In The News

“Halal” Labels Experiencing a Supermarket Boom

Peter Ziegler April 13, 2007
Religions often provide strict guidelines on food choices and preparation. With more than 1.7 million Muslims spread throughout the world, food products that abide by the rules of Islam, labeled as “halal,” are the fastest growing segment in the food market. The world’s leading meat producers in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA are prepared to...

Who's Monitoring Chinese Food Exports?

Nicholas Zamiska April 13, 2007
Food inspectors have traced to China a contaminated ingredient in pet food that has killed an unknown number of animals. Wheat gluten is a common ingredient in pet food, cereal and pasta. The discovery of batches tainted with a pesticide illegal in the US raises questions about China's growing role in the international agricultural market. In 2006, 12 percent of world fruit and vegetable...

Even as Africa Hungers, Policy Slows Delivery of US Food Aid

Celia W. Dugger April 10, 2007
Intervention, even with the best intentions, can cause unforeseen tragic consequences. Thousands of people starve in Zambia, caught in a web of international health groups that supply drugs for AIDS, improving health yet increasing the pangs of hunger; weather patterns that deliver drought; local politicians who don’t want to release large food supplies; and wealthy nations in the West that...

US-Korea Trade Deal Still Faces Hurdles

Evan Ramstad April 9, 2007
Politicians won legislative office in both the US and South Korea by vehemently opposing trade. Negotiators for the two nations have ironed out a complex trade agreement, but lobbyists representing agriculture, automobile or electronics interests could balk at details such as South Korea excluding US rice exports or the US delaying any decision to purchase Korean products made at an industrial...

Sushi: A Fusion Cuisine That Illustrates Globalization

Andrew Cassel March 28, 2007
Japanese chefs, Norwegian engineers, Canadian fishermen and quirky American consumers combined over the past four decades to develop a new cuisine, one that shows how taste can be as powerful an agent of globalization as trade ministers and CEOs. Sasha Issenberg’s new book, “The Sushi Economy,” explores the history of sushi – the bite-sized combination of sticky rice and raw fish that became a...

Rice Industry Troubled by Genetic Contamination

Rick Weiss March 16, 2007
A decade ago, European farmers and regulators questioned US plans to defy insect or weather problems in the agriculture industry by modifing plant genetics. US researchers and regulators dismissed such concerns as unreasonable and protectionist, but have since discovered that the tiny bits of pollen can spread in many unintended ways. “Biotech crops approved only as animal feed have found their...

An Immigration Raid Aids Blacks – For a Time

Evan Perez January 18, 2007
After federal agents raided chicken and meat processors in 2006, many immigrant workers fled their jobs. In rural Georgia, one company raised wages by $1 and recruited local workers, most African Americans. Since then, company officials have had to deal with more complaints about work conditions, pay disputes and workplace rights, reports this article in “The Wall Street Journal.” Injury rates...