Publication archives

Jul 7, 2008

Food Stamps, Food Security and Public Health: Lessons from Minnesota

The Food Stamp Program is a good case study to examine why, despite food assistance and nutrition programs, people continue to struggle with adequate and nutritious food supplies.
Jul 7, 2008

Wal-Mart and Local Food Economics

Last week, Wal-Mart announced a new commitment to "go local" and source more locally-grown fruits and vegetables. Where did this come from? Is Wal-Mart's announcement a signal that the global food economy is undergoing a major shift toward local - or just opportunistic corporate marketing? Or maybe a little of both?
Jul 5, 2008

How to stop superbugs

FOR ALL the breakthroughs medicine has achieved in treating cancer and heart disease, none has saved as many lives as the last century's discovery of antibiotics to treat infectious diseases. That is why physicians are so concerned about the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Jul 3, 2008

FDA warns farms on antibiotic use

Inspectors found a common antibiotic has been misused in animals through practices such as injections into chicken eggs and ordered farmers to stop the unapproved treatments because of the risk to humans. The drugs, called cephalosporins, were given in unapproved doses to chickens, beef, pigs and dairy cows, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on its Web site yesterday.
Jul 1, 2008

Majority Oppose Free Trade

It must be the "poll on trade" season in the U.S.
Jun 30, 2008

I HAVE JUST ONE WORD FOR YOU: BIOPLASTICS;

For half of his life and all of his 25-year career as a bioengineer, Oliver P. Peoples has wanted to prove two things: that he could reengineer plants to grow biodegradable plastic in their cells and that he could make a lot of money doing it. On the first goal, Peoples has had astonishing success.
Jun 26, 2008

Study: Removing biomass does no harm and prevents fires (MN)

Things are changing in the woods. In the past, loggers would cut down trees, and take the trunks to the sawmills and pulp mills, and leave the tree tops and branches on the ground to rot and feed the soil, to support the next generation of trees.
Jun 26, 2008

Minnesota Study Finds Potential Benefits from Forest Biomass

Harvesting biomass - the shrubs, small trees and branches in a forest - can reduce fire prevention and management costs, offer work for loggers and provide "fuel" for renewable energy, according to new research performed in Minnesota.