Fw: The Ag Minute: America Speaking Out Gives Citizens a Voice inBuilding a Governing Agenda

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From: House Republican Agriculture Committee <agrepublicanpress@politicalmediagroup.com>

Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 12:26:19 -0500

To: Tom Karst<TKarst@vancepublishing.com>

Subject: The Ag Minute: America Speaking Out Gives Citizens a Voice in Building a Governing Agenda

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 25, 2010 MEDIA CONTACT: Tamara Hinton, 202.225.0184 tamara.hinton@mail.house.gov The Ag Minute: America Speaking Out Gives Citizens a Voice in Building a Governing Agenda WASHINGTON – This week during The Ag Minute, Ranking Member Frank Lucas discusses the introduction of America Speaking Out, an effort by House Republicans to engage the American people in the process of building a policy agenda for America. Through America Speaking Out, the American people will be given a voice in setting the priorities for Congress. Click here to listen to The Ag Minute. The transcript is below. "Recently, I discussed the many challenges that our farmers and ranchers face today.  "They range from the threat of cap and tax and the EPA to the burden of more regulation and bureaucracy.  "The reason for these challenges is simple.  There is an incredible disconnect between the priorities of the American people and the agenda of the Obama administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress.  "Those in charge continue to ignore the concerns of the American people.    "That's why my Republican colleagues in the House are engaging Americans all across the country and giving them a voice in creating the agenda for Congress.  "The effort is called America Speaking Out.  And, it puts the American people in charge.  You have the opportunity to weigh in on what our priorities should be in Washington and what policies we should be pursuing.  "I urge you to go the website (AmericaSpeakingOut.com) and join the discussion on how we can solve some of our nation's most pressing problems." The Ag Minute is Ranking Member Lucas's weekly radio address that is released each Tuesday from the House Agriculture Committee Republicans. To listen to previous radio addresses click here. ### Agriculture Committee Republican Press Office http://agriculture.house.gov/republicans

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Eat more fruits and vegetables for a glowing complexion

http://www.themedguru.com/20100525/newsfeature/eat-more-fruits-and-vegetables-glowing-complexion-86135684.html


Eat more fruits and vegetables for a glowing complexion




A natural diet containing fruits and vegetables is not only good for the health but also gives a glow to the skin and rejuvenates the body, suggests a study.

According to researchers, the benefits of eating fruits such melons and apricots plus vegetables like peppers, carrots and spinach are visible in the mirror.

Skin requires a variety of vitamins and nutrients to keep it healthy, glowing and youthful, and a balanced diet helps attain a skin tone which is very attractive.

The secret to a perfect complexion lies in the natural chemicals called carotenoids--a group of some 600 organic pigments found in many plants.

Leader of the research team, Ian Stephen of Bristol University stated, “We have produced evidence that dietary intake of fruit and vegetables affects skin color.

“There are two pigments which have a major effect on yellowness of fair skin: melanin, which is associated with sun exposure and carotenoids from the diet.”

Study details
In order to examine the role of beta-carotene in fruits and vegetables in enhancing the skin tone, the researchers conducted an experiment.

They enrolled participants and encouraged them to adopt the five-a-day diet for a month.

To understand the correct perception of attractive skin, volunteers were asked to evaluate the skin tone on 'before and after' images of the participants who had undertaken the five-a-day diet.

A comparison between those on high and low carotenoid diets revealed that the skin tone that had become golden due to diet rather than the darker skin tone acquired by tanning in the sun was preferred by the volunteers.

Stephen stated, "We found people always preferred the golden effect from diet to the darker effect from the sun. All our results were consistent with carotenoids being the decisive element.”

Implications of the study
The multiple health benefits of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits in lowering blood pressure, cutting the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancers and reducing eye and digestive problems are hard to argue.

However, the scientists are optimistic that the co-relation between a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and glowing skin will be more obvious now.

According to experts, the optimal benefit of carotenoids can be extracted by eating these foods raw or lightly cooked rather than steaming, boiling, or baking them.

Ashley Ward, a makeup artist who has worked with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock stated, “These new findings completely make sense to me. You are what you eat, and a healthy body
produces a healthy face.

It’s the (Food) Economy, Stupid

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/05/24/its-the-food-economy-stupid/

It’s the (Food) Economy, Stupid

By Katherine Hobson

Access to the fresh produce and other foods sold in grocery stores is likely one slice of a multi-part solution to obesity – but it’s a lot more complicated than geographic proximity.

That’s the conclusion of a report by researchers at the University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition, who looked at the distinction between the closest grocery store and the one that a person actually patronizes. Having a grocery store nearby doesn’t guarantee purchases of fresh produce or other more healthful foods, the report found — those decisions are often driven by economics.

The report found, not surprisingly, that richer, skinnier, more-educated people patronized Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and a local co-op. Their demographic opposites were more likely to shop at Albertsons and Fred Meyer. Most people shopped outside their immediate area, likely on the basis of price (for poorer people) or the perception of higher quality (for wealthier people).

Moreover, the relative prices within the store also likely dictate diet. Fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and other unprocessed foods are often more expensive than processed, less nutritious foods. That suggests a focus on making more healthful foods more affordable, not simply opening grocery stores in underserved areas, study author Adam Drewnowski, an epidemiologist at UW, tells the Health Blog via email.

“Bringing grocery stores to neighborhoods that have none is a good idea,” Drewnowski says. “It does improve the economic viability of neighborhoods and does improve quality of life. But let’s not expect that everyone will then eat fresh fruit all day long. Money still matters,” he writes.

There are caveats — namely, this is a Seattle-centric study, and its findings may not be applicable to the rest of the U.S., such as some urban areas where there are real “food deserts,” where no grocery stores lie within easy reach. Those deserts don’t really exist in Seattle, Drewnowski says.

Recalled sprouts sold to Wal-Marts in 15 states

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hIZHk9HEfgKdIVkCFg-pxdjfF-xAD9FTEVAO1

Recalled sprouts sold to Wal-Marts in 15 states

By MARY CLARE JALONICK (AP) – 16 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Alfalfa sprouts recalled because of salmonella poisoning were sold to more than 400 Wal-Mart stores in 15 states, a spokeswoman for the retail chain said Monday.

The raw sprouts sold by Caldwell Fresh Foods were sold to Wal-Marts in Alabama, California, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon and Wisconsin, the company said.

The federal Centers for Disease Control said last week the alfalfa sprouts appear to have sickened at least 22 people in 10 states, including a baby in Oregon. Eleven of those sickened were in California.

The sprouts were sold in at least seven other stores in California, including Trader Joe's. Caldwell, based in Maywood, Calif., said in a release that the sprouts were sold at restaurants, delicatessens and retailers nationwide. But the company has not released a complete list of the outlets that purchased the sprouts.

Caldwell Fresh Foods did not respond to requests for comment and no one answered the phone at the company's headquarters on Monday.

According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, which was first to announce the outbreak last week, Caldwell's alfalfa product was sold in 18 states in the West, Midwest and South.

In addition to those who were sickened in California, two were sickened in Nevada and two in Wisconsin. Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico and Colorado each had one person become ill, the CDC said. The illnesses began between March 1 and May 2 and six people were hospitalized.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems. It can cause diarrhea, fever and vomiting.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Caren Epstein said sprouts were removed from the produce departments of the affected stores as soon as the retail chain was made aware of the recall. She said 75 Wal-Marts in Illinois, 56 Wal-Marts in Georgia and 47 Wal-Marts in Louisiana purchased the sprouts. The rest of the stores were spread through the remaining 12 states.

Caldwell said the recalled alfalfa sprouts were sold in plastic cups and plastic bags under the Caldwell Fresh Foods brand, plastic cups under the Nature's Choice brand and plastic containers under the California Fresh Exotics brand.

William E. Keene, a senior epidemiologist at the Oregon health department, said the baby sickened was a 4-month-old boy who ate alfalfa sprouts mixed with other foods. His sickness made the cause of the outbreak easier to identify, Keene said, because the infant had not yet eaten many foods. He was hospitalized but later recovered.

Alfalfa sprouts are grown in a warm, humid environment, heightening the chances of salmonella, listeria or E. coli infection. According to Foodsafety.gov, a website run by several government agencies that oversee food safety, there have been at least 30 reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with different types of raw and lightly cooked sprouts since 1996.

The government has long recommended that children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems should avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind — that includes alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts. The government website recommends consumers cook sprouts to kill the bacteria and request that sprouts not be added to their food at restaurants.

This is the second large multistate outbreak in fresh produce announced this month. Twenty-six people were sickened by an outbreak of E. coli in romaine lettuce in Michigan, New York, Ohio, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Seven additional cases are suspected, the CDC said.

___

Online:

Centers for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/newport/index.html

Caldwell Fresh Foods release: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm213119.htm

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.