Friday News?

The UK's FSA Publishes Organic Research - from the UK's Food Standards Agency - "An independent review commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) shows that there are no important differences in the nutrition content, or any additional health benefits, of organic food when compared with conventionally produced food. The focus of the review was the nutritional content of foodstuffs. "

So, what these researchers did was review the results of other researchers from the last fifty years and arrived at the conclusion that there is little nutritional difference between organically grown food and food conventionally grown and processed. Just to make it clear, this was more of an academic mashup than real research. No original research was done. As with sustainable agriculture, one must look for more systemic results rather than simply read others' research on a narrow base of subjects.
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Rural Businesses Receive Billions in Assistance - from Farm Futures.com - "Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is accepting applications for up to $1.7 billion in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for projects to help create business activity and economic growth in rural communities. Vilsack said the funds will help businesses get access to the capital they need to launch and expand their businesses and help bring additional jobs to America's small cities and towns."

That's a step in the right direction. Hopefully the money will be well spent and big companies will not get their hands on too much of it.