Safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving
North Coast olive oil production a labor of love
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat ran a story today marking harvest time for North Coast artisan olive oil producers. Though the area's high-end olive oil producers are "making money," reporter Robert Digitale wrote that the high labor cost associated with harvest makes olive oil production a "labor of love."
With information from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Paul Vossen, the article compared the small-scale, specialty olive oil production of the North Coast with large-scale olive operations in California's Central Valley.
The growth of the industry in the valley is due to “super-high-density” orchards and mechanical harvesters that greatly reduce labor costs. Valley growers plant 650 to 900 trees per acre, compared to no more than 300 per acre at the North Coast. Artisan olive oil producers on the North Coast mostly “are doing it for the love of it," Vossen was quoted.
Digitale spoke to Colleen McGlynn, whose husband Ridgely Evers founded the online small-business management program NetBooks, about their olive farm's bottom line. In olive oil, she told the reporter, you have to take the long view.
“You plant grapes for your kids and olives for your grandkids," she was quoted.
Beer is healthy
You may have heard it before, but it bears repeating: beer is healthy in moderation. The Birmingham (Alabama) News ran a story yesterday with all the details from UC Davis brewing scientist Charles Bamforth. Bamforth, chair of the UC Davis Food Science and Technology Department, is the author of "Grape vs. Grain, A Historical, Technological, and Social Comparison of Wine and Beer" (available for just $17.82 on Amazon.com).
According to the story, Bamforth extolled the virtues of beer in a speech to the Birmingham Rotary Club last week. Among his grains of wisdom:
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Beer is the perfect accompaniment for more foods than wine.
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No pathogens grow in beer. It's the safest item in the grocery store.
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The best dose is two 12-ounce servings of beer a day, every day.
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Beer is a good source of most B vitamins and folic acid.
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Beer is a rich source of silicon, which helps bone and cartilage health.
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Beer beats wine in providing antioxidants.
beer
Media turns to UC for egg industry information
As media outlets begin to analyze the impact of Proposition 2's passage, they are turning to UC for information.
The headline of the Los Angeles Times story - "Prop. 2 probably won't hike egg prices" - is based on the report by the UC Agricultural Issues Center about the potential impact of implementing the provisions of Proposition 2. The article, written by reporter Carla Hall, says egg prices probably won't go up because out-of-state farmers, who already supply a third of Californians' eggs -- and could provide more -- are not affected by the new law, so they won't have to change their housing.
The San Francisco Chronicle ran an Associated Press analysis of Proposition 2. It quoted the UC Ag Issues Center report in noting that the new law will be felt largely by the state's egg farmers, whose production last year was valued at $337 million.
The Chronicle article predicted that uncertainty about how Proposition 2 will be enforced means that fights lie ahead over how much room "factory farm animals" should be provided.
UC Riverside poultry specialist emeritus Don Bell was quoted in the AP story about the measure's economic impact.
"It will be the loss of an entire industry in California," he said, according to reporter Samantha Young.
Egg industry faces change.
UC ANR in the post-election news
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is in the news today. For example, UPI ran a story about a UC Davis study that determined daily consumption of vegetable juice is an effective way for people to increase their vegetable intake. AgAlert released an article about a UC Riverside scientist's conclusion that fertilizer savings make growing a cowpea cover crop of value even to non-organic farmers.
These are important developments, but somehow it doesn't seem right to go into the details on the day following what has been described as a "momentous" and "historic" election.
For several months, this blog has documented the many UC Cooperative Extension and other ANR comments in the media on Proposition 2, however today, with so many races to cover, the media have so far left UC experts silent on the lopsided victory. (With 95 percent of precincts reporting, the proposition is winning by a 26 percent margin, according to the LA Times.)
Two opponents of the measure have released statements about the proposition's passage. The American Veterinary Medical Association said veterinarians should be included in implementing the new animal welfare standards. Californians For SAFE Food commented mainly on the mechanics of the election in its statement and concluded:
"The special interest group that pushed Prop 2 will now go back to Washington, and leave it to California's farmers, veterinarians, regulators and lawyers to interpret what this poorly-conceived and vaguely-worded initiative actually means for the real people it affects."
The campaign manager for Yes on Prop 2 noted in a statement that proponents have built an "army of the kind" in California.
"Let’s not stop now. Let’s build on this victory," she wrote.
Contented chicken.
A final word before the feathers fly
The Visalia Times-Delta ran a commentary on Saturday jointly written by the dean of the UC Davis Department of Veterinary Science Bennie Osborne and the director of the UC Veterinary Teaching and Research Center in Tulare James Cullor turning today's decision on Proposition 2 over to the voters.
The article noted that various UC Davis scientists have taken public positions on the proposition, both in favor and against, but that the University of California is neutral.
The School of Veterinary Medicine, the article said, is part of the nation's proud tradition of Land Grant Colleges and Universities.
"We are committed to generating and disseminating science-based information on all issues related to animal welfare, animal health, food safety and the role of animals in society," Cullor and Osborne wrote.
The University, they assured, will continue to foster discussion and research to establish the best animal health care and welfare strategies science can offer.
Contemplative chickens.