- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Two nationally recognized news outlets featured UC experts in recent stories - National Public Radio and the MSN Web site.
Agricultural Issues Center director Dan Sumner provided comment on the NPR story about a trend at Walmart stores to stock "locally grown" food. The story pointed out that the megastore's definition of locally grown -- grown within the state's boundaries -- is different from that of many locavores -- which generally define local as within 100 miles of home.
On the radio program, Sumner said the...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A story in the Sacramento Bee paints a lovely picture of local food production in a story under the title "Think globally, eat locally."
"The sun is coming up. Geese fly overhead. Wild turkeys meander amid the fruit trees, as (farmer Lisa) Tollefson picks sunflowers in the golden glow of dawn," goes the story, written by Stuart Leavenworth.
The article's vision of local farming wasn't entirely rose-colored. Indeed, it mentioned that Tollefson's partner, Steve Pilz, disrupted a yellow jacket nest while clearing brush and had to set traps for voracious gophers with his eye swollen by insect stings.
But the real juxtaposition comes in...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The cyclical nature of blogs is intriguing. A story in the Freakonomics blog that featured UC Agricultural Issues Center director Dan Sumner’s expertise, and reported on in this ANR news blog entry, takes another turn in the media and technology blog of Alternet.org.
Eating Liberally writer Kerry Trueman asks what the New York Times has against local food and green living in a post focused...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Agricultural economics has prompted a lively online discussion on Steven Dubner's New York Times blog "Freakonomics." As of this morning, 71 comments had been posted, which combined with a lengthy Q & A add up to more than 13,000 words, some heated.
This post had its beginnings a week or so ago when Dubner invited his blog readers to send questions for the director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Dan Sumner. The blog post included 23 questions and answers touching on such hot topics as organic agriculture, local food production, obesity and farm subsidies. Dubner titled the...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Dan Sumner, indicated that declining agricultural research is contributing to a hike in global food prices, according to an article in today's San Francisco Chronicle.
There has been a decline in investments in agricultural research and development at the federal and state levels and worldwide, with more resources diverted to improving efficiency, the story paraphrased Sumner.
"It's a long-running phenomenon I think we ought to pay a lot more attention to," he was quoted.
The Chronicle story, by George Raine, also attributed the spike in food prices to:
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