BioSentral

Sudan: Living on handouts, and exporting food - Even as it receives a billion pounds of free food from international donors, Sudan is growing and selling vast quantities of its own crops to other countries. [International Herald Tribune]

Wis. woman accused of placing dead rat in food - A woman accused of planting a dead lab rat in restaurant food and demanding $500,000 to keep quiet was charged Monday with one felony count of extortion. Debbie R. Miller, 41, of Appleton, also faces misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer. [Examiner.com]

Community gardens sprouting up as food prices rise - During World Wars I and II, Americans were asked to plant their own fruits and vegetables so farmers could concentrate on producing crops for the military. They were called victory gardens. [The Boston Globe]

Hawaii McDonald's Using Remote Order Takers - Several McDonald's restaurants in Hawaii take customer orders through people working remotely in Texas. [Newsnet5.com Offbeat]

US: Zimbabwe using food as weapon - The U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe said Friday that the government of President Robert Mugabe is using food as a weapon to try to retain power in the presidential run-off election scheduled for June 27. [Seattletimes.com]

Ethanol at a turning point - HENNEPIN, Ill. - When Mark Marquis started building his $180 million ethanol plant along the Illinois River, turning corn into fuel seemed like a license to print money. Ethanol... [BostonHerald.com]

What happens when you get an increased global supply of money, and a growing trend to convert food crops into fuel? Speculation, inflation and comodities doing compete sector shifts. The new weapon that will quelch nations will be food.

High food prices, drought threaten Ethiopia again - KOREM, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Clutching an intricate bronze cross he used to dig graves during Ethiopia's 1984-1985 famine, priest Alemayu Gede prays drought and high food prices will not make him use it as a shovel again.
[Reuters Life & Leisure]

As Food Prices Soar, So Do Sales Of Spam - Consumers are opting for less expensive options like the much maligned meat in a can as a way to stretch out strained food budgets. [CBS News Top Stories]

IMF Head Warns About World Food Prices - The head of the International Monetary Fund warned Saturday that if food prices remain high, there will be dire consequences for people in many developing countries, especially in Africa. [Wcbstv.com]

Water scarcity seen dampening case for biofuel - GENEVA (Reuters) - Water scarcity harms the case for using food crops to make biofuels, a leading environmental author and journalist said on Thursday. [Reuters Science]