The Takeaway has been talking about child labor in America this week, from paper routes to custodial work. Now, a look at the farm. Should children be restricted from doing certain kinds of agricultural work? The Department of Labor thinks so. In a new proposal, they are hoping to bar most farm hands younger than 16 years old from jobs such as driving tractors, rounding up cattle on horseback, and working on ladders over six feet high. Is the proposal in the best interest of the children, or going too far?
A federal judge signed off on the $1.25 billion settlementbetween U.S. Department of Agriculture and African American farmers who say the agency discriminated against them by denying them loans and other forms of assistance. The case dates back to 1997 and gives tens of thousands of plaintiffs a chance to have their day in court. The Takeaway is joined by Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association president Gary Grant, whose organization has been leading the fight for this compensation for more than a decade.
The U.S. is in the grip of a searing heat wave, with temperature warnings and advisories in effect for a large stretch of the central part of the country. States in the south and southwest have been experiencing extreme weather for many months, resulting in a severe drought across a belt of 14 states from Florida to Arizona. Crops and livestock are suffering, as farmers and ranchers struggle to keep them alive. But with no rain in sight and a shaky economy, some are questioning whether this could be a 21st century Dust Bowl.
Author Barry Estabrook decided to write about tomatoes because they almost killed him. He was driving in Naples, Fla. when a few tomatoes bounced off the cargo truck in front of him, narrowly missing his windshield. At the next stoplight, he was amazed to see that the tomatoes littering the street were unscathed after falling off a truck that was traveling at 60 miles per hour. How did the tomato— once summer’s tastiest treat — become the bland specimens available in most grocery stores now? And how can we fix it?
The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that could significantly alter food safety in the United States. Right now, the FDA only steps in when a recall is underway. Under the new law, the agency would be allowed to inspect any farm and try to prevent the kind of salmonella outbreaks that made the headlines last summer.
Benjamin England worked at the FDA for 17 years and founded FDAImports.com. He believes this legislation could lead to dramatic change, but only if the government can find the funding to back up the FDA's expanded role.
In this day and age, we're used to the rapid rise and fall of public officials. This week, the story changed, and instead, we witnessed the rapid fall and then rise of Shirley Sherrod, the USDA official who was pressured to resign after a video of her making racially-tinged remarks was made public by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart.
By now you’ve probably heard the name Shirley Sherrod. She is the U.S. Department of Agriculture employee who was asked to resign Monday after a video was released by news aggregator Andrew Breitbart. The video shows Sherrod saying she was hesitant to help a white farmer as much as she could. This morning Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that he will reconsider the abrupt firing, but Sherrod tells The Takeaway that she's "unsure" if she'd return to the job.
Millions of migratory birds are getting ready to head south, right into or through the Gulf of Mexico and the biggest environmental disaster in decades. That is a toxic combination. So a little known federal agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is working fast to convert up to 150,000 acres of private land, mostly farm land, into alternative bird habitats. The idea is to lure the loons and mallards away from the tainted waters of the Gulf and threatened surrounding wetlands.
What happens to civilizations when the food runs out? This happened in ancient Rome and to the Mayans, but can we take lessons from the past in order to have a more secure future?
President Obama set off a trade dispute on Friday when he announced that the U.S. would impose a 35 percent tariff on imported Chinese tires. China retaliated by launching an investigation into whether the U.S. is dumping cheap chicken and automotive parts into China's marketplace. How is all this playing out in the U.S. business scene? We talk to Mike Cockrell, the chief financial officer of Sanderson Farms in Laurel, Mississippi; and Ross Kogel, the president of Tire Wholesalers International in Michigan.
August is typically the month where tomato enthusiasts can count on an abundance of their beloved juicy, red gems. This year, however, a "late blight" is devastating tomato crops across the Northeast. Farmers and consumers alike are mourning a scarcity of summer’s favorite fruit. For a look at what’s behind this year’s blight and what to substitute for tomatoes in the kitchen, we are joined by Dan Barber. He is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. We are also joined by our friend and tomato-lover Melissa Clark. She’s a food writer for the New York Times, and brought a "BLP" (that's bacon, lettuce, and plum) sandwich to share with us. (Check out the recipe for the BLP at the New York Times.)
For more, read Melissa Clark's article, Plums Rescue a Seasonal Favorite, in the New York Times.
Local produce, farm-to-table dining, it's all the rage in foodie circles—and now, in the Baltimore public schools. For years, school systems have vowed to make lunch healthier and tastier. Luckily, Tony Geraci is used to a challenge. He has just finished his first year as head of food services for Baltimore City Public Schools, where he has dramatically changed the way Baltimore school kids eat. Joining him on The Takeaway are Michele Simpson and Rashad Epps, students at Baltimore City Public Schools.
As summer hits its stride, the nation’s farmer’s markets are filling up with fresh-from-the-farm produce. Peaches, blueberries, beets, lettuce, and okra are all in season. New York Times food writer Melissa Clark and Taja Sevelle from Urban Farming, a national nonprofit group dedicated to growing food in abandoned spaces, join The Takeaway for a look at the season's most delicious food. Garlic scape pesto anyone?
Want to find a farmers' market near you? Head over to Local Harvest And if you want to find out what's in season in your neck of the woods, check out this Peak Season Map
Chamomile Simple Syrup
Makes about one cup
• 1 cup waterPut water and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Add chamomile flowers. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Let cool. Strain.
Serving suggestions: Brush syrup on pound cake. Add to iced tea. Macerate any type of berry in a few tablespoons of syrup.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Makes about 1 cup
• 10 garlic scapes, finely choppedPut the scapes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, almonds and half the olive oil in a food processor (or use a blender or a mortar and pestle). Blend all the ingredients. Add the remaining oil and, if you want, more cheese. If you like the texture, start eating. To thin, add more oil, a tablespoon at a time. Season with salt.
You can store the pesto in the refrigerator for up to a week or saved in the freezer for up to two months.
Serving suggestions: Add to pasta. Dress a tomato salad. Brush on toast for bruschetta.
If the food you served on your kitchen table were to star in a film, the cast would probably not be all that surprising.
But nowhere in the script is there a role for buttermilk. Unless that film is made by Joe York, starring Tennessee farmer Earl Cruze. Cruze and his buttermilk are the stars of York's documentary "Buttermilk: It Can Help," screening at this year's NYC Food Film Festival.
Takeaway producer Jesse Baker went to the opening night of the festival to gauge New Yorkers' response to Cruze and his buttermilk.
Click through to watch the buttermilk documentary, "Buttermilk: It Can Help."
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with The BBC World Service, New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
Major funding provided by:
