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Today’s News Feed comes to you from the PASA conference, where we’re excited to be rubbing elbows with so many sustainable farmers. We’ll be soaking up sustainable ag info, and hope to report back on it soon.

Well, yeah. According to CNN, lack of oversight is to blame for the salmonella outbreak. President Obama seems to agree and has called for a complete review of the FDA. As for the FDA, they’re calling for a criminal investigation of the Peanut Corp. Sen. Patrick Leahy says the peanut butter producers should serve time, Sen. Harkin is “outraged.”

Maple syrup mystery solved Over the last few years, the scent of maple syrup has occasionally wafted over parts of New York City. This week, Mayor Bloomberg confirmed what many have suspected, that the smell was coming from a New Jersey food additive plant.

The Farm Bill that would never die For all the hand-wringing it’s caused, it’s good news that the Farm Bill is back. Here’s where it’s at: in its last days, the Bush administration pulled the $3.18 million allocated to a grant program for “specialty crops” (read: fruits and veggies). Vilsack is reversing that move.

While you’re at it, here’s a sustainable ag to-do list Our friends at the Ethicurean, in response to Jane Black’s recent Washington Post article that suggested the sustainable food movement is too scattered, have created a comprehensive but completely do-able list of policy changes that the Obama USDA can implement in its first six months.  Bookmark this one and watch to see how it goes.

peanut butter, salmonella, FDA, review of the FDA, Peanut Corporation, maple syrup smell, new york city, bloomberg, farm bill, tom vilsack, bush usda, specialty crops, grant program, food policy, farm policy