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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: wheat

wheat stories: 14 news summaries

Celiac Disease Diagnoses Skyrocket

Many with gluten intolerance may not
know of condition

(Newser) - The number of Americans diagnosed with celiac disease has quadrupled since the 1950s, and the condition "is emerging as a substantial public health concern," Mayo Clinic researchers warn. People who had the gluten-intolerance disease and didn’t know it were four times more likely to have died during... More »

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nutrition study public health gluten wheat Mayo Clinic celiac disease health research

 Fungus Poised 
 to Kill Off 
 World's Wheat 

US scientists race to find plants resistant to the Ug99 fungus

(Newser) - A rust-colored fungus could destroy 80% of the world's wheat crops in a few years unless scientists counter it with genetically resistant strains, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Ug99 fungus—an ancient wheat-killer that rose up again in Africa 10 years ago—is already threatening 19% of the world's... More »

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fungus wheat crops genetic research Uganda Ug99 stem rust

 Investors Sink
 Billions in 'Green Gold' 

But some worry what happens when bottom falls out of farming

(Newser) - Billions of investment dollars are pouring into agriculture as the global demand for food explodes, turning crops such as wheat, corn, and soybeans into green gold, reports the New York Times. And while the immediate impact of more money being fed into agriculture will likely result in increased food production,... More »

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investing agriculture farming corn wheat food prices soybeans

Mag Uses
Wheat Paper
for Green Issue

Canadian publication
is first in N. America to try forest-friendly idea

(Newser) - A Canadian magazine is printing a special environmental issue on paper made from wheat straw, the CBC reports. Canadian Geographic's "wheat sheets," made from harvest waste, will be a first for a North American magazine. Environmentalists say using wheat-straw pulp could save millions of trees every year and... More »

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environment Canada magazine publishing wheat straw

US Predicts Bumper Crops
Will Ease Food Crisis

Record-breaking grain harvests worldwide expected to bring prices back down

(Newser) - Farmers worldwide will reap record-breaking harvests of wheat and rice this year, the US projects, and the news is expected to ease some of the worldwide concern about food prices. The USDA says good weather will bring bumper crops that will replenish depleted stocks, Reuters reports. Analysts warned, however, that... More »

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agriculture farming USDA wheat crops wheat prices food security global food market food supply rice prices

 'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms 

Wheat exports critically low as farmers flee parched land

(Newser) - The worst drought in a century has forced a tenth of Australian farmers off the land, reports the BBC. The "Big Dry" has led to parched farmland across the nation over the last seven years, accelerating the exodus from rural areas. The number of farming families in Australia has... More »

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Australia farming drought wheat farmer farm food shortage

UN May Cut Food Rations
for Schoolkids

Soaring food prices raise 'world's misery index,' group says

(Newser) - Food rations for hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren may be cut because of surging crop prices that have widened the World Food Program’s funding gap to $750 million, Reuters says. The UN food aid agency also blamed the situation on high fuel prices and reductions in new crop plantings.... More »

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United Nations wheat crops rice farmer food prices World Food Program

Corn May Be Recipe for Disaster

Drought would ripple through US economy

(Newser) - The US is becoming so dependent on corn that a drought would have catastrophic effects that would ripple throughout the economy, reports the LA Times. Corn is essential as staple livestock feed, artificial sweetener, and a basic component of ethanol. A "corn shock" could lead to $5 gas and... More »

Boom Time on Heartland Farms

US farmers strike it rich satisfying ethanol, export demands

(Newser) - The US economy may be teetering on a precipice but agriculture is enjoying what one industry analyst is calling a "golden age" after decades of decline, with bountiful harvests of crops and profits. The boom is fueled by the soaring demand from ethanol producers and to fill grain orders... More »

Gluten-Free Diets Gain Converts

Celiac disease, autism forced some to change; others just feel better without it

(Newser) - The tide is turning against gluten as more people ditch the protein—found in bread and just about anything made with wheat, barley, or rye—from their diets, the Chicago Tribune reports. Adherents—and not just those suffering from celiac disease, who cannot tolerate the stuff—blame gluten for a... More »

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Starchy Foods Increase
Diabetes Risk

But adding whole grains to the diet improves the odds

(Newser) - African-American and Chinese women whose diets are high in starchy foods like white rice are at bigger risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, researchers have discovered. The good news is that eating whole-grain foods can help reduce the risk, according to two studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine. As... More »

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bread diabetes public health blood pressure wheat rice black women grains carbs Chinese women

Market Forces Conspire Against English Breakfast

Cost of traditional meal soars with grain prices

(Newser) - Soaring wheat prices are rippling across the British economy and hitting hard in a very important place: the kitchen. The cost of a traditional full English breakfast is on the rise, reports the Times of London, thanks in large part to the price of the grain, which is integral not... More »

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milk eggs wheat shortage Britain groceries grain English breakfast breakfast

Foes Hungry for US Grains

Iran, Venezuela hungry for American corn, wheat

(Newser) - Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has called President Bush Satan, and Iran is that nuclear thorn in Washington's side, but neither country hesitates to import tons of grains straight from America's bread basket—especially during shortages the past few months. "They want to feed their people. They don't want to screw... More »

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Iran agriculture Venezuela corn wheat international relations grains

Farmers Fight
to Legalize
Pot's Cousin

Growing hemp won't harm drug war, say strapped ND growers

(Newser) - The push to legalize hemp—marijuana’s less potent cousin—has some unlikely supporters: North Dakota farmers who couldn't be more conservative in every other respect, the New York Times reports. Hemp, used in clothing, lotions and even snack bars, has become especially attractive to North Dakota because of... More »

14 Stories