Sustainable Dish

I am a big Chipotle fan, but was saddened when news arose that Chipotle had not adopted measures to pay Florida tomato pickers more money for each pound of tomatoes. Well, good news folks! Market Watch reports that Chipotle has reached an agreement with East Coast Farms to increase wages 64%. While the workers still are not making nearly as much as they deserve, it’s a large step in right direction.

The new “Smart Choices” labeling campaign is aimed to help consumers more easily identify healthy foods – good luck with that one. The program is backed by Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, Unilever, General Mills, PepsiCo and Tyson Foods who each pay $100,000 a year to participate. Some of the healthy foods include Cocoa Crispies and Fruit Loops, which are 41% sugar. See coverage at the New York Times, Fooducate and Food Politics.

Think Lay’s is the only company to localwash lately? It turns out Starbucks, Walmart, Barnes & Noble and more have all jumped on the bandwagon. Check out these photos on Grist.

Michael Pollan does it again with a new op-ed in the New York Times. In “Big Food vs. Big Insurance”, Pollan draws the line between what we eat and our skyrocketing health costs. As the Center for Disease Control pointed out not long ago, America spends $140 billion on obesity related health costs every year. Food and health go hand in hand, and it is impossible to discuss health care reform without discussing food and nutrition!

Never heard of the World Pork Conference? Well me neither, but apparently it’s being held in Qingdao, China and humane slaughter is the hot topic. China is not exactly known for its terrific track record on animal rights, but steps in the right direction are being taken, and for that, I commend them. See the article at China View.

The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production recently came out with a report capping off a 2½ year study stating the dangers of constant antibiotic use on Factory Farms. The American Veterinary Medical Association then somewhat surprisingly came out with a response in disagreement. Ralph Loglisci of the John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future does a great recap of the whole debacle which you can read here.

Senator Blanche Lincoln has just been named the new Chair of the Senate Ag Committee. A little nerve racking, as she supports subsidies for Big Ag and makes common bedfellows out of rice, cotton, and poultry farmers – Obama Foodorama and Grist report.