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Marinalg International agrees to renew approval of carrageenan for organic foods

Marinalg International, the organization supporting sustainable seaweed farming and the seaweed based hydrocolloid industry, agrees with the Proposed Rule by the National Organic Program of the United States Department of Agriculture to renew the approval of carrageenan, a common food stabilizer, as an ingredient in American organic foods.

8 May 2013

Bayer honours Canadians who have made a mark on society through science and innovation

Scientists and innovators have guided every step in Bayer's 150-year journey to becoming a global leader in healthcare, crop and material sciences. As it marks its 150th anniversary this year, Bayer also celebrates Canadian innovation and individuals who exemplify the curiosity and commitment to help shape a better future.

7 May 2013

Menus at fast food restaurants still lack nutritional quality

More than 25 percent of American adults chow down on fast food two or more times each week. Known for menu items containing high amounts of fat, sugar, and salt, fast-food restaurants have contributed to America's poor diets and increased risk of diet-related chronic diseases, like heart disease and diabetes.

7 May 2013

Experts report new outbreaks and increased spread of Cassava Brown Streak Disease

Cassava experts are reporting new outbreaks and the increased spread of Cassava Brown Streak Disease or CBSD, warning that the rapidly proliferating plant virus could cause a 50 percent drop in production of a crop that provides a significant source of food and income for 300 million Africans.

6 May 2013

Farming practices for food safety threaten valuable ecological systems

Meticulous attention to food safety is a good thing. As consumers, we like to hear that produce growers and distributers go above and beyond food safety mandates to ensure that healthy fresh fruits and vegetables do not carry bacteria or viruses that can make us sick.

6 May 2013

Stakeholders must work together on U.S. food aid reform

"Congress should put aside partisanship and turf protection as it considers bold changes to a decades-old and increasingly inefficient international food aid program," former Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who chaired the Agriculture and Foreign Relations committees, and former Sen. Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.), who served as Senate majority leader, write in a Washington Times opinion piece.

3 May 2013

The Guardian examines new reports on nutrition spending

The Guardian examines two new reports on nutrition spending. "Ambitions to eradicate world hunger will not be realized if aid for basic nutrition remains at only 0.4 percent of total official development assistance (ODA), according to the research group Development Initiatives (DI)," the newspaper writes.

2 May 2013

U.S. proposes talks aimed at improving food security at upcoming WTO meeting

"The United States said on Tuesday it was prepared to examine how agricultural policy reform could boost global food security as part of a package of commitments at the World Trade Organization's [WTO] upcoming meeting in December," Reuters reports.

2 May 2013

Agricultural biodiversity plays key role in food and nutritional security

While over 1 billion people are overweight and obese around the world, an estimated 868 million are undernourished. This paradox is explored in a new book, Diversifying Food and Diets, co-edited by Professor Danny Hunter who is an Adjunct Lecturer in Botany and Plant Science at NUI Galway.

2 May 2013

USAID report highlights need for better water management in agriculture

"With its recently released Water and Development Strategy, USAID highlights some practical and potentially powerful initiatives both to improve health by expanding access to clean water and sanitation and to improve food security through better water management in agriculture," Isobel Coleman, a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy and director of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in the council's "Democracy in Development" blog.

29 Apr 2013

GI nematode infections combat obesity and improve related metabolic disorders

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, have shown in a mouse model that infection with nematodes (also known as roundworms) can not only combat obesity but ameliorate related metabolic disorders.

26 Apr 2013

Study reveals humans are passing antibiotic resistance to wildlife in protected areas

A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered that humans are passing antibiotic resistance to wildlife, especially in protected areas where numbers of humans are limited.

25 Apr 2013

To avoid difficulties experienced during SARS epidemic, China must remain transparent in H7N9 efforts

"On this 10th anniversary of China's April 2003 admission that the SARS virus had spread across that country ... Beijing finds itself once again in a terrible position via-a-vis the microbial and geopolitical worlds," Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in a Foreign Policy opinion piece, noting the emergence of a new strain of bird flu, H7N9, in the country.

25 Apr 2013

Dietary substitution of saturated fats enriched in MCT prevents liver disease

Scientists at the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, led by Dr. Martin Ronis have determined that dietary substitution of saturated fats enriched in medium chain triglycerides (MCT) for polyunsaturated fat prevents the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

25 Apr 2013

Cultivation of legumes helps farmers add natural nitrogen to agricultural fields

The overuse of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture can wreak havoc on waterways, health and the environment.

25 Apr 2013

Blog examines connection between environment, agriculture, food security

Monday's "celebration of Earth Day is an opportunity to remind ourselves and our partners of the connection between our environment, agriculture, and food and nutrition security and how we can work together to end world hunger and undernutrition," Jonathan Shrier, acting special representative for global food security and deputy coordinator for diplomacy for Feed the Future, writes in the initiative's blog.

24 Apr 2013

Texas scientist says nonmedical community should be educated about long-term effects of antibiotic overuse and misuse

When thousands of experimental biology researchers gather in Boston this weekend, many of them undoubtedly will be presenting work related to the hunt for the next generation of antibiotics and how to battle back existing and emerging superbugs.

22 Apr 2013

Obama right to propose food aid reform

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22 Apr 2013

Millions of people in Sahel continue to need food assistance, Oxfam report says

"The humanitarian response to the 2012 food crisis in Africa's Sahel region was bigger and better than in previous emergencies, but millions of people still did not receive the assistance they needed and many remain vulnerable to hunger, Oxfam said in a report on Tuesday," AlertNet reports.

18 Apr 2013

Mozambique launches New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition

Paul Weisenfeld, assistant to the administrator at USAID's Bureau for Food Security, writes in the Feed the Future blog about the recent "official launch of Mozambique's New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Maputo."

17 Apr 2013