digest magazine // news nuggets

Cheese made from buffalo milk , one of Italy’s most respected foods, is now in danger due to the country’s trash problem. A New York Times report states that buffalo milk cheese has dropped 40 percent as the toxin, carcinogen dioxin, has been found in samples. South Korea even banned imports of this cheese. The area that has been hardest hit by the plague of garbage (and where activity to combat it has been stagnant) is the same area that historically produces the best buffalo mozzarella, Naples. The Times report tells a story of an organic pizza maker in NY doesn’t serve buffalo mozzarella anymore even though he buys from respected producers. This problem that is showing up on the plates of cheese-lovers goes beyond the garbage can: a mafia group in Naples, Camorra, has been making money by illegally dumping trash- but there has been no voiced opposition. Many hope that political activity will be a result of this issue that is now a reality outside of Italy’s borders.

Posted by Melinda Feucht at 7:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Almost everything we eat has water in it. We cook food in water, and we wash plates, forks, fruit and vegetables with water. If you've ever traveled to a country where the water quality is questionable, you know how hard it is to avoid consuming that water, directly or indirectly.
That's why in 1992, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 22 World Water Day. The Dutch organization, International Water and Sanitation Centre, facilitates the event's official Web site, but the day is basically an invitation for cities across all nations to organize events that raise awareness for water safety and conservation. Organizations in the United States have set up 26 events so far in cities across the country, from Los Angeles to New York.
Each year's World Water Day has a theme; this year it's sanitation. On Monday, Rep. Donald Payne, D-- N.J., Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, introduced a resolution resolution supporting the United Nations’ declaration of 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation.
“Sanitation is the foundation of health, dignity and progress. Economic and social development are its offshoot. It affects everything from a girl’s ability to go to school to work productivity. Every dollar invested in sanitation translates to an average of $7.00 in economic benefit in developing countries," Payne said, as quoted in a press release from his office.

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As Americans, we hear a lot about our weight problem, but rising obesity isn't confined to the United States. The International Obesity Task Force estimates 300 million people worldwide are obese and one in ten children worldwide are obese.
So on March 15, the international consumer rights group, Consumers International, dedicated its annual World Consumer Rights Day to its Junk Food Generation campaign. Led by CI member organizations from more than 50 countries, including the U.S. Consumers Union, the campaign calls for an international code that would regulate how companies market junk food to children. The proposed code is concerned especially with the use of cartoon characters and celebrity tie-ins as marketing tactics, and the way junk food is marketed to children on the Internet.
The recommendations will be presented to the World Health Organization at the World Health Assembly in May to persuade the WHO to incorporate the code into its strategy to tackle obesity and diet-related disease.

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If you've ever donated money to a nonprofit or social aid program, surely you've thought about how your money will actually be spent. Will it make any kind of difference in the lives of the people the program advertises to aid? Or will it buy a new Lexus for the organization's CEO? Thursday's AP story Tons of Food Aid Rotting in Haiti Ports shows just how many factors play into that question. Even if the NGOs that shipped this food to Haiti do have responsible business practices, the corruption in Haiti's government is a factor beyond the organization's control. The result was more than 40,000 pounds of donated food, rotting in shipping ports just miles away from the starving Haitians it was meant to help.
An unrelated Washington Post letter to the editor from the day before draws an interesting parallel to the AP story. What if there's something inherently backward in the way we send food aid to countries with broken governments? We encourage Americans to buy local to reduce our food's carbon footprint, transportation costs, and preserve freshness. Why wouldn't we take the same approach to food we ship to Haiti, or anywhere else? (Especially if, as the letter says, 65 percent of the cost of food aid is due to shipping and administrative expenses.)

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Drinking live fish, immersed in red wine, is a tradition practiced during one of Belgium’s annual spring festivals- Krakelingen. Animal rights campaigners think this situation is (I can’t resist) ‘fishy.’ The specimen in question is the grondeling, which farmers use for bait and measures nearly an inch. The animal rights activists aren’t so much concerned with the actual consumption of the fish, as they are of them being immersed in wine beforehand. They relate it to being placed in toxic waste. A study conducted at the University of Ghent states immersing the fish in wine gives them internal lesions. Despite the research and their disgust, the activists are being sensitive to tradition and are willing to compromise. They suggest killing the fish before immersing them in wine and drinking them. The leaders of the festival refuse to budge because the tradition dates back to 1393. A ruling in December 2000 called for a cessation of the practice due to a breach of the animal-protection law, but didn’t put forth any consequences for continuing the practice. But a court appeal in 2002 allowed the practice to continue due to its importance in cultural history. So for now – “Bottoms (or tails?) Up!�

Posted by Melinda Feucht at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If preserving the Norwegian tradition of lefse and lutefisk were not enough, the land of many of our ancestors is now preserving .... the Earth's whole food supply. The buzz of the dangers of climate change has sparked the attention of governments and scientists resulting in a global food bank, containing hundreds of gray boxes filled with seeds from all over the world. The International Herald Tribune reported the vault is funded primarily by the Norwegian government and private donors. 600 miles south of the North Pole, Global Seed Vault received its first batch of millions of seeds last week. The vault is part of a worldwide movement of scientists attempting to classify all plant species and to obtain genetic information from each. Its location is crucial because the seeds will stay frozen, regardless of a power failure. With the world’s food supply constantly changing, scientists say plant species are disappearing at an alarming rate. They also argue the plant bank is crucial because we may discover, through genetic information, certain foods that will survive the climate change, namely a drier, warmer climate with more pests.

Posted by Melinda Feucht at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Once again food and politics have found themselves mixed as UK immigration laws and curry have created some controversy. New British laws are preventing Indian chefs from working in Britain’s restaurants, which leaves Brittons in fear that their beloved ‘curry houses’ will dwindle. A Reuters report states the British immigration ministers are being pressured to lighten limits on migrant workers from Bangladesh. The report says that the laws are a result of the increased employment rights given to eastern Europeans- those from the new European Union member countries. Chief Executive of Immigration Advisory Service, Keith Best, says this is leaving Bangladeshi restaurants in serious trouble because people nobody wants to eat in a curry house where a Slovak is preparing the chicken tikka masala. Best is taking action to counter the fear by writing to the immigration minister for the rules to be relaxed for the Bangladeshi cooks. As for now, curry's authenticity in Britain is left up to the politicos .

Posted by Melinda Feucht at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)