A new study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service is taking one of those excuses off the table.

Previous studies have shown that eating junk food is cheaper than eating healthy food. But Andrea Carlson, lead author for the USDA study, said the way those researchers measured cost-effectiveness skewed the results.

Carlson and her team analyzed 4,439 foods in three different ways – price per calories (as previous studies had done), price per edible gram and price per average portion. Retail prices were based on Nielsen Homescan data. The average portion was determined from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The researchers found that when they used the price per calories analysis, fruits and vegetables appeared

Article Source: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/17/usda-healthy-food-isnt-really-more-expensive/

When
Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 it set up an
independent advisory panel, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)
that, uniquely, has statutory power. Any synthetic input or ingredient
used in organic farming or food production must be reviewed by the NOSB
to assure that it is not a threat to human health or the environment.

The

Article Source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Organic-Watergate-Adv-by-The-Cornucopia-Ins-120518-587.html

Part Two of The Current

Checking – In

Our Friday host, CBC TV’s Marketplace co-host, Erica Johnson joined Anna Maria from Vancouver this morning to check in with your comments.

Shin Dong-hyuk: The political prison camps in North Korea rarely make the news because those who have seen them, are rarely able to share their stories with the world. But Monday, we caught a rare glimpse through the eyes of Shin Dong-hyuk. He is believed to

Article Source: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/05/17/checking---in-5/index.html

In fact, the spider — with its beady black eyes and waving hairy electronic legs — looked rather sweet, like a 6-foot-tall Muppet tarantula.

“Xtreme BUGS”

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends from Saturday, May 19, through Friday, Sept. 7

Where: Brookfield Zoo, 1st Avenue and 31st Street, Brookfield

Price: $3-$5 admission to “Xtreme BUGS” exhibit, in addition to the $10.50-$15 general zoo admission. Children younger than 2 admitted free. Discounted combo tickets can be purchased at participating Dominick’s stores for $10.80 for kids ages 3-11 and seniors 65 and older, and $16 for adults. Parking costs $10.

Information: (708) 688-8000 or czs.org

The spider is one of 22

Article Source: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120518/entlife/705189995

Come out to the free workshop on June 2nd from 10 until 11:30 a.m. at SBCC’s Lifescape Gardens 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara. The gardens are on top of the hill behind La Playa Stadium. Parking is available on site.

The County of Santa Barbara’s compost expert will show you all the ins and outs of composting. Find out how it works, how to speed up your compost and what to expect from your home compost.

“Up to 40% of what we throw away every day can be composted” says Jeff Simeon, backyard composting specialist at the County. “We will show you how to take those scraps and turn them into black gold for your gardens and house plants.”

County Public Works holds this free event and sells discounted backyard composting bins to help local residents take advantage of this cost-effective way to handle food scraps and other plant based wastes.

Directions to Article Source: http://www.independent.com/news/2012/may/18/free-compost-workshop-comes-santa-barbara/