Kiko's Food News, 1.31.14

Or maybe I should call today’s issue “Farm Bill News”? 

On Wednesday the House approved a massive five-year farm bill, which includes nearly $1 billion in annual reductions to food stamps (SNAP) that will affect about 850,000 families across the country; the Senate is expected to pass the bill next week: (NPR)

Within the 900 pages of the bill is a nationwide program that will allow low-income families to double their food stamp benefits to buy fruits and veggies at farmers markets; the program provides up to $20 million annually in matching funds for five years: (Washington Post

The bill also signals a win for animal welfare due to the removal of the dangerous King Amendment that would have threatened states’ powers to enact their own agricultural standards (such as California’s mandating larger cages for egg-laying chickens): (Sioux City News)

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A group of “agrarian elders”, including some of the biggest rock stars of the sustainable food movement, met to document what they want to pass on to younger farmers; topics ranged from how they’ve structured C.S.A.'s to how they’ve marketed heirloom varietals to restaurant clients: (New York Times)

India's growing taste for "exotic" veggies like broccoli, leeks and cabbage are making these more profitable for farmers there to cultivate: (BBC)

If you're watching the Superbowl on Sunday, look out for this year's Chipotle production: their new “Farmed and Dangerous” series will take a satirical look at industrial-scale farming to promote the company’s concerns about the humane treatment of meat animals: (New York Times)