weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food
- Have you visited us on Pinterest yet? A sample of some of our favorite images of the week, above.
- As Supermarkets Spread in Africa, Some Farmers Find It Hard to Compete. "Supermarket chains are rapidly expanding all over Africa. And they're not just changing the way people shop -- they're transforming the way food is produced in a region where agriculture provides almost 60 percent of all jobs. 'The main problem of the small farmer is market access...How will they put (their goods) into the marketplace?' As supermarkets spread, they could lift millions of small farmers out of poverty by buying from them, or competition from big commercial farms could ruin them."
- A slideshow on the fruit carts of LA, "the sudden neighborhood rainbows found on sidewalks and street corners all around this town."
- More college grads are heading to the farm."For decades, the number of farmers has been shrinking as a share of the population, and agriculture has often been seen as a backbreaking profession with little prestige. But the last Agricultural Census in 2007 showed a 4 percent increase in the number of farms, the first increase since 1920, and some college graduates are joining in the return to the land."
- There's a steady stream of bad news about the oceans, but many feel the US can win the war against overfishing, at least domestically. "The U.S. is actually a big success story in rebuilding fish stocks."