Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government and Mexican tomato growers reached a tentative agreement on Saturday that reduces the threat of a costly trade war stemming from a U.S. decision last year to pull out of a 1996 bilateral tomato trade pact. "I am pleased that we were able to come to an agreement on fresh tomato imports from Mexico that restores stability and confidence to the U.S. tomato market and meets the requirements of U.S. law,"€� U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sanchez said in a statement.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters threw tomatoes and shoes at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's motorcade on Sunday during her first visit to Egypt since the election of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. A tomato struck an Egyptian official in the face, and shoes and a water bottle landed near the armoured cars carrying Clinton's delegation in the port city of Alexandria. A senior state department official said that neither Clinton nor her vehicle, which were around the corner from the incident, were struck by any of the projectiles. Protesters chanted: "Monica, Monica", a reference to Former President Bill Clinton's extra-marital...

See the cross? See it? Why are you laughing? Warning! Your salad could be making you into an Infidel! "Salafist group warns tomatoes are 'Christian,'” by Angie Nassar for NowLebanon.com, June 12 (thanks to Lachlan) ...A Salafist group called the Popular Egyptian Islamic Association has come under fire after sending out a warning on Facebook urging its followers not to eat tomatoes because the vegetable (or fruit) is a Christian food. The group posted a photo on its page of a tomato - which appears to reveal the shape of a cross after being cut in half – along with...

A Salafist group from Egypt appears to be trying to retract a post on Facebook that warned that eating tomatoes are "forbidden because they are Christian." However, the Muslim traditionalist group, calling themselves the Popular Egyptian Islamic Association, apparently still finds tomatoes offensive if they are cut in such a way that reveals the shape of a cross, according to the Now Lebanon website. Along with a photo of a tomato cut in half to reveal what could be viewed as a cross, the group originally posted on Facebook: "Eating tomatoes is forbidden because they are Christian. [The tomato] praises...

The mass-produced tomatoes we buy at the grocery store tend to taste more like cardboard than fruit. Now researchers have discovered one reason why: a genetic mutation, common in store-bought tomatoes, that reduces the amount of sugar and other tasty compounds in the fruit. SNIP But the new study, published this week in Science, found that the mutation that leads to the uniform appearance of most store-bought tomatoes has an unintended consequence: It disrupts the production of a protein responsible for the fruit's production of sugar. SNIP The study authors set out to pin down the genetic change that makes...

Biden to 'dull as hell' fundraiser crowd: 'Pretend you like me' By Justin Sink - 04/27/12 12:38 PM ET Vice President Biden ordered supporters to "pretend you like me" after mocking them as "dull as hell" at a campaign fundraiser in Washington on Friday. The vice president was speaking to Turkish and Azerbaijani donors about the potential of the region as a democratic and economic force when he noticed he wasn't getting much of a reception. “I guess what I’m trying to say without boring you too long at breakfast – and you all look dull as hell, I might...

Complete planting guide for Tomatoes including state specific varieties, planting dates, nutrition facts, planting, watering, fertilizing, insect and disease control information...

Are heirlooms really as good and tasty as good old hybrids like Better Boy or BeefMaster? I am growing Old German, Cherokee Purple, Boxcar Willie and several yellows... I've dedicated the majority of my small garden to heirlooms. Hope they are all they are cracked up to be.

. Good afternoon gardeners! After a high of 81 degrees yesterday, we are at 50 degrees today after experiencing high winds and 3 inches of rain last night. Radar would indicate that there is more rain to come, as I see it in Texas right now. I hope that all of our Texas gardeners are catching up on much needed rain! PTL!We have so many new gardeners in our group, in addition to folks with the desire to begin gardening, that I thought a primer on transplanting might be useful. Please feel free to add to the discussion with...

Anyone ever compost tomato plants to use in the next tomato garden? Or is that too 'in-bred'?

What does Korean fried chicken and tomatoes have in common? Shrill protestors attempting to shame large food companies into overcharging consumers for their product in the name of either job protection for the smaller producers or increase wages for "underpaid" workers. Both camps showed a shrewd application of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. Exhibit A: Back in December of last year, Korean food chaebol Lotte started selling buckets of Korean fried chicken in their Lotte Mart grocery stores for 5,000 won each. The Lotte Mart Korean fried chicken bucket quickly gained a good enough reputation that customers stood in long...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- Hundreds of marijuana plants were seized by police officers on 4/20, a day celebrated in the drug culture to use marijuana. But when Independence, Mo., police showed up at one man's door looking for marijuana, they found something else. Independence police found a growing operation Wednesday afternoon: a tomato growing operation. "What I saw today was not protection," the man told KMBC's Cliff Judy. "That was harassment, all because of where I made a purchase." Independence police said the Missouri Highway Patrol monitors stores that sell hydroponic growing equipment, and they use those sales to track down...

Here's an announcement to its customers that I'm told came directly from Sysco Foods. ALL OF OUR GROWERS HAVE INVOKED THE ACT OF GOD CLAUSE ON OUR CONTRACTS (Force majuere) DUE TO THE FOLLOWING RELEASE. WE WILL BE CONTACTING YOU PERSONALLY TO REVIEW HOW THIS WILL AFFECT OUR CONTRACTED ITEMS WITH YOU GOING FORWARD. THE DEVASTATING FREEZE IN MEXICO IS WORST FREEZE IN OVER 50 YEARS... THE EXTREME FREEZING TEMPERATURES HIT A VERY BROAD SECTION OF MAJOR GROWING REGIONS IN MEXICO, FROM HERMOSILLO IN THE NORTH ALL THE WAY SOUTH TO LOS MOCHIS AND EVEN SOUTH OF CULIACAN. THE EARLY...

They are the most widely produced fruit in the world and now scientists in Japan have discovered that tomatoes contain a nutrient which could tackle the onset of vascular diseases. The research, published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, reveals that an extracted compound, 9-oxo-octadecadienoic, has anti-dyslipidemic affects. The team led by Dr Teruo Kawada, from Kyoto University and supported by the Research and Development Program for New Bio-industry Initiatives, Japan, focused their research on extracts which tackle dyslipidemia, a condition which is caused by an abnormal amount of lipids, such as cholesterol or fat, in the blood...

Police last month raided an Española-area school looking for marijuana growing in a greenhouse, but all they found there were tomatoes. Patricia Pantano, education director of the Camino de Paz Montessori School and Farm in Cuarteles, between Española and Chimayó on N.M. 76, said the raid occurred Sept. 21 during the lunch hour. "We were all as a group eating outside as we usually do, and this unmarked drab-green helicopter kept flying over and dropping lower," she said. "Of course, the kids got all excited. They were telling me that they could see gun barrels outside the helicopter. I was...

The great thinker Stephen Colbert testified on the Comedy Hill that most soil is at ground level. It is scientifically true; however, the proposed solutions were not common sense. There is no need to lift the ground up to waist level; instead we should bring back the workers who are closer to the ground. For millions of years of human history these were the kids. America has record teenage unemployment. Yet the US is importing workers from the other side of the mountain, through the desert and over the river. The American kids can pick up the veggies and...

the plot: angry farmer becomes a sort of johnny tomato-seed. A futuristic society has outlawed seeds, but 1 farmer prefers to use them because the tomatoes taste better. Authorities destroy his crop, but he remembers he has some spare seeds stored a farmer's museum he maintained. He takes the seeds and travel the country planting them. This movie was in French with subtitles, most likely black & white, unknown what year. I have tried imdb advanced search to no avail. Thanks for any help.

Growing crops that dangle upside down from homemade or commercially available planters is growing more popular, and its adherents swear they’ll never come back down to earth. ----snip--- The advantages of upside-down gardening are many: it saves space; there is no need for stakes or cages; it foils pests and fungus; there are fewer, if any, weeds; there is efficient delivery of water and nutrients thanks to gravity; and it allows for greater air circulation and sunlight exposure. While there are skeptics, proponents say the proof is in the produce. Tomato and jalapeño seedlings sprout from upside-down planters fashioned out...

THE TIMES OF INDIA: Diphu (Assam) - "HUGE QUANTITIES OF EXPLOSIVES RECOVERED, TWO ARRESTED" SNIPPET: "... at Bokajan area and recovered 1200 detonators, 75 kg of explosives and five kgs of fuse wire, which they had kept concealed inside boxes of tomatoes. The duo, identified as Tazika and Thuk from Nagaland's Phek district, were arrested, sources..."

Reporting from Sacramento - To his friends, Randall Lee Rahal was just a food salesman, someone who routinely left his home on Shadyside Road in Ramsey, N.J., to crisscross the country hawking California tomatoes. The 61-year-old sold them pureed. He sold them crushed. He sold them roasted and mashed into paste. His clients were food manufacturers, supermarket chains and other commercial buyers who turned his products into soup, ketchup and salsa. But in the eyes of the Justice Department, Rahal was Tomato Enemy No. 1 -- a produce scofflaw who allegedly peeled off $100 bills and carried cash-stuffed envelopes to...

A man was arrested for allegedly throwing two tomatoes at Sarah Palin from the second floor balcony during a book signing event at the Mall of America in Minnesota, MyFoxTwinCities.com. reported. Neither tomato came close hitting the former 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, but did hit a police officer in the face, the station reported. The unidentified man may face charges for assaulting a police officer, according to the station. Die-hard supporters treated the event like another Black Friday, lining up outside in freezing weather before the mall doors opened at 5 a.m. Emily Calhoon, a high school junior from...

VICTORIAN health authorities have renewed their warnings over links between semi-dried tomatoes and an outbreak of hepatitis A ... "Because the incubation period for hepatitis A could be as long as two months, trying to get people who fell ill to accurately pin down what and where they actually ate this product can be difficult," Dr Carnie said. Bottled semi-dried tomatoes in supermarkets were pasteurised and considered safe along with any of the cooked product such as in pizzas or quiches. The greatest risk would appear to be at restaurants and cafes, where semi-dried tomatoes are served in foods such...

The tomato pill: Daily dose is as good for the heart as Mediterranean food By TAMARA COHEN 31st August 2009 British scientists have developed a groundbreaking pill which provides all the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet. One capsule of Ateronon taken daily can break down fatty deposits in the arteries and help prevent heart disease and strokes, potentially saving millions of lives. The supplement, which costs £35 for a month's supply, contains lycopene, a chemical found in the skin of ripe tomatoes. Each pill provides the equivalent of eating three kilos of ripe tomatoes. Studies have shown eating an...

Chef Nettie loves to have people sit down listen to some good jazz and eat a wonderful meal that she has prepared. A graduate to the Culinary Institute, Chef Nettie would always feed people who came by the house. Her children was always bringing some kids home with them, so she would have to stretch the food more. So at an early age she learn how to role dough and make things from scratch because it was cheaper. On Saturday afternoons friends and relatives would come over to Netties house and while nettie was putting something on the grill the...

How do you get the skin off tomatoes to make a spaghetti sauce? I have gotten a bumper crop of tomatoes and made some awesome spaghetti sauce. With my first pot of sauce, I made the mistake of not skinning the tomatoes first.

So today, I had the first serious round of my great grandmother Hale’s sliced tomatoes, a recipe from the Hale House tea room in Glastonbury, CT from– I’m not sure– the twenties? It’s simple but guaranteed if the ingredients are exactly right– garden fresh tomatoes and basil, in particular. I’m posting this in part to taunt a regular reader in Maine, where high Summer has apparently not arrived to this extent....

The national highway passing Kolar, 70km from Bangalore, has seen a lot of red on its surface for years now. The colour-coated stretch is the result of tomatoes dumped by farmers protesting a price crash. This week, too, the disgruntled lot threw their crop on the highway after the prices fell from Rs 80 per kilogram to Rs 15-25 a kg. An appeal had earlier been made to the government to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre to tomato growers. The farmers’ action blocked the highway for hours this week. After their unique protest ended, the crushed tomatoes...

A handsome new book by Amy Goldman jump-started memories of my family saving seeds from our beloved yellow oxheart tomatoes through fall and winter for spring planting. This was our heirloom tomato, although we did not think of it as such. In reading Miss Goldman's "The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table" (Bloomsbury), I learned that one woman, who was involved with preserving a strain her ancestors had brought when they emigrated from Germany, still puts sugar on her sliced tomatoes. I remember my grandmother doing this, although she also added a few drops of vinegar on the slices of...

The salmonella strain linked to a nationwide outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, federal health officials said Wednesday. "We have a smoking gun, it appears," said Dr. Lonnie King who directs the center for foodborne illnesses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Disfigured fruits and vegetables could be allowed in stores after most European Union members voted to loosen restrictions on produce, officials say. Misshapen bananas and cucumbers could be in stores by next year if reforms on produce rules are carried out, The Telegraph reported Thursday. The Telegraph said produce standards are so strict, many edible foods are discarded by farmers. European agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said she thinks some regulations should also be thrown out for onions, garlic, cauliflower and spinach. In this era of high prices and growing demand, it makes no sense to throw (misshapen fruit and...

Tomatoes are OK, but watch out for jalapenos, avocados and serrano peppers. That’s what state and federal health departments are saying now after months of searching for the source of a nationwide salmonella outbreak. Originally thought to be traced to tomatoes, now, after Texas and North Carolina’s departments of state health services located tainted produce from a south Texas importer/distributor, officials are telling people to be wary of other produce often used in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. The importer, Grande Produce, is conducting a voluntary recall of all peppers and avocados it distributed. Confusion among what to eat and what...

WASHINGTON -- More than 1,000 people have become sick in the salmonella outbreak originally blamed on tomatoes, and federal health officials now say jalapeno peppers appear more likely to be at fault, at least in three large clusters of illnesses. The outbreak has caused the death of a Texas man in his 80s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. The agency said the outbreak may also have contributed to the death of another Texas man, who had cancer. As of Tuesday, 1,017 people -- from 41 states, the District of Columbia and Canada -- had become sick...

The most recent outbreak of salmonella poisoning of produce caused much alarm across the country and cost American tomato growers millions in lost revenue. As of this writing, over 900 salmonella cases have been diagnosed in 40 states. While American farmers struggled as the CDC did their best to pin the tainted tomatoes on them, their crops rotted on docks and in warehouses as consumers refused to buy potentially contaminated goods. For those of us in Arkansas, it was a relief when our famous Bradley County pink tomatoes were cleared; harvesting had not begun when the outbreak occurred.

In a startling new development in the Salmonella crisis, focus is shifting away from the tomato as the main suspect. Investigators had previously named the tomato as a "..vegetable of interest.." in the case, but have since sought to backpedal on the pronouncement. As of noon, tomorrow, over 3,000 law firms have filed Motions of Habeus Chorus against the FDA, seeking billions in legal fees. "The taxpayers must be protected," explained Mary Exmas, a partner in the firm Fennel, Romaine and Kale, "from those who would hold foodstuffs hostage without being charged. They rushed to judgement on the tomato, acting...

Before the racist idiots start sending hate mail, when I say "Black Arts," it's not a race thing. It means "magic," which apparently Al Gore believes that Barack Obama can perform. and no-one's called him on it. Here's a direct quote from Al Gore's intro and endorsement of Barack Hussein Obama in Michigan, yesterday (TRANSCRIPT HERE): If you care about food safety, if you like a "T" on your BLT, you know elections matter. Huh? Who knew this election was about restoring dignity to fast food? I've criticized President Bush on many things, for which he is responsible. But he...

A several-month-old outbreak of food poisoning linked to a bacterium called Salmonella Saintpaul in raw tomatoes is affecting consumers nationwide. Almost 200 cases of illness have been reported in 16 states in the West, Midwest and Northeast. Many restaurants and supermarkets across the country have pulled fresh tomatoes from their menus and produce aisles. Tenders of tomatoes and savorers of salads are suffering, to be sure, but this is also the organic-food industry's worst nightmare: The surest ways to prevent such outbreaks are "Frankenfood" and irradiation, both anathema to obsessive organickers and other food-kooks. Government estimates tell us food contaminated...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parts of Florida and Mexico were supplying "the vast majority" of tomatoes sold when the salmonella outbreak began in April and thus remain leading suspects, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday. But the FDA hasn't narrowed its hunt to just those two places, said Dr. David Acheson, the agency's food safety chief. "The logical assumption would be that Florida or Mexico are the most likely source" because of the outbreak's timing, he told The Associated Press. "But we have not simply shifted the focus to those two places. ... It's wide open for anybody not on...

Parts of Florida and Mexico were supplying "the vast majority" of tomatoes sold when the salmonella outbreak began in April and thus remain leading suspects, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday. But the FDA hasn't narrowed its hunt to just those two places, said Dr. David Acheson, the agency's food safety chief. "The logical assumption would be that Florida or Mexico are the most likely source" because of the outbreak's timing, he told The Associated Press. "But we have not simply shifted the focus to those two places. ... It's wide open for anybody not on that exclusion list."...

MEXICO CITY - Export-quality tomatoes labeled "Ready to Eat" in English flooded Mexico City markets on Thursday after a salmonella scare in the U.S. trapped them south of the border. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers against three types of raw tomatoes that have sickened 167 people in 17 states since mid-April. It has not pinpointed the outbreak's source, but cleared imports from six countries _ though not from Mexico, which supplies 80 percent of tomatoes imported into the U.S. Tomatoes from several counties in Florida are also under suspicion, the FDA said. Mexican growers and government...

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida's tomato industry is in "complete collapse" and growers in California and Mexico are having trouble selling their crops as U.S. regulators hunt the source of a salmonella outbreak linked to certain tomato varieties, growers said on Tuesday. In Florida, the No. 1 U.S. tomato producer, $40 million worth of tomatoes will rot unless the U.S. Food and Drug Administration quickly traces the source of the outbreak and clears the state's produce, an industry official said. "We've had to stop packing, stop picking," said Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. "The stuff...

<p> FDA Home Page | Search FDA Site | FDA A-Z Index | Contact FDA Salmonellosis Outbreak in Certain Types of Tomatoes Updated: June 9, 2008 Topics on this Page IntroductionUpdate on the OutbreakNews UpdatesAdvice for Retailers, Restaurateurs and Food Service Operators Consumer Health Information What Is FDA Doing?Information About Salmonella How Do I Report a Tomato Complaint? Introduction The Food and Drug Administration is alerting consumers nationwide that a salmonellosis outbreak appears to be linked to consumption of certain types of raw red tomatoes and products containing raw red tomatoes. The bacteria causing the illnesses are Salmonella serotype Saintpaul,...

Today's Savage thread.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has spread to 16 states, federal health officials said Saturday. Investigations by the health departments of Texas and New Mexico and the federal Indian Health Service have tied 56 cases in Texas and 55 in New Mexico to raw, uncooked tomatoes. “We’re seeing a steady increase,” said Deborah Busemeyer, the communications director for the New Mexico Department of Health. An additional 50 people have been sickened by the same salmonella infection in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, the federal...

Tomatoes and Cheap Labor This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent From a California teacher school - - -"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels. Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc., where these students are protesting,...

Deep red tomatoes get their rich color from lycopene, a disease-fighting antioxidant. A new study, however, suggests that a special variety of orange-colored tomatoes provide a different form of lycopene, one that our bodies may more readily use. Researchers found that eating spaghetti covered in sauce made from these orange tomatoes, called Tangerine tomatoes, caused a noticeable boost in this form of lycopene in participants' blood. "While red tomatoes contain far more lycopene than orange tomatoes, most of it is in a form that the body doesn't absorb well," said Steven Schwartz, the study's lead author and a professor of...

Broccoli and tomato -- two vegetables known to help fight cancer -- are more effective against prostate cancer if they're eaten together as part of a daily diet than if they're eaten alone, a new study with rats suggests.University of Illinois researchers fed a diet containing 10 percent broccoli powder and 10 percent tomato powder to a group of rats that had been implanted with prostate cancer cells. Other groups of rats received either tomato powder or broccoli powder alone; a supplemental dose of lycopene (the red pigment in tomatoes believed to be an anti-cancer agent); or finasteride, a drug...

The Mac Pro workstation features four interchangeable 500-gigabyte hard drives like the one seen above. The bottom slot has an interchangeable memory card that can take up to 16 gigabytes of RAM. For years, Macintosh computers have been praised for their cool looks and elegant simplicity while being knocked for often carrying a hefty price premium over Windows-based machines sold by Dell Inc. and others. It's time to think different. Again. The recently released Mac Pro maintains the Apple shine in design, usability and software but does something unexpected: It turns the old Mac vs. Windows PC price equation on...

GENETICALLY modified tomatoes containing edible vaccine are to be used to challenge two of the world's most lethal viruses. The aim is to create affordable vaccines for HIV and the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that could be easily grown and processed in the countries where they are most needed. So far, none of the 90 or so potential vaccines against HIV have proved successful and, though a vaccine already exists for HBV, it is too expensive to be used by poorer countries. ... The tomato plants then manufacture the proteins and, like the oral polio vaccine, when the tomatoes are...

NETZARIM, Gaza Strip -- The harvest is underway inside a row of greenhouses here on the grounds of a razed Israeli settlement. But most of the tomatoes and sweet peppers, usually shipped to European markets, will rot in a nearby ravine. "We keep getting it, but we don't know what to do with it," said Abdul Fatah al-Eilah, the greenhouse manager, as workers stacked boxes of vegetables in a storage shed while tractors towing flatbeds full of produce lined up to enter. The main trade passage between the Gaza Strip and Israel has been closed for much of the year,...

The state imposed a $140,000 penalty for what it called "willful, continuing, and egregious" violations of the price law... The Minnesota Commerce Department on Thursday announced plans to fine a gas station chain $140,000 for repeatedly selling gas below the state's legal minimum price. The fine against Midwest Oil of Minnesota is twice as large as any imposed on a company since 2001, when the state established a formula based on wholesale prices, fees and taxes to determine a daily floor for gas prices. Kevin Murphy, deputy commissioner of the department, called the violations "willful, continuing, and egregious and warrant...