Q&A: Pat Crawford, UC Nutrition Policy Institute
“Not changing is risky. The United States – along with Mexico – has the highest obesity rates in the industrialized world. With these extraordinarily high obesity rates, we are on …
Land-grant institutions move to support urban farmers
Food production in urban areas – urban agriculture – is increasing, in both the United States and around the globe. More of us live in cities, and more of us …
University of California focuses on student food security
The USDA estimates that 1 in 7 U.S. households is food-insecure (i.e., their access to adequate food is limited). The USDA does not collect data specifically about hunger among college …
Bittman Op-Ed: Let’s make food issues real
In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, the author, chef and Berkeley Food Institute distinguished fellow weighs in on a variety of food issues. Some takeaways? It’s not necessarily …
Urban gardeners should test soil
The National Gardening Association reported last year that the number of Americans producing food in urban areas increased nearly 30 percent between 2008-2013. Anecdotally, many of us see evidence of …
Experiment in Irvine takes crops’ water use to a new low
In the Southern California community of Irvine, vital water research is taking place at a 200-acre University of California research center. Darren Haver, the director of UC’s South Coast Research …
Fears for olive crop force Brussels to tackle spread of leaf scorch
Olive producers in Italy are facing a serious outbreak of a deadly plant disease – olive quick decline syndrome, also called leaf scorch. Its symptoms including leaf scorching, twig and branch die …
College students move classroom to an organic peach farm
University of California students gathered at the Masumoto family farm near Fresno to learn about peaches, soil, and organic farming. The 28 global food fellows – representing each UC campus …
The Johnny Appleseed of no-till farming
Across dusty roads and the course of nearly two decades, a University of California researcher named Jeff Mitchell has encouraged an increasing number of producers to develop farm systems that …
When jobs don’t pay enough, workers turn to public assistance to meet their basic needs. Public assistance programs – including SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – provide vital support …