Friday News Roundup 5/21/10

At the start of the week, the White House released a report on childhood obesity titled, ‘Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity in a Generation.’ The report claims that neither children nor adults are eating enough fruits and vegetables and calls to increase consumption of these foods by 70% by 2020.

Foxnews.com’s LiveTalks blog reported on the Rainville family, Vermont Dairy Farmers who may lose their land to the United States Government who says “it needs 4.9 acres of the family’s property to help protect national security.” Already losing money, the family claims this project will put the farm out of business.

As part of his America’s Great Outdoors initiative, President Obama has launched a national dialogue about conservation in America to learn about some of the smart, creative ways communities are conserving outdoor spaces.  Everyone is invited to add their ideas.

Stonyfield yogurt is hosting a “Barnstorming” blog contest to bring talented bloggers on a tour of the organic dairies that supply Stonyfield with milk for their yogurt. In addition, the winner will award $5,000 to the charity of their choice. The author of “On a Lobster Placemat” chose American Farmland Trust, so cast your vote for “On a Lobster Placemat” today!

The New York Times ran an interesting graphic showing Hewlitt-Packard’s design for a data center run on cow manure.

And the House Agriculture Committee continued its nation-wide series of hearings to Lubbock, TX, to review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.  They too are accepting comments and you can submit your ideas for the 2012 Farm Bill here.