New Cherry Variety & Investing in Bio

New Cherry Variety & Investing in Bio plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Last Thursday, President Obama announced that up to 35-million dollars over three years will be provided to support research and development in advanced biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says - this funding represents the kind of innovation we need to build American-made, homegrown biofuels and biobased products that will help to break our dependence on foreign oil and move our nation toward a clean energy economy.

Japan has made a gift to the U.S. of a new ornamental cherry tree variety and it’s named after a First Lady. It made it’s debut last week at the National Arboretum where Margaret Pooler talks about what makes the Helen Taft cherry tree special.

POOLER: I think one specific aspect of it in keeping with this sort of historical theme of this release is that the seed parent that we used for this actually came from a cutting of one of the original tidal basin trees that was planted in 1912 during a ceremony that Helen Taft and the Japanese ambassadors wife, Mrs. Chinda, attended. And so, in addition to releasing it on the centennial of this event, the plant that we used as the seed parent was actually one of those original trees.

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

Here’s an interesting turn of events, the banning of foods deemed “unhealthy” by certain school districts has created black market trading of foods kids do like and will eat. Be it food from home sold under the table, or “back door” pizza deliveries, when they can’t find what they like to eat in the school cafeteria, hungry students are bound and determined to get the foods they like one way or another. More school lunches are ending up in the garbage cans. Does this really come as a surprise to anyone who has actually spent any time around kids? Probably not. And let’s be honest, do we as adults eat foods we find unappealing to our picky palates? Not usually. Should healthier fare be added to school lunch menus? Yes. Should students be prohibited from bringing homemade lunches to school? No. Should flavored milks be banned from school, cafeterias? No. The “my way or no way” handling of school lunches is only leading to more junk food being consumed on the sly, or worse yet, kids are just simply going hungry during the school day. How about a little give and take? The schools will offer more fresh fruits and veggies, while still offering chocolate flavored milk, french fries, and pizza once in a while.

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