Food

"One young child in four around the world is too malnourished to grow properly, a major new investigation reveals."

"Since January, baby bottles, sippy cups and reusable food containers in Maine have been free of the chemical hardening agent Bisphenol-A. Now, environmental health activists want the state to eliminate BPA from infant formula, baby and toddler foods. The move comes after tests conducted by The Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine and Mainely Moms and Dads also found BPA in those products."

"Chicken farmers nationwide have stopped feeding their flocks a drug containing arsenic since a 2011 government study suggested the cancer-causing metal may be tainting poultry, but Maryland lawmakers are still struggling with whether to ban the once-widespread practice."

"NAIROBI, Kenya -- The United Nations said Friday that Somalia's famine is over, but the world body's Food and Agricultural Organization warned that continued assistance is needed to stop the region from slipping back."

"An outbreak of bacterial infections on the East Coast illustrates the popularity of raw, unpasteurized milk despite strong warnings from public health officials about the potential danger."

"The U.S. Agriculture Department on Friday awarded $40.2 million in grants to farmers, ranchers and farmer-controlled rural business ventures aimed at spurring locally produced food supplies and renewable energy ventures."

"Hoping to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity, the Obama administration on Wednesday announced its long-awaited changes to government-subsidized school meals, a final round of rules that adds more fruits and green vegetables to breakfasts and lunches and reduces the amount of salt and fat."

"ONAMI, Japan -- In the fall, as this valley’s rice paddies ripened into a carpet of gold, inspectors came to check for radioactive contamination."

"Onami sits just 35 miles northwest of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which spewed radioactive cesium over much of this rural region last March. However, the government inspectors declared Onami’s rice safe for consumption after testing just two of its 154 rice farms.