An upcoming article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry says that apples grown organically have a 15 per cent higher antioxidant capacity than apples grown conventionally according to a study from the Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food in Karlsruhe, Germany. 

The researchers compared the polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity of Golden Delicious apples grown under organic and conventional conditions over a three year period (2004-2006). "In the present study the organically produced apples displayed a higher phytochemical concentration and a higher antioxidant capacity than conventionally produced apples," wrote Bernard Watzl, who led the study.

We just finished a couple back-to-back rounds of grant writing here at the Institute.  I have about two days until I jump into the next one.  So I finally have had a few minutes to wander around my favorite political sites and dip into a few other blogs, both known and new to me. One of the newer blogs, La Vida Locavore, is written by Jill Richardson, who blogs regularly at DailyKos as well, which is how I discovered her.  Jill is a national blogger/citizen activist who is passionate about food policy and food politics.  She asks questions about the links between agribusiness companies and politicians and promotes  progressives for roles at the USDA and explains why.

A new study by a team of nine Spanish researchers, published by "Environmental Microbiology Reports", has conducted research that suggests that there is a relatively simply cause of Bee Colony Collapse.  Their research indicates that the parasitic fungi Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia), was the cause; the solution was treatment with fumagillin, an antibiotic.  It seemed to do the trick, leading to complete recover of infected colonies.

Ten days ago, farm-state Congress folks managed to quietly get Obama's farm subsidy changes dropped from the budget passed later that day.  Neither the House nor Senate versions of the bill included the President's proposed limitations on farm subsidies.  The plan would have saved $9.7 billion in the next decade by prohibiting direct payments to farms whose annual gross receipts exceed $500,000.  According to an article in the NYT, "In the House, farm-state lawmakers told the Budget Committee chairman, Representative John M. Spratt Jr., Democrat of South Carolina, that they would not support any budget plan that tinkered with hard-fought agreements they struck in passing last year’s omnibus farm bill."

This country is in desperate need of economic development in rural areas.  Washington State is a perfect example.  Even before the recent economic crises, Washington had the greatest income gap in the United States between its major urban area and its rural communities. If only rural communities were considered, Washington would be very near the top of the states in persistent low employment, poverty and food insecurity.

Luckily, the Stimulus Package passed last month.  The Center for Rural Affairs provides an overview of money that will be provided for rural economic stimulus:

Oops!  Someone didn't like the idea of an organic garden at the White House. 

The Mid America CropLife Association is an educational organization that coordinates a network of volunteer speakers to talk about the value of agriculture.  Their website is what I might term, "thoughtful agri-business".  They discuss agricultural issues  from a very mainstream point-of-view.  Much of it is tips for this or that.  "Silage management in warmer weather" or "caring for and about groundwater".  Good on that.  However, they also talk a lot about pesticide use and crop protection products.  Clearly, organic is not their thing, although their approach is thoughtful.