According to a new report, “Beyond Organic: The Revolution in Consumer Food Expectations,” specialty foods are here to stay. The report looked at consumer preferences and purchase habits of specialty foods including gluten free and ethically produced (non-GMO, antibiotic, hormone free, etc.). According to co-author Peter Walter, consumers are particularly committed to certain types of specialty, or organic foods. For …
#GAPReport2015: Productivity, Sustainability Must Be Priority
The global productivity of agriculture has stagnated for the second year in a row and productive, sustainable agriculture must be a priority. This was one of the main findings of the 6th annual Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Building Sustainable Breadbaskets (#GAPReport2015) released by the Global Harvest Initiative (GHI) today during the World Food Prize taking place this week in Des …
2016 Prez Candidates Address Hunger, Poverty
Yesterday following the Iowa Hunger Summit, several nonprofit organizations including Feeding America, Bread for Life and the Iowa Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, launched the Vote to End Hunger Campaign. The initiative is to hold presidential candidates’ responsible for ending hunger and poverty in the U.S. and globally. The campaign was launched in Des Moines, Iowa they day before …
Vote to End Hunger Launched at #FoodPrize15
The Iowa Food Summit took place today in Des Moines, IA leading up to the opening of this year’s World Food Prize. Following the Summit, several national nonprofits launched a new campaign, Vote to End Hunger (VTEH), an effort to urge 2016 presidential candidates to focus on ending hunger, alleviating poverty and creating global opportunity. “Throughout the world, countries such …
Fly-In Tells Congress of Need for National Food Labeling
The Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, organized a fly-in bringing representatives of our country’s agriculture and food sectors to Capitol Hill urging passage by Congress of a uniform, national labeling standard for foods made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Vermont is set to implement its own labeling standard next July and other states passing or considering their own labeling mandates, …
Borlaug 101 Focus on Global Food Security
To celebrate the 101st anniversary of the birth Dr. Norman Borlaug, the 2015 Borlaug Dialogue has gathered an outstanding “faculty” of international leaders, experts and scientists for Borlaug 101 a 3-day “course” on The Fundamentals of Global Food Security. The Borlaug Dialogue is being held October 14-16 as part of the World Food Prize events next week at the Des …
You Are What You Eat?
We all know food labels contain important information, but they can also be overwhelming and confusing. The authors of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) have provided some clarity regarding food labels. Their recent paper examines how consumers react to labels, identifies the legal framework for labeling and provides policy recommendations based on the pros and cons of …
Iowa FFP Launches “Homegrown Food. Hometown Values”
The Iowa Food & Family Project (Iowa FFP) is working together with farmers to serve locally grown food with the launch of it’s new campaign, “Homegrown Food. Hometown Values.” The sentiment draws attention to the locality of food and the commitment of today’s farm families to provide that food in a safe and reliable manner that’s good for the environment …
New Ad Exposes Chipotle’s “Burrito Disguise”
A full-page ad ran in the New York Post last week highlighting the Center for Consumer Freedom‘s Chubby Chipotle campaign. The ad exposes Chipotle’s “healthy” burritos as 1,500 calorie meals. The ad also points out that in addition to their Burrito Disguise, Chipotle is also facing a class-action lawsuit for alleged violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. “Chipotle …
Beef Excellence in Canada
Beef is what was for lunch during one of my tour stops at the Canadian Farm Writers Federation Annual Meeting. Excellent beef. Beef from the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence to be precise. This center opened earlier this year and is a Canadian beef and veal innovation, training, education and culinary marvel. The key areas are a presentation room, meat …