The Dairy Show

Italian Cheese "Bail Out"

The makers of Parmigiano Reggiano in Italy are in trouble.  This amazing cheese is made under strict guidelines, by individual farms, has seen its whole sale price drop to a level that makes it unprofitable.  As a partial solution the government of Italy is buying 100,000 wheels to donate to charity. 

You can read more about it in The Wall Street Journal   

and check out this video story with some cool shots of how the cheese is made.

New Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

Obama has picked the former govenor of Iowa to be the next secretary of agriculture.  The sustainable food world seems to be generally disappointed with this choice.

Read more about him here and here at Grist.com

Awaiting Obama's Pick for Secretary of Agriculture

A large number of influential members of the sustainable food and agriculture movements have been weighing in on who they think would be good candidates for the position of Secretary of Agriculture.  Last week 90 of these folks got together and sent a letter to president elect Obama to reccomened six candidates with a sustainable focus.  Check out www.FoodDemocracyNow.Org

Yesterday New York Times Op-Ed columnist Nicholas Kristoff weighed in on this important position:

Obama's Secretary of Food