Text reads: You can tell if a fruit or vegetable is organic or non-organic by the PLU code. If the number begins with a 9 and is 5 digits, then it's organic. If the number begins with an 8 then it is GM. A label that with 4 digits was conventionally grown.

This picture displays a section of my science project that I did with my friend Petra. We did a project on GMOs. GMOs are Genetically Modified Organisms, which means they were injected with a different animal’s or plant’s genes. All animals, humans, and plants have genes inside their cells. Their genes determine the animal, human or plant’s gender, their eye color (for animals and humans), their height, and so on. Genes are like a computer document that each human, plant, or animal has with information about itself.

What if I told you that when you eat tomatoes that are not organic, you are probably eating fish tomatoes? Eeew, right? Well that is exactly what could be in your tomatoes. The reason it could be a fish tomato is because someone took a tomato gene out of a tomato, and replaced it with a fish gene. Think of it as if genes were guts, and someone replaced your regular insides of a tomato with fish guts. When I first heard this, I was freaked out. I was even more freaked out when I heard that this GMO stuff is not labeled, and therefore, it can be in any food I eat! Then, I learned that there is one type of food that is GMO-free: organic food. Organic foods contain no chemicals, and no GMOs.

Recently, my friend and I found out that there is a way to tell if something is genetically modified, conventionally raised (grown with chemicals), or grown organically. The clue is the PLU codes. What are PLU codes? PLU codes are Price-Look-Up codes. When typed into a certain computer program, they give the price information for a product. Where do you find them? The price-look-up code is only on produce, which means apples, tomatoes, and other unpackaged fruits or vegetables. There are many GMOs that are produce, but most of them are packaged. If they are packaged, they do not need a price-look-up code. Have a look at the PLU codes, and buy organic!

By Morgan Carmen

Milk and Jails, what’s the connection? If jails don’t serve milk to their inmates, how do these two things go together? The organization Milk NOT Jails provides this link, and is in the process of changing rural New York.

Upstate New York used to be affluent in agriculture and animal produce in the late 1820′s, until the infamous car boom. After the transition from boats and railways turned to cars, farmland became abandoned for various reasons, like highways. This is where prisons come in. The government needed space to implement the prison system and the abandoned land of Upstate New York provided it at the time. Now, nearly 100 years later, the American government values the penitentiary system more than much needed agriculture systems, or at least it seems so. I mean, if during the 1990′s a prison was built in rural New York every fifteen days, what does that say about America’s priorities?

The Milk NOT Jails organization strives to change the fact that Upstate New York’s economic success rides on a penal system and they need your help to do so. Join the Milk NOT Jails Campaign by signing up here. Spread the word, email all your friends about them. Fill out their survey that asks about grocery dairy choices by clicking here. For more information on this much needed project please visit their website.

How could you turn down a chance to educate yourself about urban agriculture?  Help East New York Farms by participating in fun and exciting activities that will start your summer off right! Below is a list of skills and volunteer opportunities that East New York Farms displays on their volunteer page.

Skills:
- Seeking volunteers, to host 1 hour activity for small children (children ranging 5 – 10 years old).
- Must be enthusiastic, creative, friendly, patient and able to work well with kids
- Must be 18 or over
- Must be available to work outdoors from 11:30 – 1:00 on Saturdays

Volunteers Needed – Children’s Story Hour

Volunteer at our farmers’ market and coordinate Children’s Story Hour. We are looking for individuals who will commit to 3 Saturdays or more during our market season. You would receive community service hours.

We thought you might like to see, and take action on, this urgent and exciting message from our friends at One Tray and the Community Food Security Coalition:

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES NOW AND URGE THEM TO VOTE YES ON CHILD NUTRITION REAUTHORIZATION

If your Representative sits on the House Education and Labor Committee (click here to find out), we need your help!

Today, the House Committee on Education and Labor is marking up their Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill: H.R. 5504, the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010. H.R. 5504 contains significant improvements to Child Nutrition Programs including increases in program access, improvements to nutritional quality and program integrity,and $50 MILLION IN MANDATORY FUNDING FOR FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAMS. Yes, $50 million!!!

Please make your call today to let your voice for healthy school lunch be heard. Your Members need to hear from you!

THE MESSAGE IS SIMPLE. Tell your Representative to act quickly in marking up the bill and moving it to the House floor for a full vote. Now is the time to improve access to food assistance programs and to enhance the nutrition quality of these programs for our nation’s children.

IT’S EASY. Call the number below, and ask to speak to the Legislative Aide listed. If they do not answer, leave a voice mail with your name, phone number, and the message to vote yes on H.R. 5504 and pass the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill out of committee.

If kids can do it, so can you! Even if your Representative is not on the committee, get inspired by watching a video of kids lobbying Congress to pass a strong Child Nutrition bill this year.

Questions? Please contact the CFSC Policy Office: 202-543-8602

Thanks for pitching in,

Anna & Frances & the Small Planet Team

When asked about their experience, they said,

…it’s not only creating a healthy meal, it’s creating a healthy community. To show that healthy food tastes good. It’s our traditional way to be healthy and we need to get back to that with our traditional foods.

We think they’re doing a great job, and look forward to seeing the schools make positive change in the lunchroom.

Little Chefs

A recent survey conducted by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation concludes that people in America are unhappy with their children’s school lunches. Sixty three percent of parents of school-aged kids described the school lunches in their local school as “poor,” or at best, “fair.” School lunches normally serve tater tots, corn dogs, pizza, and chicken nuggets several times a week, all of which are high in sodium and fats. The study shows that 70% of all Americans want pizza served in school lunches once a week or not at all, and over 60% would want chicken nuggets and hamburgers served once a week or not at all.

Parents of school-aged kids aren’t the only ones who want change. Retired military officers also came out with a report, titled “Too Fat To Fight: Retired Military Leaders Want Junk Food Out of America’s Schools.” It reveals that in one decade (ending in 2008) the states that recorded over 40% of their youth as overweight or obese increased from only one, Kentucky, to a total of thirty-nine. The report also stated that 80% of all the overweight kids aged 10-15 years were obese by the time they were 25. Americans have increased their daily calorie intake by 250-300 calories.

These studies have recognized vending machines filled with junk food as the primary culprit. We hope that something is done fast about this issue, and that kids are offered healthy and nutritious lunches at schools.

San Francisco has a bubbling and fizzing community of urban homesteaders making their own pickles, kombucha, kefir and cider. Thanks to Jaime Gross of the New York Times for sharing this insight into the food scene out there and for giving us a new favorite quote at the end of the article: “Once you get a taste of your own pickles, it’s hard to go back.”

Austin has another amazing approach. Urban Patchwork brings farming to your front yard, they “want to foster a sense of community, to encourage people to meet at the front of the house.” What a great notion! Let’s meet out front and share some tips on gardening, weeding and cooking. These cities provide a wonderful inspiration to bring your own food community to your doorstep and bring them all the way inside!

Presenting our new Family Cook-In! Screening Toolkit. Designed to take your family through an afternoon of learning about food and cooking together — it has games and activites for all aged kids, places to record family recipes, and ideas for real ways you can make a difference.

Enjoy with curious kids and a good meal. Cheers.

As you may or may not know, A-812 bans homebaked goods from bakesales at NYC public schools, while allowing store-bought junk foods. If that makes you hopping mad, head down to city hall on the 18th. There will be two tables, one with homemade treats with a list of ingredients, and one with a heap of junk food. To arms, New York! Bake for freedom!