Friday food news roundup

Food news from around the web for your weekend reading.

Fri, Jan 09 2009 at 1:48 PM

I’d like to think that my posts are so engaging and all-encompassing that you never need to go anywhere else to find out what’s going on in the world of eco-friendly food, but I know that’s not the case. There’s a lot going on out there. On Friday’s I’ll be pointing you to some articles and posts around the web that I think you might find interesting. So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the news.

Earlier this week, I wrote about fruit tree harvesting. I came across a piece from boyandgirlscouts.com about an Eagle Scout who is doing a little harvesting, or gleaning as he calls it, of his own.

I’d never heard of this term in relation to farming, but apparently gleaning is taking all the little leftovers from a crop harvest. The farmer wasn’t going to do anything with it. Might as well use this extra stuff to help other and advance to Eagle at the same time.

Click here to read full story

Bankrate.com offers 17 tips for buy organic food on the cheap.

Do you enjoy the taste of organic food but you're turned off by the price? If you're willing to do some creative shopping and cooking, you can enjoy the freshness and goodness of organic foods without breaking your food budget.

Click here to read the full story

The CSPI Newsroom reports that the FDA will be requiring that products colored with carmine and cochineal list the ingredients by name.

After a decade-long gestation period, the Food and Drug Administration has finally ordered that food and cosmetics manufacturers that color their products with carmine and cochineal list them by name in ingredient lists. Until now, these colorings, extracted from the dried bodies of the tiny cochineal bug, have been hidden under the terms "artificial colors" or "color added." Naming those ingredients on labels will help people who suffered allergic reactions determine if the colors were the culprits.

Click here to read the full story

And finally, in a post not so far away from here, MNN’s family blogger, Jenn Savedge, has ideas for green and healthy birthday cakes for babies.

Hooray, it is your baby’s first birthday! Your little one has probably marked off some major milestones in this first year…her first smile, her first tooth, and maybe even her first step. And now it is time for her first birthday party, and her first birthday cake! If her exposure to sweets has been limited up to this point, this may not be the time to hit her with all of the processed sugars and preservatives found in a traditional cake. Try one of these healthier cake options instead.

Click here to read the full story

Image: Matt Callow

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