- Author: Diane Nelson
My calendar says November but the weeds in my garden think it’s spring. That nice rain last month followed by warm, sunny days has prompted them to grow like, well, weeds and that’s not good news for my winter crops.
What’s a gardener to do?
Like so many other gardeners, I turned to the folks at the UC Davis Weed Science Program. Housed in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, the “weeders” are experts at helping growers and gardeners improve plant production by controlling weeds.
What are the most effective organic tools for controlling weeds? That’s what I, and thousands of others, want to know. You don’t have to be an organic grower to seek organic tools for fighting weeds. Synthetic herbicides come with...
- Author: Janet Byron
Diet and lifestyle choices are major factors contributing to the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is responsible for more deaths in the United States than any other cause.
One dietary component that has received considerable attention for its potential heart-protective effects is soybeans, which contain lean vegetable protein, dietary fiber and antioxidants called isoflavones.
In a recent issue of the University of California’s California Agriculture journal, scientists reviewed research concerning the relationship between soy and heart disease. Several potential mechanisms have been identified for...
- Author: Chris M. Webb
In June of this year, three University of California scientists went to the Kitui District of Kenya on a USAID mission.
Food and water scarcity are simply a part of life for most in this region. Since 1992 the Sahelian Solution Foundation (SASOL) has been constructing dams and working with Kitui communities to address water scarcity and issues of community development and agricultural production.
Agricultural production in Kenya is full of challenges. Water is carried by hand from wells or dams for household and agricultural needs. Previous to this mission, crops were watered...
- Author: Ann King Filmer
Two terms related to food production — “sustainability” and “food systems” — have been blended into a new major at the University of California, Davis. Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, the new undergraduate major, in some ways embodies a re-blossomed, student-driven interest in food production, akin to the organic farming movement of the 1970s.
Food systems is a broad term that addresses nutrition and health, sustainable agriculture, and community development. A food system encompasses the entire production chain, not only from farm to fork, but includes broader topics such as short- and long-term impacts on the environment, labor, management of food inputs (e.g., water, pesticides) and outputs (e.g., waste), and the...
- Author: Alec Rosenberg
The first Food Day is coming Oct. 24.
It’s a nationwide campaign with a local flavor: University of California wellness leaders are planning Food Day activities at UC campuses, medical centers and other locations.
The goal is to get people to “eat real,” supporting healthy, delicious and affordable food prepared in a sustainable, humane way.
“We want to raise people’s awareness of where their food comes from. Think every time you put something in your mouth,” said Ginnie Thomas, a health advocate for housing and residential dining services at UC Santa Barbara. She is co-coordinating UC’s Food Day...
