Today's news - 31 January 2013

 "One of the problems is we have a global food industry that is all about producing cheap foods. Retailers should think about the security of their food supply chain and we need to think about the long term."
Soil Association director Helen Browning
BBC Newsnight (aired 30 Jan 10.30pm)

Newsnight: What are you eating?
Soil Association director Helen Browning joins Professor Philip James, Food Policy expert, to discuss the food industry following the horse burger meat scandal.
BBC Newsnight (aired 30 Jan 10.30pm)

Fears over school meal standards as children's food charity loses funding
Childhood nutrition campaigners have expressed alarm after the government confirmed it will cut off all funding to the Children's Food Trust, the main organisation which monitors the quality of meals served in schools, in the next few weeks.
The Guardian (30 Jan)
Find out about the Food For Life Partnership

Rice of ages
An heirloom species of this staple grain thrives only in a tiny pocket of East China, but scientists say its potential could be huge, Jin Zhu reports in Wannian, Jiangxi province.
Twenty hectares of arable land, tucked away in a mountain valley in Jiangxi province, may have a role to play in solving the worldwide food shortage.
China Daily (30 Jan)

GMO Labelling to appear on Washington ballot
Anti-biotechnology activists submitted 350,000 signatures from registered Washington voters to put a proposed genetic modification labelling law on the state’s November 2013 election ballot. The 350,000 signatures must be verified, but there are 100,000 more than necessary to put the measure on the ballot.
Heartland.org (30 Jan)
The Soil Association’s position on GM

'No sell-off' for public forests
The government has announced that it will not sell off publicly owned forests in England. It says it will create a new public body that will hold in trust the nation's forests for future generations. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson was responding to a report that called the estate a "national asset" that should not be sold off.
BBC News (31 Jan)

UK bans sale of five invasive non-native aquatic plants
Floating pennywort, one of the species to be banned, can grow up to 20cm (8in) per day
Five species of invasive non-native aquatic plants are to be banned from sale, the UK government has announced. In the first ban of its kind, officials hope the move will save money and help protect vulnerable habitats.
BBC News (29 Jan)

Crunch vote on nuclear dump in Lake District
Proposals to store nuclear waste under England's largest national park and other areas of outstanding natural beauty will face stormy opposition this week. A decision to abandon or press on with a nuclear waste dump in Cumbria will be made by three councils on Wednesday. The result will have major implications for energy policy, experts warn.
The Independent (27 Jan)

Heresy? Perhaps. English whisky gains a footing
When Rabbie Burns wrote his poem eulogising the virtues of whisky as the “soul o’plays and pranks” worthy of “a bardie’s gratfu’ thanks”, it is less than likely that he had in mind a spirit distilled in Perfidious Albion.
The Independent (25 Jan)

Adult animals hit hard by Schmallenberg infection
Schmallenberg virus could be affecting adult animals far worse than previously thought, farmers and farm vets have warned.
Farmers Weekly (31 Jan)

Devolved bodies call for change to levy system
Promotion of Scotch and Welsh beef and lamb could be at risk unless there is a rethink of the red meat levy distribution system, Hybu Cig Cymru has warned.
Farmers Weekly (30 Jan)

Tesco announces £2m DNA testing regime
Tesco has announced it is introducing ‘comprehensive’ DNA testing in the wake of the horse meat scandal which continues to have massive repercussions across the food chain.
Farmers Guardian (31 Jan)

Farming Today
British demands that the European Commission gets tough over the sows stall ban.
BBC Radio 4 (31 Jan)

And finally… Mud: Tokyo's latest culinary sensation
The Guardian (30 Jan)