Sometimes weeks come and go without much in the way of big agricultural policy news. I find these weeks a little dull. But this past week, as the House debated the Fiscal Year 2012 House Agriculture Appropriations bill for several days, the headlines reported several noteworthy decisions. Both the House and the Senate have been holding interesting debates—and making crucial votes on funding—that are worth keeping an eye on. Here's a basic rundown. More

The primary outcry is for labeling of products that contain genetically-engineered crops. USDA standards do not allow for organic products to contain GMOs, but there is no regulation requiring GMO labeling on non-organic items. Protesters at these Rallies for the Right to Know want consumers to be more informed about what ingredients are in the foods they're buying and eating every day. What do you think—would GMO labels influence your purchasing decisions? More

In a few months, debates will begin of the 2012 Farm Bill, the enormous set of policies that details agricultural activity in the United States. Hearings for the Bill began nearly a year ago, with testimony from citizens and organizations who felt compelled to share their outlook on farm policy. Soon we will begin hearing much more about the cost, impact, and ethics of this bill. So, before the debates kick into high gear, how about a quick history lesson? More

The last time that food prices were in the news was in 2008, when the food price index soared. These days, we're hearing a lot about the issue once again. Why? Global food prices have surpassed the 2008 peak. The consequences of this persistent rise are yet to be fully realized, yet some are already discussing the imminent possibility of food riots, political unrest, and widespread hunger as a result of pricier food. More

One of the most highly-populated regions on the planet, India has more than 400 million people living in poverty. This low standard of living presents many day-to-day difficulties to families, but one of the most pressing national issues is hunger. An inefficient government-sponsored food distribution program does little for the families who need assistance most. How to address this problem has become a topic of major political debate. At the center of reform-minded discussion is the president of the Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi. More

In 2009, Barry Estabrook wrote an in-depth piece for Gourmet about tomato pickers in the Immokalee region of Florida. He detailed the near-slavery conditions that farm workers faced as they were forced to work long hours for very little pay, live in filthy and cramped conditions, and remain on the farm against their will. The Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum is a mobile museum currently stopping across the country, seeking to spread the word about the horrible living and working conditions of these tomato pickers and farm workers. More

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Monsanto v. Geerston Farms, the first genetically modified crops case to ever be presented before the court. More

School lunch is currently one of the hot topics in food policy. So much that a new film called Lunch Line is coming out this spring to emphasize the history and development of the school lunch program. With the influence of documentaries such as this one, and efforts of lobbying groups and researchers, hopefully the National School Lunch Program can see positive changes in the near future. More

The liberal's kitchen? [Illustration: Hunch] Hunch's report on How Food Preferences Vary by Political Ideology shows some differences between what foods conservatives and liberals prefer. Hunch summarize the results in their blog, such as that conservatives prefer homey, comfort foods and are more likely than liberals to eat fast food, while liberals are more likely to eat healthy or vegetarian alternatives. When liberals do eat fast food, they tend to prefer specialty, regional chains. Of course, there's also common ground: both sides agree that bacon double cheeseburgers are delicious, and they both like hot dogs. How does your your political ideology fit with these results? (It's worth noting that the sampling size of liberals was larger than conservatives; out... More

First Lady Michelle Obama and White House chef Sam Kass give us a tour of the first White House garden since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden during World War II (which technically was only the size of a bed, and didn't qualify as a feeding-lots-of-people garden like this one). Planted in March with the help of Bancroft Elementary School students, the White House vegetable garden has already yielded hundreds of pounds of food. Fun fact: the seeds came from Monticello's head gardener, originally passed down from Thomas Jefferson himself. Watch the video after the jump.... More