Open Forum: Eating organic can help reduce the high cost of cheap food

Through the years, cheap food has increased the difficulty for working families to obtain healthy food—even if they work in the food system. This farmer and food researcher lay out their case for paying the real cost of food so farmers and food workers don’t starve and we can restore the planet’s health. Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle …

Denver first in U.S. to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms

In the end, Denver voters narrowly passed an initiative to all but legalize psychedelic mushrooms. The measure directs Denver police to ignore adult use of psilocybin. Last year, the FDA changed psilocybin’s designation to speed up the process for developing a medication containing the compound. Read more at The Denver Post …

Experts discuss digital’s role in food safety at international forum

The deputy FDA commissioner for food policy said a lack of transparency is the biggest problem in food safety. Speaking at the International Forum on Food Safety and Trade, Frank Yiannas explained how technology can improve the system, but cost is a problem. Read more at Food Safety News …

Tempest in a tea bottle: Billionaire GT Dave brewed a fortune (and plenty of bitterness) from kombucha

George Thomas Dave and his company, GT’s Living Foods, are under fire from competitors, who might not be creating authentic kombucha. But he started his company from his parents’ home, and he plans to keep it under his control. Read more at Forbes …

Study shatters preconceived notions about urban vs. rural obesity

Urban kids are fatter than rural kids, right? City-dwellers are sedentary while farm folks work manual labor, right? Not so fast. A study published May 8 in the journal Nature found the opposite to be true: Body mass index is increasing most quickly among rural women, and the slowest growth is among urban women. Read more at NPR …