increased 26% in 2011, adding tremendous costs to transporting food. Increased fuel costs particularly affect rural areas, where populations are less dense. Many food banks support emergency feeding across a vast service area.
Food inflation is also hitting food banks hard. Grocery prices increased an average rate of 6% in the last half of 2011, and food banks have been hard pressed to make up the difference.

Feeding America Food banks have seen significant increases in the price of household staples like milk, which increased in price by nine percent in 2011, and peanut butter, which costs 38% more now than it did a year ago. Rising food prices also mean that healthy, nutritious food becomes further out of reach for many of the clients served by Feeding America, further increasing their reliance on food banks
“A major concern for us is the significant decline in USDA commodities provided to our food banks.

These commodities generally account for about a quarter of the 3 billion pounds of food our food banks distribute each year. This is highly-valued, nutritious food – fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy product. We saw a reduction of about 30 percent last year, and are already experiencing more reductions this year,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America.

Donations of food from food manufacturers also declined by about 15% last year, due to increased manufacturing efficiencies.

“We are also deeply concerned about the potential for cuts to Federal hunger-relief programs like SNAP (food stamps) as Congress looks for ways to reduce the deficit. More than 40 million Americans, including many of our clients, rely on SNAP. We understand that there must be reductions in government spending, but cutting anti-hunger programs is penny-wise and a pound foolish,” Escarra said.

“Federal nutrition programs meet an urgent and immediate need. They also reap long term benefits by eliminating the health, educational, and workforce productivity costs associated with hunger and poor nutrition,” Escarra said. “Feeding America urges Congress to maintain robust funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program, Commodity Supplemental Nutrition Program and SNAP.”

Image Courtesy of   lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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The European Union and the United States announced that beginning June 1, 2012, organic products certified in Europe or inthe United States may be sold as organic in either region. This partnership between the two largest organic-producers in the world will establish a strong foundation from which to promote organic agriculture, benefiting the growing organic industry and supporting jobs and businesses on a global scale.

The organics sector in the United States and European Union is valued at roughly 40 billion euroscombined, and rising every year. Formal letters creating this partnership were signed on February 15, 2012, in Nuremberg, Germany, by Dacian Ciolos, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development; Kathleen Merrigan, U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary; and Ambassador Isi Siddiqui, U.S. Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator.

The signing took place at the BioFach World Organic Fair, the largest trade show for organic products in the world. ”This agreement comes with a double added value,” said EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolos. “On the one hand, organic farmers and food producers will benefit from easier access, with less bureaucracy and less costs, to both the U.S. and the EU markets, strengthening the competitiveness of this sector.

In addition, it improves transparency on organic standards, and enhances consumers’ confidence and recognition of our organic food and products. This partnership marks an important step, taking EU-U.S. agricultural trade relations to a new level of cooperation.”

“This partnership connects organic farmers and companies on both sides of the Atlantic with a wide range of new market opportunities,” said U.S. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. “It is a win for the American economy and President Obama’s jobs strategy. This partnership will open new markets for American farmers and ranchers, create more opportunities for small businesses, and result in good jobs for Americans who package, ship, and market organic products.”

“This is a significant step in strengthening our bilateral trade relations,” added Ambassador Isi Siddiqui. “I am confident that this arrangement will facilitate and boost agriculture trade between the European Union and the United States – and lead to more jobs in this important sector for both America and Europe.”

Previously, growers and companies wanting to trade products on both sides of the Atlantic had to obtain separate certifications to two standards, which meant a double set of fees, inspections, and paperwork. This partnership eliminates significant barriers, especially for small and medium-sized organic producers. All products meeting the terms of the partnership can be traded and labeled as certified organic produce, meat, cereal, or wine.

Leading up to today’s historic announcement, both parties conducted thorough on-site audits to ensure that their programs’ regulations, quality control measures, certification requirements, and labeling practices were compatible. Although there are small differences between the U.S. and European Union organic standards, both parties individually determined that their programs were equivalent except for the prohibition on the use of antibiotics.

The USDA organic regulations prohibit the use of antibiotics except to control invasive bacterial infections (fire blight) in organic apple and pear orchards. The European Union organic regulations allow antibiotics only to treat infected animals. For all products traded under this partnership, certifying agents must verify that antibiotics were not used for any reason.

In addition, all products traded under the partnership must be shipped with an organic export certificate. This document will show the production location, identify the organization that certified the organic product, verify that prohibited substances and methods were not used, certify that the terms of the partnership were met, and allow traded products to be tracked.

Both parties are committed to ensuring that all traded organic products meet the terms of the partnership, retaining their organic integrity from farm to market. The European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program—which oversees all U.S. organic products—will both take on key oversight roles.

The United States and the European Union will continue to have regular discussions and will review each other’s programs periodically to verify that the terms of the partnership are being met. The EU and U.S. will also begin to work on a series of cooperation initiatives to promote organic production and tackle important topics such as animal welfare and other issues.

Both programs will share technical information and best practices on an ongoing basis to further enhance the integrity of organic crops and livestock production systems. Currently, this agreement only covers products exported from and certified in the United States or the European Union.

For more information, please see:
USDA National Organic
http://www.ams.usda.gov/NOPTradeEuropeanUnion
European Commission Organic Farming
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/home_en
Speech by EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/12/98

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Dean Foods Company commends the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for recognizing the importance of dairy in the revised nutrition standards for school lunches, announced during a ceremony with First Lady Michelle Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, at Parkland Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recognized milk products as a key contributor of three of the four “shortfall nutrients” in the U.S. diet – calcium, potassium and vitamin D – and recommended adults and children increase consumption of fat-free and low-fat dairy products.

Parkland Elementary serves milk made by the Dean Foods Shenandoah’s Pride brand, including white milk, and fat-free TruMoo chocolate milk. Launched last year, TruMoo fat-free chocolate milk contains just 40 more calories than plain white milk per serving and is made without high fructose corn syrup. With only 130 calories per serving and 10 grams of added sugar, TruMoo delivers the same nine essential nutrients as white milk in a fat-free formula that conforms to the new USDA guidelines.

“Shenandoah’s Pride has been a strong partner with our school customers in developing a better-for-you chocolate milk formula with a taste kids love and the nutrition they need,” said Bill Hogan, Shenandoah’s Pride general manager.

In 2011, Fairfax County Public Schools in the Washington, D.C., suburbs gained national attention by reversing a chocolate milk ban to partner with Shenandoah’s Pride to bring a reformulated chocolate milk back into the cafeteria. The milk piloted with Fairfax schools became what is known today as TruMoo.

After successful regional retail and school pilots in the Northeast and Pacific Coast regions, virtually all of the flavored milk across Dean Foods’ family of regional brands converted to TruMoo in August 2011, making it one of the largest milk brands in the country by sales and by volume.

Tens of thousands of schools across the country converted to fat-free TruMoo at the start of the school year, meeting proposed USDA nutrition standards for school meals ahead of the finalized rules announced today.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new Nutritional Standards for School Meals help ensure the nation’s school children have access to lunches and breakfasts that meet federal dietary guidance for good nutrition.

The standards will encourage students to meet federal recommendations for dairy consumption by requiring that either fat-free flavored milk or low-fat or fat-free white milk be offered with each school meal. As the number one food source of three of the four nutrients[i] the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans identified as lacking in children’s diets (vitamin D, calcium and potassium), milk plays an important role in delivering critical nutrients.

“On average, by the time they are 4 years old, children fall below the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommended dairy intake. By requiring that schools offer low-fat or fat-free milk with every meal, these standards can help children come closer to meeting their nutrient needs,” said Jean H. Ragalie, R.D., President of National Dairy Council.

“Building nutrient-rich school meals is an important step toward helping students develop healthy eating patterns at an early age, and we commend the USDA for making important updates to school nutrition standards at a time when providing children access to proper nutrition has never been more important.”

While the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends increasing intake of low fat and fat free milk, especially among children, the new school meal standards include a provision that all flavored milk offered in school be fat-free. Working together, dairy farmers, milk processors and schools have proactively reformulated milk and milk products to meet children’s taste and nutrient needs.

Since 2006, added sugars in chocolate milk offered in schools have been reduced by an estimated 38 percent, though flavored milk contributes just 3 percent of the added sugars and 2 percent of calories to children’s diets on average. This school year, an estimated 95 percent of flavored milk served in schools is 150 calories or less – with an average of 134 – just 31 calories more than white milk.

The updated nutrition standards reflect a school meal environment that goes beyond lunch. More students are taking advantage of school breakfast programs, and eating breakfast can enhance schoolchildren’s diets by contributing essential nutrients. Additionally, some studies show its intake may provide additional benefits toward academic achievement.

Nutrient-rich foods, such as low-fat and fat-free milk, cheese and yogurt are important options for school menus to help students fuel their day in a nutritious way. Providing children access to proper nutrition and nutrition education in schools has been a priority for National Dairy Council for nearly a century.

In response to the growing obesity epidemic and the majority of American students not meeting physical activity recommendations, National Dairy Council and the National Football League, in cooperation with the USDA, launched a unique in-school nutrition and physical activity program called Fuel Up to Play 60.

The program encourages consumption of low-fat and fat-free milk and milk products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and achieving at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. With a massive reach of more than 70,000 schools, Fuel Up to Play 60 is helping empower students to play a leadership role in shaping the nutrition and physical activity opportunities in school for themselves and their peers.

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Since it is such a common element in nature, until recently, nitrogen was ignored as being a pollutant. Nitrogen is a natural part of the ecosystem and helps to increase the rate of plant growth. Because of this benefit, nitrogen has been used frequently, during the last decades, as an agriculture fertilizer. However, there are negative effects brought on by nitrogen that many people aren’t aware of.

Agricultural fertilizers and burning fuels are sources of nitrogen pollution. These occurances involve the predominance of nitrogen in the atmosphere which lead to the greenhouse effect, pollution of waters and soil, and to breathing and heart problems for living creatures. Calculating the impact on health, by respiratory problems, asthma and cancer; the nitrogen pollution reduces life expectancy of any European by six months.

Accordingly to a recent study on European Nitrogen Assessment, in Europe each person pays between £130 and £650 per year for the cost of nitrogen pollution, while on average, the total amount rises to €70bn-€320bn: costs of pollution on air, soil, water, increased greenhouse gases and damage to wildlife.

BBC News announced that 80 percent of the nitrogen in crops feeds livestock, not people. Meat consume is heavily increasing the nitrogen pollution, especially in Europe. Dr. Mark Sutton, from UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, one of the leaders of the study, according to the Telegraph: “Amazingly, livestock consume around 85 per cent of the 14 million tones of nitrogen in crops harvested or imported into the EU; only 15 per cent is used to feed humans directly.

European nitrogen use is therefore not primarily an issue of food security, but one of luxury consumption”. The advice is not to become all vegetarians, but at least to try a “demitarian” regime, to try a reduction of meat consumption. Other advice, to lesson the negative impacts seen by nitrogen, are being shared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Department said, in order to improve soil-management practices, using conservation-tillage, crop rotation, and cover crops as wheat, rye and other grasses will be neccessary. Among agricultural strategies through methods as “precision farming” (fertilizers calculated with precision for each surface), manure recycling, genetically modified crops (which absorb nitrogen from air), governments should adhere to a new set of policies, at least in Europe, said professor Bob Watson, Chief scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Even though European Union statistics shows that the emission of nitrogen decreased from 13.84 million tones in 1997 to 10.94 in 2007, improvements are still required. “There have been and still are many attempts to control nitrogen but we believe the big challenge is to link existing policy areas and make them work together.” stated Sutton.

However solutions reside also in the hands of individuals by cutting down meat consumption, and choosing a responsible industrial and agricultural business.

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A second recall of Cargill Meat Solutions Corp’s turkey ground meat has been issued after extensive testing has found the meat to be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. This has been the second recall from the company in less than six weeks, with the first recall being one of the largest meat recalls in history, affecting 36 million pounds of ground meat turkey.

One person in California died following the last outbreak and over 76 fell ill. Only 2 million of the 36 million pounds of meat was retrieved and buried in a landfill. This recall is of a much smaller proportion, affecting 185,000 pounds of ground turkey meat. The contaminated meat was produced at the company’s plant in Springdale, Arkansas between August 23 and 24 and 30 and 31.

The plant was shut down for a week and reopened on August 10th after extensive cleaning and U.S. Department of Agriculture review. Former Food and Drug Administration food safety chief David Acheson says there are two possible explanations for the continuing contaminations.

Either the problem could be the initial source of the turkeys or it is possible that the cleanup in between recalls was inadequate. He stated “Salmonella can be living in a drain or on a mop or on the walls or in an air vent, so it can recolonize.” Cargill spokesman, Mike Martin, declared that the source isn’t the same as last time, and the company hasn’t yet traced the source of the contamination.

He also claims the latest incident was based on a single positive sample taken by USDA. Martin says the recall “underscores the challenges and frustrations associated with managing naturally and randomly occurring bacteria which exist throughout our environment.” Salmonellosis occurs after consuming food contaminated with salmonella and is one of the most common bacterial food-borne illnesses.

Salmonellosis can be fatal, particularly to those with weak immune systems, such as the elderly, small children, and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy. Salmonella symptoms appear within 6 to 72 hours and usually lasts four to seven days. Common side-affects includes fever, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and nausea.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that roughly 76 million people in the United States suffer food-borne illnesses yearly, 300,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die. Children under the age of 4 are sickened by food illnesses more than those in any other age group, but adults over the age of 50 are more likely to be hospitalized and have the illness become fatal.

To prevent the possibility of getting salmonellosis the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends meat be cooked at a the temperature that kills bacteria, 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The products subject to recall today bear the establishment number “P-963″ inside the USDA mark of inspection.

To find out more about which products are subject to recall, go to United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service.

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