The news yesterday was monumental. It bolsters national leadership to try to address health care costs on many fronts & esp important for this audience, opens doors to funding and support for prevention/wellness initiatives. It is also provides a significant turning point in the Presidential election.

Read analysis here:

http://www.scotusblog.com/category/special-features/health-care/

Minnesota ACTION ALERT

House Farm Bill Immediate Action Needed

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program under Assault

Urge Rep. Collin Peterson to Fully Fund the Fruit and Vegetable

Program (FFVP) at $150M/year and oppose any amendments that

undermine the integrity of the FFVP as a “fresh” fruit and vegetable

program.

Farm Bill Update and Issues:

The House Agriculture Committee is in the final stages of developing the

2012 Farm Bill with mark-up…

Spent several hours in my garden pulling weeds (and dodging mosquitos) the other weekend and found myself thinking about the beauty and grace of growing plants.

I was struck by the physical labor of love that goes into creating and maintaining a food garden (weeding and weeding and weeding and HARVESTING!) as well as the work of putting food by. 

The next morning I headed to church and the sermon was…

The e-letter states, "Many fruit/vegetable producers don't receive the same financial support that commodity crop (corn, soybeans, etc.) producers receive in subsidies. How can we address this challenge?"

My teen daughter is vegan and she suggested to me yesterday that fruits and vegetables should be subsidized. I agree. The tables should be turned. Healthy food should be subsidized, and maybe the corn and soybeans should not be subsidized, or should be…

You’ve heard the numbers: 30 percent of American kids between the ages of 2 and 5 are either overweight or obese. Overweight children and adolescents suffer disproportionately from diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, bone and joint problems, and sleep apnea. Further, overweight youth have an estimated 70–80 percent…

Here is something of interest to the farmers market crew, but also others involved in growing and eating locally: "Dirtying Up Our Diets", an Op-Ed by Jeff D. Leach, a science and archaeology writer and founder of…

http://inhabitat.com/former-school-bus-converted-into-thriving-mobile-urban-garden/

AMA Adopts Policy Addressing Obesity, Beverages with Added Sweeteners

CHICAGO – The American Medical Association (AMA), the nation’s largest physician group, voted today at its Annual Meeting to adopt policy addressing the obesity epidemic.

“While there is no silver bullet that will alone reverse the meteoric rise of obesity, there are many things we can do to fight this epidemic and improve the health of our…

Laughing Loon Farm is a diversified, sustainable vegetable and herb farm in Northfield, MN. It sustained major damage in a flood and hailstorm last week--nearly 1/3rd of the farm was washed away. According to the farm, "We lost almost all of our peppers, half the eggplant, and many beds of beans, beets, spring mix, spinach and more. (Photos …

Does cheap food = healthy food?  We might be spending less but it appears a bigger chunk of our dollars are spent on processed foods.  Convenience appears to be King.  So how do we get people on board with whole foods?

 …

Monday, June 11, 2012  12pm PDT/3pm EDT  Webinar

Conditions affecting children’s behavior and brain development, like autism and ADHD, are exploding in prevalence. The CDC estimates autism now is diagnosed in 1-in-88 children, a more than 70 percent increase over just six years. These increases leave many parents, and clinicians, with questions about what’s causing autism and how we can work to prevent it.



Join us on June 11 where we’ll hear from Martha Herbert, MD, PhD, a…