Food Security Report & iPhone Apple App

Food Security Report & iPhone Apple App plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

USDA's Economic Research Service's yesterday released its annual report on Household Food Security in the U.S., which revealed that in 2008, 14.6 percent  were food insecure and families had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year. This is an increase from 13 million households in 2007. Ag Secretary Vilsack talks about some of the numbers.

VILSACK: Today 17-million households in the United States which encompass 49-million people are currently challenged with low food security and of that number, 6.7-million households and well over 17,284.000 American citizens are people who are confronting very low food security. And the tragedy of that is at that amount well over 1,077,000 are children.

iPhone users that are a bit confused when it comes to which apples are the best choice need only look at a brand new application recently released called, “Them Apples.” It is a comprehensive index of the most popular and available apples plus their best uses. Each apples page discusses flavors and textures as well as basic uses such as eating, baking, sauce and pie. So looking to bake a pie for the holidays…check out “Them Apples.”

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

I sure hope the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t come any where near my house. In their hunt for those that violate air quality standards due to dust I have no doubt that my entire house would be in violation. Any and all joking aside, the EPA’s current fast track agenda to develop a more stringent regulation of dust as a pollutant could very well signal the beginning of the end for many ag operations, especially here in parts of the drier Western United States. The EPA is looking at dropping their already unrealistic allowable level for dust raised due to ag or ranching related activity from 150 micrograms per cubic meter to a possible low of 12 to 15 micrograms per cubic meter. Such a drastic drop in permissible standards is unbelievable to say the least, and down right impossible at best. Would someone please tell me how you can plant crops without raising a little dust?  Perhaps the Environmental Protection Agency is privy to an “immaculate cultivation” that no one else is presently aware of.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.