Tagged: USDA

Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill are gathering massive amounts of nutritional information to create a better picture of what Americans are eating. 

Scientists are looking at caloric data for every packaged food on the shelves and comparing that to food sales in order to see how they work into Americans' diets.  Professor Meghan Slining says the research will show how quickly manufacturers change ingredients in each product and how that changes nutrition.

Starvation is often considered a problem distant from the American experience. But for many United States citizens, hunger is a way of life. And many of them live right here in North Carolinians.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 636,000 households in the state have been labeled “food insecure” within the past year. This means that over 17 percent of our families lack consistent access to nutritious food. Families hit hardest by food insecurity are Black, Latino and homes led by single mothers.

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says his agency has reached a goal to expand smart grid technology usage. Vilsack says one of the biggest challenges in rural development is the efficient delivery of power. He hopes more money the USDA has secured will help electric co-ops better serve farms and ranches.

Tom Vilsack: "We want to do a better job of working with them to make sure that their customers are as efficient with the use of their electricity and power as possible which is why smart metering makes sense."

The U.S. Secretary of agriculture came to North Carolina to push a plan that may further decrease America's dependence on foreign oil.

Gurnal Scott: USDA secretary Tom Vilsack stood outside the Biofuel Center of North Carolina in Oxford to encourage a new standard in domestically-produced fuel. Vilsack says an E-15 ethanol blend, 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, will not only further wean the country from foreign oil but also create jobs. Vilsack says this should be attractive to farm families.

Preparations are being made to pay thousands of dollars to Native American farmers and ranchers who were discriminated against by the U-S-D-A.