No Sugar for A Year & Indoor Farming

No Sugar for A Year & Indoor Farming plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

I've been on a major health kick lately to drop some unwanted pounds and have been trying to cut back on all the usual things like fats and sugars. A new book is recounting one families year-long no sugar experiment. Writer Eve Schaub and her family discovered that sugar was added to a great deal of products you wouldn't associate sugar with and that it was difficult to ferret out the hidden sugars. She says that while no one lost an appreciable amount of weight they have did a sense of feeling healthier, having more energy.

Here's an interesting take on the possible farm of the future that you might find in doors! Nicola Kerslake is one of the organizers of an upcoming conference on indoor farming.

KERSLAKE: Abandoned warehouses and industrial areas can be great locations for them. We've seen a number of new farms spring up over the past couple of years

Meanwhile, USDA Deputy Ag Secretary Krysta Harden says she has seen one farm in downtown Chicago.

HARDEN: An old shoe warehouse and they would do hydroponics and they were growing tilapia fish and they were using the fish in the local food banks and shelters and there are examples all over our country with this happening.

That upcoming conference will be held in Las Vegas on May 14th and 15th. Check it out at indoor.ag.

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

April is National Invasive Plant, Pest and Disease Awareness month. Invasive pests and plants can pose a major threat to a state's agricultural and natural resources and can cost millions of dollars to control. If you're wondering what you as an individual can possibly do to help stop such threats, be rest assured there are several easy, low or no cost steps you can take to help reduce the spread of invasive plants and pests. One of top ways is to use firewood that originates from the area where it will be burned and not transport firewood from one location to another. Egg cases or larvae from invasive species such as the Gypsy Moth, Emerald Ash Borer or the Asian Longhorned Beetle can make the trip with the wood and start new infestations in previously non-infested areas. Do not bring any undeclared plants back from vacation, and avoid using invasive plant species in your landscaping or garden areas. Don't be lulled into a false sense of immunity when it comes to invasive pests and plants. They are there and they are destructive. To find out more about what invasive plant pests are in your state visit HungryPests.com.

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