Small meat producers take their slaughterhouse gripes to Congress

Stringent rules restricting how and where animals are slaughtered are holding back small producers in remote areas who mus travel far distances and pay high processing costs, some farmers say.  A new bill introduced in the House of Representatives this summer would loosen some of those rules. Read more at NPR...

A dangerous cycle in food production

Several practices of industrial-scale agriculture, like use of pesticides, have been driving down bee populations across the world. In the Netherlands, wild bee populations have dropped 90 percent over the last 120 years. A system that uses fewer chemicals, allows for natural predation and grows a variety of crops in an area would help ease the problem, some say. Read more at The New York Times...

Lost in transition: Why are farmers resistant to organic?

If the benefits of organic are more widely accepted now than ever, and demand is higher than ever, why aren't more producers getting in the game? Perhaps because of a lack of support and risk management during the three-year transition period to become organic? Maria Rodale calls for USDA to create a Farmers in Transition to Organic program. Read more in The Des Moines Register...

Diet supplement keeps circadian clock from slowing down in aging mice

A type of polyamine in soybeans, corn and green peas showed potential to prevent circadian rhythms from slowing down in older mice. Read more at Phys.org...

Saving 'sang': New label aims to conserve wild ginseng

With the goal of taking pressure off of a botanical that goes for hundreds of dollars per pound in Asia, a group is proposing a forest-grown verification program for ginseng. Read more at Salon...