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What We’re Reading: Harvesting Agriculture and Nutrition Trends in the News

By: Beth Doriani | 10/07/2011

To kick-off our first What We're Reading post of October, we're going to roll with a harvest theme. After all, we don't pick apples, carve pumpkins, and sit on hay bales during any other month of the year. So, to honor this month's bounty, we've compiled a bushel of agricultural and nutritional reading to round out the week. Bon appétit!

• While reading AgWired this week, I learned that the US Army has an agriculture branch. The 1-14^th Agribusiness Development Team, or ADT, is currently stationed in the Kunar province of Afghanistan, helping the Afghani government grow a strong, sustainable agriculture industry. The ADT team provides technical knowledge in the form of agronomy, pest management, resource management, veterinary care, marketing and cost efficiency. They also reward innovative, business-savvy individuals with a one-time micro grant to start or expand their businesses. By sharing their knowledge and building relationships, they hope that agriculture will contribute to a safer and more stable future for Afghanistan.
• The American Dietetic Association recently released its Nutrition and You: Trends 2011 survey results. The findings show a significant proportion of people think they don't need to do more to achieve a healthy and balanced diet, despite increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other nutrition-related health conditions. ADA spokesperson Gazzaniga-Moloo stresses the message that nutritional changes - eating more fruits and veggies, whole grain, and foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids - are crucial and possible. 
• Meanwhile, USDA Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is starting a campaign toward the same goal. His solution: remove potatoes from school lunches across America. But why? asks April Fulton, writer for NPR's food blog ,The Salt. Vislack answers that "often times, it isn't the potato per se; it's the way in which the potato is produced or made available to students that may create an issue." But while we're still waiting for any legislation to take effect, I'll eat my fries...in moderation, of course. But, even removing potatoes from schools is nothing compared to a fat tax, a la Denmark. Over the weekend, Denmark became the first country to tax saturated fats. The tax - 16 Danish kroner per kilogram of saturated fat in a food - works out to about $6.27 per pound of saturated fat. Other countries may not be so quick to adopt this trend.

Have you read anything agriculture or nutrition-related this week? There is always a new story; help keep us informed by sharing what you're reading!

Posted in Agriculture and Nutrition, What We're Reading