In an age where food is thought of as "filler" and of little importance in the recovery process, some hospitals are turning that idea on its head by embracing local organic food for recovery and beyond.
Recently, Rodale Institute partnered up with St. Luke's University Health Network in Pennsylvania to bring the local organic farm to the hospital platter.
Perhaps the term "hospital cuisine" will now take on a truer, less sarcastic meaning. Like, maybe it will be easier to "stomach" by not appearing already digested. But seriously folks...
Foster Kamer New York Observer On the rare occasion that New Yorkers talk about farming, it's usually something along the lines of what sort of organic kale to plant in the vanity garden at the second house in the Adirondacks. But on a recent afternoon,The Observerhad a conversation of a different sort about agricultural pursuits with a hedge fund manager he'd met at one of the many dark-paneled private clubs in midtown a few weeks prior. "A friend of mine is actually the largest owner of agricultural land in Uruguay," said the hedge fund manager. "He's a year older than I am. We're somewhere [around] the 15th-largest farmers in America right now." "We," as in, his hedge fund. It may seem a little odd that in 2011 anyone's thinking of putting money into assets that would have seemed attractive in 1911, but there's something in the air-namely, fear. The hedge fund manager and others like him envision a doomsday scenario catalyzed by a weak dollar, higher-than-you-think inflation and an uncertain political climate here and abroad. The pattern began to emerge sometime in 2008. "The Hedge Fund Manager Who Bought a Farm," read the headline on one February 2008Times of Londonpiece detailing a British hedge fund manager's attempt to play off the rising prices of grains in order to usurp local farmland. AFinancial Timespiece two months later began: "Hedge funds and investment banks are swapping their Gucci for gumboots." It detailed BlackRock's then-relatively new $420 million Agriculture Fund, which had already swept up 2,800 acres of land. Read Full Article RELATED ARTICLE: 5 Easy Ways to Prepare for Food Inflation
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Daily Telegraph (AU) AUSTRALIA is fortunate that its bountiful farm lands provide plenty of food for 21 million people, even during times of drought. But a looming global food shortage has sparked an investment frenzy by cash-rich countries seeking a more secure supply of meat, dairy and other staple foods. We should be very careful before selling off the farm, no matter how strong the impulse to embrace unchecked foreign investment. Australia - sensibly - has placed controls on foreign ownership of sensitive industries including aviation, media and banking. Perhaps it's time for agriculture to be added to the list.
At the very least, Federal Parliament should insist on much greater transparency on who is buying up the scores of smaller farms that are advertised each week for sale in the rural press.
This is not a call to Hansonism protectionism. We cannot afford to shut the gate on much-needed foreign capital.
But equally Australia's national interest will not be served if we simply sell off our prime rural assets to the highest bidder, particularly if they hide behind the cloak of a government-owned entity.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten has flagged an audit of farm sales as part of a bipartisan push for greater transparency. It's a sensible move from a Labor MP considered future leadership material.
But it is only the first step towards a mature debate about Australia's strategic future needs in this vital area.
Heather Callaghan
