Sound Bites: Week of August 2nd, 2010 (LISTEN & WATCH)
Sound Bites
Headlines in Food & Farming from around The WorldSound Bites: Aug 2nd 2010WORLD
The World Food Programmes Executive Director Josette Sheeran recently finished a four-nation tour in Africa, expressing enthusiasm for a new level of commitment stemming from a summit of African Union leaders. Speaking from Niger, where the nation is facing the worst food crisis in history, Sheeran reinforced the organization’s efforts in the coming years.
Sound Bites: Josset Sheeran (WFP Executive Director)
FARMING
U.S. trade officials are hoping to boost sales of U.S. agricultural products to Iraq by helping connect Iraqi buyers with U.S. sellers. June marked the 1st agricultural trade mission to Iraq in decades. Though trade between the countries has grown in the past few years, the costs for most iraqis are still too much. The United States government will continue to investing in the program, covering expenses for Iraqis traveling to the U.S. in the interest of Agricultural trade.
Sound Bites: Paul Spencer (Senior U.S. Agricultural Attache in Bagdad)
CULTURE
Food media icon, Michael Batterberry passed away passed away on July 28th at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York after a lengthy illness. Batterberry created two national food magazines. Food Arts in 1988, recognized as the influential and award-winning publication for the restaurant and hotel trade. And and Food & Wine, founded in 1978, which has come to be one of the leading consumer publication on food culture. Just over two months ago, both Michael Batterberry and his wife Ariane, received the 2010 James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award. Michael Batterberry was 78.
Sound Bites: Meryle Evans (Food journalist, culinary historian, Food Arts contributing editor, and long time friend of the Batterberrys)
POLICY
A report by The International Herald Tribune found that milk from cloned cows is illegally making its’ way into British grocery stores. Under European law, food produced from cloned animals must pass a safety evaluation and get approval before they are marketed. The cows involved are believed to be raised from embryos originating in the U.S. expected to produce massive quantities of milk. The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency stated that it will investigate the validity of these claims and take the proper course of action.
FOOD SAFETY
Just over the pond, milk is making headlines in the U.S. Investigators entered an organic grocery with a search warrant for raw milk products on June 30th in Venice, California. The raid was part of an ongoing investigation into Rawesome Foods, a private food club where, for a $25 annual fee, members “lease” the land and livestock directly from a farmer. Members pay additional service fees attached to each grocery item, which they say covers the cost of transporting each food item from the farm to Rawesome. It is legal for licensed dairies to sell raw milk at retail outlets in California and 10 other states, according to research by the National Conference of State Legislatures. And Twenty states allow people to buy unpasteurized milk directly from farms, or take part in a “cow sharing” program (in which a person buys part ownership of an animal and gets some of its milk). The incident has received a great deal of attention from the media, highlighting the issue of the freedom to eat what one wants.
Interview: Bill Marler (Food Born Illness Litigation Attorney)
