About

La Vida Locavore is the blog for anyone whose crazy life includes planting, growing, weeding, fertilizing, raising, picking, harvesting, processing, cooking, baking, making, serving, buying, selling, distributing, transporting, composting, organizing around, lobbying about, writing about, thinking about, talking about, playing with, and eating food!

Notable Diaries

- Recent Congressional Hearings
- 2008 By The Numbers
- The 2007 Ag Census
- Why I Oppose GMOs
- My Visit to Growing Power
- My Trip to a Hog Confinement
- Why We Grow So Much Corn and Soy
- How the Chicken Gets to Your Plate

Politicians To Know

USDA

Senate

Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Pat Leahy (D-VT)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)

Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Senate Hunger Caucus

House

Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
*=House Organic Caucus member
B=Blue Dog Democrat

Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA)
*=House Organic Caucus member

P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC)
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

House Organic Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus

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Stevia

Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 10:00:00 AM PDT

Kellogg's Mini Wheats are not brain food. Officially. Thanks, Federal Trade Commission. Now can you crack down on those obnoxious Function Drinks and their outrageous label claims?
Natasha Chart wrote up a fantastic piece about why the three sisters (corn, beans, and squash) are so darn nifty.
Civil Eats writes about Obama's First 100 Days They give the Obamas a B- as a couple, but Michelle is the A student between the two of them when it comes to food and agriculture. (Obama Foodorama also rates Obama's first 100 days. Both articles are worth a read, IMO.)
Does nanotechnology belong in organics? Broadly speaking, Consumers Union says no, although they note that "it all depends on what one means by nanotechnology."
Eating Liberally interviewed one of my favorite people ever, Tim LaSalle, in their article The Doctor with a Dirty Prescription to Purge Our Bodies and the Planet. Which reminds me, I saw an awesome bumper sticker that calls on us to stop treating our soil like dirt. I totally want one!!!
Ha!!! Marion Nestle discusses whether stevia is really natural. You see, stevia is a plant that IS sweet but it has its own flavor. I like using its leaves in teas or curries, but you certainly wouldn't make a batch of cookies using a bunch of ground up stevia leaves. Instead, companies have to "fuss with it" (as Nestle puts it) to cover up the stevia taste if they want to use it as a sweetener. And then is the resulting product still "natural"?
Smart Money shows the cost of 100 calories at fast food joints. More like Dumb Money if that's how people are planning their food budgets. Hat tip to Marion Nestle.
Lucky Seattle residents have a new ferry farm stand to look forward to. Commuting just got a lot healthier :)
Oh Michele Bachmann. Who will we have to laugh at after we vote you out of office in 2010? Her latest is that CO2 isn't bad because it's a natural byproduct of nature.
Grist examines the differences between soy milk, rice milk, and hemp milk.
I was glad to read this post from the Internet Food Association that says avocado oil can withstand high heat. Around here, eating local means eating avocado oil. I've visited Bella Vado and watched how they made theirs. Mmm!
Grossed out Madison, WI students boycott school lunch. Way to go, kids! When the grown-ups fail you, take matters into your own hands!

Discuss :: (6 Comments)

More on Artificial Sweeteners: Stevia

by: Asinus Asinum Fricat

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 10:32:25 AM PDT

The piece I wrote on artificial sweeteners two days ago did not include Stevia. A few posters asked me what I thought of it. I did a little research, it's not conclusive but the safety of Stevia has been called into question again after scientists at the University of California said further tests were needed on potential cancer causing properties before the sweetener is used in food and drink. Are you surprised? Stevia is permitted for sale as a dietary supplement in the US on the basis of its low glycemic index. However, it does not have FDA GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for use in food and beverages.

So what are the big boys doing about it? Follow me over the jump.

There's More... :: (1 Comments, 565 words in story)