UC Blog
Meat will have 'nutrition facts' beginning in 2012
A year from now, consumers will be able to compare nutrition facts on packages of fresh, raw meat in grocery stores.
Packages of ground or chopped meat and poultry will have the familiar black and white nutrition facts panels on their labels, according to the USDA announcement. Whole raw cuts of meat and poultry will either have the nutrition facts on the labels, on posted signs or at the check out.
"More and more, busy American families want nutrition information that they can quickly and easily understand," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was quoted in the release. "We need to do all we can to provide nutrition labels that will help consumers make informed decisions."
The nutrition facts panels will include the number of calories and the grams of total fat and saturated fat in a standard 4-ounce serving of meat. Nutrition labels will also list the products' cholesterol, sodium, protein and vitamin content.
Nutrition facts labels were first required on some foods in 1993; meat was included under a voluntary provision.
A Los Angeles Times article about the USDA's new rule included background provided by Christine Bruhn, director of the Center for Consumer Research at UC Davis. She said the information on the labels will be taken from a database of national averages, which means the actual amount of fat, calories or other nutrients may vary significantly from, for example, one chicken breast to the next, depending on how the birds were raised and what they were fed.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said the new law isn't going far enough. The food policy watchdog group takes issue with the 4-ounce serving size - calling it "puny" - and the provision that grocers aren't required to put nutrition facts for whole cuts of meat on the label.
However, a USC dietician quoted in the LA Times story believes that, while the new labeling requirement may not be perfect, it is a step in the right direction.
New USDA regulations will help consumers make smart choices in the meat department.
Paine named EIPD strategic initiative leader
We are pleased to announce that Tim Paine has agreed to succeed Ian Gardner as leader of the Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases Strategic Initiative. Paine, a UC Riverside professor of entomology, served as ANR program leader for Agricultural Policy and Pest Management from 2005 to 2009. Paine’s research focuses on improving integrated pest management of insects affecting woody ornamental plants. As EIPD strategic initiative leader, he will serve on Program Council as well as lead development and implementation of the EIPD strategic plan.
Paine and Gardner will be working together on the strategic initiative for a smooth transition before Gardner leaves ANR in June. Gardner has accepted a position at University of Prince Edward Island as Canada Excellence Research Chair in Aquatic Epidemiology.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
President Yudof's message about the state budget
The following is a message from President Yudof in response to Gov. Brown's proposed budget, released yesterday.
January 10, 2011
Colleagues:
I wanted to reach out to each of you personally today to share the news that the Governor's proposed budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year includes deep cuts to the University of California. While this news is not a surprise given the state's financial crisis, I recognize that it means additional sacrifice for all members of the UC community, who have already sacrificed much.
You are the heart and soul of this University, and it will take all of us, working together, to find a way to meet these cuts while still maintaining the core academic and research mission. I will share with you more specific budget information as we get it and to seek your participation as we work through this difficult situation centrally and on the campuses. Clearly, it's time for us to engage Californians in a discussion of exactly what UC means to the future of this state, and thus I am forwarding you the below response to the Governor's budget I have issued.
Sincerely yours,
Mark G. Yudof
President Yudof's open letter to California is posted at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/24763. UC also issued a news release about the proposed budget cuts for higher education, which is posted at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/24764.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
UC Davis researchers to receive $40 million from USDA
UC Davis agricultural researchers will receive $40 million in new federal funding to support research projects aimed at helping farmers deal with climate change and developing sustainable bio-energy sources.
Roger Beachy, director of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will announce the grant awards along with UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Neal Van Alfen, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, at a 10 a.m. press conference tomorrow at UC Davis.
The two research awards are being made through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, a flagship competitive grant program established by the 2008 Farm Bill, according to a media advisory produced by UC Davis news service public information representative Pat Bailey.
The grant program provides support in the following priority areas:
- Plant health and production and plant products
- Animal health and production and animal products
- Food safety, nutrition and health
- Agricultural economics and rural communities
King cotton begins a comeback in California
Rising cotton futures are spurring farmers to plant more cotton in California this year, according to an Associated Press report.
Commodity futures for cotton rose to $1.50 per pound in August, triple the price in 2008. Long-term cotton futures are now around $1, but extra-long-fiber Pima cotton prices are closer to $1.30.
"Those are kind of unheard of prices, and people are saying they could be conservative," Kern County farmer Jim Crettol was quoted in the story. He expanded his Pima cotton crop 60 percent to 600 acres and would plant more if he hadn't converted land to grapes and almonds when cotton prices fell.
Known in the 70s as "King Cotton," when acreage in the Golden State peaked at 1.6 million, cotton planting tumbled to a low of 200,000 acres two years ago. In 2011, forecasters believe 400,000 California acres will be planted to cotton, primarily Pima varieties. Pima cotton is used in luxury products, such as high-end sheets, towels and clothing.
Director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center at UC Davis, Dan Sumner, told AP reporter Jeff Nachtigal that consumers probably won't notice the price difference.
"Consumers will see a modest increase in prices when they buy a shirt or sheets. But it won't be a big change, because most of the cost is in processing and marketing," Sumner was quoted.
Renewed interest in cotton is trickling down to tractor sales and repair businesses, Nachtigal reported.
Thomason Tractor Co. of Firebaugh has sold five new John Deere cotton pickers after selling none for three years. Kern Tractor Supply in McFarland has seen a 5 to 10 percent increase orders for parts for equipment to plant and harvest cotton.
Last year, farmers sold used John Deere cotton pickers to scrap iron yards for as little as $1,400. One of the same models was listed on eBay last week for $6,000, the story said.
Short supply and stronger demand globally are driving a cotton resurgence.