Recently added articles from Amber Waves:
Consumer Preferences Change Wheat Flour Use
Sep 01, 2008; ... After 5 years of declining flour use in the U.S., ERS estimates an increase in per capita wheat flour use to 137.9 pounds in 2007, up 2.3 pounds from a year earlier. The 2007 total is still down 8.9 pounds from its high in 1997. ERS calculates per capita use by dividing the total annual ...
What's Behind the Surge in Global Rice Prices?
Sep 01, 2008; ... U.S. and global rice prices surged to record highs this spring. Thailand's high-quality long-grain rice-a benchmark for global trading prices-exceeded $1,000 per ton in late April 2008, double its price in early February and triple prices of a year earlier. U.S. prices soared as well, with ...
Use of Nutrition Labels Declining, Especially Among Young Adults
Sep 01, 2008; ... For more than 10 years, Americans have had access to standardized nutrition information on almost all packaged foods. The current format of the Nutrition Facts panel was introduced in 1994, following the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990. In addition, Federal regulators placed ...
Despite Higher Food Prices, Percent of U.S. Income Spent on Food Remains Constant
Sep 01, 2008; ... Over the past 2 years, U.S. food prices have risen faster than at any time since 1990. Prices for all food purchased in the U.S. increased 4.0 percent in 2007, up from the 2.4-percent gain in 2006. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics collects price data for food ...
Rapid Growth in Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops Continues in U.S.
Sep 01, 2008; ... U.S. farmers have rapidly adopted genetically engineered (GE) soybeans, cotton, and corn with herbicide tolerance and/or insect resistance traits over the 13 years since their commercial introduction. According to ERS research, U.S. farmers are realizing economic benefits from GE crops, ...
Fee Hunting May Boost Farm Income, Wildlife Habitat
Sep 01, 2008; ... Hunting is a recreation activity that mostly occurs on private land, where the right to hunt is controlled by landowners. In most cases, such use of private land is arranged through personal contacts. However, some U.S. landowners market hunting opportunities by managing wildlife on their ...
U.S. Organic Handlers Mostly Small, Focus on Fruit and Vegetables
Sep 01, 2008; ... Retail sales of organic food increased an average of 17 percent annually between 1995 and 2006. This growth was accompanied by significant changes in organic food marketing. Organic versions of conventional brands (such as Organic Rice Krispies) and private label organic products are now ...
Small Farms Still Important in Broiler Production
Sep 01, 2008; ... Agricultural production is shifting to large farms: in 2006, farms with at least $500,000 in sales accounted for over 60 percent of U.S. agricultural commodity sales. But broiler production - raising young chickens for meat - remains an exception. While U.S. broiler operations are getting ...
Obesity in the Midst of Unyielding Food Insecurity in Developing Countries
Sep 01, 2008; ... Income disparity within and among developing countries explains how there can be obesity in the midst of undernutrition. Rising incomes, urbanization, global integration, and more supermarkets have contributed to increased consumption of convenient, high-calorie foods among the higher ...
Regulating Agricultural Imports To Keep Out Foreign Pests and Disease
Sep 01, 2008; ... * Increasing agricultural imports benefits U.S. consumers, but shipments can transport harmful foreign pests and diseases. * The United States and other nations use a number of approaches to reduce risks to agriculture and the environment from pests and diseases entering through ...
Creating Markets for Environmental Stewardship: Potential Benefits and Problems
Sep 01, 2008; ... * Farmers and other landowners typically under-provide environmental services such as clean air and water, carbon sequestration, and improved wildlife habitat, * Markets for environmental services could increase farmer investments in environmental stewardship, thereby expanding the ...
Balancing Nutrition, Participation, and Cost in the National School Lunch Program
Sep 01, 2008; ... * Schools face the dual constraints of meeting nutrition requirements and covering costs. * The free-meal subsidy covers most of the per meal cost, but the price paid by most paying students covers only half of the per meal cost. * School foodservice managers say that to appeal ...
Productivity Growth Drives Expanded Agricultural Production
Sep 01, 2008; ... U.S. agriculture relies almost entirely on productivity growth, primarily from innova- tion and changes in technology, to raise out- put. Total production nearly tripled between 1948 and 2004, while land in agriculture fell by one-quarter and labor declined by three- quarters. Because of high ...
Marketing Loans Induced Acreage Expansion in U.S. Dry Peas
Jun 01, 2008; ... The 2002 Farm Act signaled a new era within the U.S. dry edible pea and lentil industry by initiating a Federal loan program for producers. The program, known as the Marketing Loan Program, assures producers of an effective grower price not lower than the loan rate, thereby reducing market risk ....
ERS and Collaborators Model Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreaks
Jun 01, 2008; ... Maintaining the competitiveness of U.S. livestock and poultry in domestic and international markets requires addressing the challenges and anticipating the disruptions of disease threats. Despite some successes in eradicating livestock diseases (contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, 1892; ...
Lower Income Households Spend Additional Income on Foods Other Than Fruit and Vegetables
Jun 01, 2008; ... On average, Americans do not consume enough fruit and vegetables, despite the recommendations outlined in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The discrepancy between actual and recommended consumption is even larger for low-income households. They score below higher income households on ...
Almonds Lead Increase in Tree Nut Consumption
Jun 01, 2008; ... Americans increased their consumption of tree nuts by 45 percent between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, with almonds being among the favorites. Promotional programs that advertise the nutritional value of nuts, including beneficial levels of vitamin E and omega fatty acids, have likely contributed ...
Pest Problems Abroad May Affect Compliance With U.S. Safeguards
Jun 01, 2008; ... Ninety-five percent of Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) outbreaks in the continental United States since 1929 have occurred in Florida and California. USDA, along with California's and Florida's departments of agriculture, use preventive release programs to reduce the severity and frequency of ...
Soil Conservation Preserves Reservoir Benefits Nationwide
Jun 01, 2008; ... Over 75,000 reservoirs in the 48 contiguous States provide recreation, scenic beauty, flood control, fish and wildlife habitat, water supplies, hydroelectric power, and other benefits. But over time, sediment settling to the bottom of reservoirs reduces their water-holding capacity and the ...
A Look at the Economic Well-Being of Farm Households
Jun 01, 2008; ... Average farm household income has consistently exceeded that of all U.S. households for more than a decade. Nonetheless, nearly 12 percent of farm households were classified as poor in 2004, based on the official U.S. definition of poverty, only slightly less than the 12.6 percent of nonfarm ...