http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations Musings on What We Grow, Produce & Eat in America Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:21:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en An article in the July 13 issue of the New York Times by Carl Zimmer reports on researchers' study of microbes in the fight against diseases. Microbes are critical to our success as grass farmers as well. An astonishing statistic is that we have more than ten times more microbes than ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=189 Dirt! The Movie is a film by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow and is inspired by William Bryant Logan's acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth. Find out how industrial farming, mining and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods and climate ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=186 In exciting news, researchers have shown that frozen semen can remain viable over extended periods. Specifically, scientists from LSU's Ag Center have produced calves from Angus bull semen that was frozen for more than 40 years. With such techniques, scientists have developed technologies that have improved the efficiency ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=184 Bill McKibben, writing in the March/April 2010 issue of Orion magazine, argues persuasively for Americans to wean themselves from feedlot beef. He reviews the arguments put forth by vegetarians and vegans (eating meat is disgusting and also a major part of climate change) and even quotes Paul McCartney, who has ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=182 Argentina was so far ahead of us in the 100% grass-fed beef business (90% of their cattle were raised on 100% grass), but is now rapidly sliding backward to where only about 45% to 50% of their beef will be 100% grass—the rest is going to American-style feedlots. According ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=180 Donald Kennedy, former commissioner of the U.S. FDA, writes in a NYTimes editorial that since the U.S. Congress has passed major health care legislation, now is the time to focus on the widespread use of antibiotics on the animals we consume, which leads to development of antibiotic resistance in ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=178 Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University and well known in the field of humane animal handling, is ranked #32 in Time Magazine’s 2010 list of 100 leaders, artists, innovators and icons who are the most influential people in the world. This is based on ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=176 According to an article in FoodSystemsInsider.com, "Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has indicated he will sign a bill the Legislature passed late last month allowing farms to sell raw milk directly to consumers through 2011. ... The federal government doesn't allow sales of raw milk because of ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=174 A New York Times Editorial discusses the problems with genetically modified crops and their increasing resistance to so-called benign herbicides. "The trouble with genetically engineered seeds is not the technology itself — bringing genetic traits from one species into another. It is the way this technology has forced farmers ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=172 Our correspondent, Professor Chris Teutsch of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, emails us about some good news about a fast-food chain of restaurants adopting grass-fed beef. Nineteen Arby's Restaurants in Richmond, Virginia, are serving Pasture Perfect Grass-Fed Beef. According to Chris, "They have place mats, napkins, and are even ... http://bakewellrepro.com/ruminations/?p=170