The News in Food

Farm, Ranch Runoff Blamed for Freakish Frogs (Reuters ) Creepy photo warning. The runoff spurs the growth of more algae, which increases the number of snails, which leads to more parasitic worms, which attach to tadpoles and voila! Mutants. Says ecologist and evolutionary biologist Pieter Johnson, “You can get five or six extra limbs. You can get no hind limbs. You can get all kinds of really bizarre, sick and twisted stuff.” Just one more reason to watch the waste.

Johann’s Legacy (Kansas City Star) A great editorial about farm subsidies, urging Johann’s successor to take off where he left off, trying to take farm subsidies out of the hands of the mega-rich, because although we all know that the surrounding areas produce some amazing sustainable food and sell it in New York, there aren’t many actual farmers in Manhattan.

House Takes FDA to Task (Reuters) Members of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee met Wednesday and several representatives blasted the FDA for failing to protect the US food supply. The solution? More power to the administration, and a new “risk based strategy” based on the risky-ness of the product, where it came from, and where and how long it was stored.