Each week we’ll round up the latest N.C. agricultural headlines from newspapers across the state and country, as well as excerpts from the stories. Click on the links to go straight to each paper’s full story.
- “Eating pork won’t make you sick, producers say,” WRAL: Humans cannot contract a strain of swine flu that has infected at least 1,600 people and caused 150 deaths worldwide from eating pork. That’s the word from the North Carolina Pork Council, which urged pork producers on Monday to strengthen safety prevention measures on their farms as a precaution. …
- “Swine are fine; flu misnamed, Pork Council says,” News & Observer: The N.C. Pork Council would prefer you not call it “swine flu.” The industry association for pork producers thinks the colloquial name for the virus being closely monitored by global health officials is inaccurate. … U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has backed away from using the term “swine flu,” as has state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. Internally, the state agriculture department is referring to the official name of the virus, H1N1, but in a news release Monday, the department called it the “swine influenza virus H1N1.”…
- “Editorial: … but don’t call it ‘swine flu’,” Wilmington Star-News: While health officials and bureaucrats are trying to contain an epidemic, the N.C. Pork Council is snorting over the disease’s image-tarnishing nickname. “Swine flu,” says the council, is an inaccurate term for the H1N1 virus, apparently because some people might get the mistaken idea that there’s something wrong with ham and barbecue. For the record: You can’t get swine flu from eating pork products. …
- “Agritourism map shows where the cows are (Crosstown Traffic Blog),” News & Observer: Not to be outdone by NCDOT and its new highway map, Martha Glass of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announces the 2009 Guide and Map to North Carolina Agritourism Farms. Agritourism? “An agritourism farm is a farm or a vineyard which invites visitors to see the production of the farm and to participate in edicational, informational and recreational activities which relate to the farm,” says Glass, the ag department’s agritourism manager. …
- “Finalists Announced In Best Dishes Competition,” NBC 17/MyNC.com: Nineteen restaurants have been selected to compete this summer for Best Dish in North Carolina honors through a competition sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Goodness Grows in North Carolina program and Our State magazine. …
- “Stimulus triples North Carolina hunger-relief money,” Triangle Business Journal: North Carolina’s hunger-relief agencies could get $21 million more this year than they got last year to spend on food. … In North Carolina, the food is distributed by the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. …