Agriculture News and Research

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Food fight shaping up over school lunch waivers

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he could accept a Senate compromise on school lunch standards, but strongly opposes a House Appropriations Committee plan that would grant waivers to school districts that say they can't afford to comply with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.

30 May 2014

First Edition: May 29, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including articles on an inspector general's report on care at VA hospitals and growing pressure from some House Republicans to vote on an alternative to the Affordable Care Act.

29 May 2014

Growing resistance to antibiotics demands a coordinated global response, say experts

Growing resistance to antibiotics and other drugs demands a coordinated global response on the same scale as efforts to address climate change, experts say.

23 May 2014

Global monitoring framework for maternal, young child nutrition approved at World Health Assembly

At the World Health Assembly Wednesday, Member States approved a global monitoring framework on maternal, infant and young child nutrition.

22 May 2014

New project aims at saving lives of mothers, newborns in developing countries

Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today announces investments of $12 million in projects worldwide, aimed squarely at improving the health and saving the lives of mothers, newborns and children in developing countries.

22 May 2014

New collaboration between Australian and European scientists to boost therapeutic drug research

Griffith University's Eskitis Institute will be the gateway for European scientists to access potential building blocks for new drugs and other products sourced from compounds created by Australian chemistry researchers.

16 May 2014

New study of Kansas and Nebraska census data shows young men outnumber young women

In many rural communities hard hit by decades of population declines, young men increasingly outnumber young women, a new study of Kansas and Nebraska census data shows.

16 May 2014

Protein Data Bank now contains over 100,000 structures

Spanning the globe from the US, UK, and Japan, the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) organization announces that the Protein Data Bank archive now contains more than 100,000 entries.

14 May 2014

Viewpoints: heath insurance and mortality; newly insured vs. previously insured on marketplaces

The connection between health insurance and mortality is really hard to pin down, even if insurance truly has strong protective effects. The uninsured in America are mainly non-elderly adults.

13 May 2014

Study: Elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 threaten human nutrition

At the elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 anticipated by around 2050, crops that provide a large share of the global population with most of their dietary zinc and iron will have significantly reduced concentrations of those nutrients, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

8 May 2014

Evogene reports operating loss of $2.6M in first quarter 2014

Evogene Ltd., a leading plant genomics company specializing in enhancing crop productivity for the food, feed and biofuel industries, announced today its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

7 May 2014

Snacking quality declines with age, confirms new data

The average U.S. child snacks three times a day. Concerned about the role of snacking in obesity, a team of researchers set out to explore how eating frequency relates to energy intake and diet quality in a sample of low-income, urban schoolchildren in the Boston area.

7 May 2014

Mango consumption on ulcerative colitis and bone parameters in animal models: Studies

Three new mango-related studies were presented this week at the 2014 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) in San Diego, revealing initial findings on the effects of mango consumption on ulcerative colitis and bone parameters in animal models.

1 May 2014

Controlling glucose in the blood may decrease individuals' diabetes risk over time

In healthy individuals, the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the blood increases after eating. When glucose increases, levels of insulin increase to carry the glucose to the rest of the body. Previous research has shown that extreme increases in glucose and insulin in the blood can lead to poor glucose control and increase an individual's risk of developing diabetes over time. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that when women consumed high-protein breakfasts, they maintained better glucose and insulin control than they did with lower-protein or no-protein meals.

29 Apr 2014

Horizon’s new products offer new feel-good snacking options for families

Horizon®, a leading national organic dairy brand, today announced the launch of a new line of snack products. Horizon Snack Crackers, Sandwich Crackers and Snack Grahams mark the brand's continued evolution outside of the dairy case, following the launch of several Mac & Cheese products in January.

29 Apr 2014

Nitrogen Pollution, Climate And Land Use: Why What We Eat Matters

A new report quantifies for the first time how much our food choices affect pollutant nitrogen emissions, climate change and land-use across Europe.

26 Apr 2014

State highlights: Ohio hospital merger struck down; Okla. abortion drug use limited; Calif. exchange and felons

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered a major health system in northwest Ohio to unwind its merger with a local hospital on antitrust grounds. The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati comes amid growing concerns about hospital mergers and their effect on prices against the backdrop of America's health care upheaval (Gershman, 4/22).

25 Apr 2014

India's shocking rates of suicide are highest in areas with most debt-ridden farmers

A new study has found that India's shocking rates of suicide are highest in areas with the most debt-ridden farmers who are clinging to tiny smallholdings - less than one hectare - and trying to grow 'cash crops', such as cotton and coffee, that are highly susceptible to global price fluctuations.

21 Apr 2014

Food shortage will have serious implications for people and governments in the world

The world is less than 40 years away from a food shortage that will have serious implications for people and governments, according to a top scientist at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

17 Apr 2014

Scientists to combine environmental, surveillance data to predict malaria outbreaks in Ethiopia

Dealing with malaria is a fact of life for more than 91 million Ethiopians. Each year four to five million contract malaria, one of the biggest health problems in this poor country.

16 Apr 2014