Headline roundup 8/3

Produce Comes To Harlem From the New York Press: By promoting fresh fruits and veggies in poorer neighborhoods, organizers hope to fight hunger and obesity at the same time. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum was one of the elected officials on hand to launch the project."When it comes to fighting obesity, it's all about access to the right food at the right price," said Gotbaum.

Farm bill helps corporations at expense of everyone else House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have listened to Berkeley chef Alice Waters, or to the University of California-Berkeley's Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma." Instead, she went with the Farmers Rice Co-op, King Ranch and Buttonwillow Land and Cattle Co.
Waters and Pollan were among those urging Pelosi and the House of Representatives she leads to overhaul the nation's farm policy, shifting billions of dollars from subsidies for corporate agribusiness to a means-tested safety net for real family farmers, plus policies to promote healthier foods and sound stewardship of the land.

Tesco attacked in US for 'taking the Wal-Mart way' Tesco is facing the threat of a Wal-Mart-style backlash from environmentalists and union campaigners in the US, before it has opened a single store.
The UK's largest retailer is readying bold plans to crack the US market and has lined up 100 sites for new "Fresh and Easy" stores, predominantly in the west of the country. The first openings are pencilled in for November

U.S. argues against Whole Foods' plan to buy Wild Oats Markets Fron the AP: : Comments made in e-mail and online by the chief executive of Whole Foods - including a reference to avoiding "nasty price wars" - highlight the need to block its plan to purchase Wild Oats Markets, according to a U.S. government antitrust lawyer.
Two days of hearings on the deal ended Wednesday, with Whole Foods countering that the acquisition would help it compete with larger supermarket chains. Judge Paul Friedman of U.S. District Court is expected to rule by mid-August on whether to allow Whole Foods' $565 million plan to proceed.
The Federal Trade Commission is trying to stop the deal out of concern that it would lead to higher prices for fancy and organic food.

E. coli and the future of America In 2006, Americans learned that a salad could be hazardous to your health. The media flurry and the elected official posturing that followed the September 14 outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 associated with spinach, is still fresh on American minds and making daily headlines thanks in no small part to the brisk recalls associated with tainted beef.

Australia still the rotten apple in export barrel New Zealand apples are expected to regain access to the Japanese market soon, which could inject some sweetness into a sector embroiled in a bitter impasse over exports to Australia.
Pipfruit New Zealand chief executive Peter Beaven is not hopeful a last-ditch meeting this week between transtasman trade and agriculture ministers aimed at hastening the export of New Zealand apples to Australia will bear fruit, but calls movement on the Japanese front a promising development.