Still recovering from recession, rural America has assets for growth
Rural America was hit harder by the Great Recession than metropolitan areas and has not recovered fully, said the Center for American Progress on Monday. Although rural communities face unique challenges, they have assets for growth, the liberal think tank said.
Coalition presses food service companies to improve food sourcing
A coalition of farmers, fishers, students, and advocates rallied at the headquarters of food service provider Aramark on Monday to demand that the company source its food more ethically.
Researchers improve texture of cell-based meat
Creating cell-based meat that tastes and feels like muscle cuts from livestock has been one of the big challenges of the young industry. Now, a team of researchers at Harvard’s engineering school said they have grown muscle cells on edible gelatin ‘scaffolds’ that mimic the texture and consistency of naturally produced meat.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Farmers will like RFS plan ‘once they fully understand’ it (White House): Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said at a White House cabinet meeting that once farmers “fully understand what you’ve done here, they’ll be fine” with the EPA’s decision to exempt 31 refineries from the RFS while vowing to make up for “lost” ethanol consumption.
Stop ERS, NIFA relocation, say foes (NSAC): The USDA decision to move two research agencies to Kansas City is “deeply troubling but not irreversible,” said an amalgam of science, labor and farm groups in urging Congress to keep the agencies in Washington.
A perspective on ERS relocation (Washington Post): A former ERS economist who chose not to relocate to Kansas City this summer reflects on what he perceives as resistance to the agency’s work from the Trump administration.
FoodCorps co-founder joins Swette Center (The Hagstrom Report): Debra Eschmeyer, co-founder of FoodCorps and head of the ‘Let’s Move!’ initiative on childhood nutrition in the Obama administration, joined the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems as a global business development director.
Fighting for ‘Macdo’ (NPR): In the south of France, a community is fighting to save its McDonald’s outpost, which residents say has become a vital gathering place that connects the majority Muslim neighborhood to the rest of the country.
Vegan Mexican cuisine spreads in Southwest (AP): From Texas to Southern California, a vegan Mexican food industry is taking root in communities with large Latino populations with trucks and restaurants that serve plant-based versions of recipes their owners grew up with.
