Nutrition & Health

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This image, taken with a Canon MPE-65mm lens, shows booklice, nearly microcopic insects, in cornmeal. The insects are about 1 millimeter long, or about the size of a speck of dust. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's that in your cornmeal?

April 3, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You're thinking about making Grandma's Southern Cornbread. You head for your pantry. You remember that six months ago you purchased a bag of cornmeal from a local supermarket and that you immediately emptied the contents into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
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UCANR Backyard Poultry Egg Study
HOrT COCO-UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa: Article

Got Backyard Chickens? Get Their Eggs Tested for Free!!

April 2, 2018
Advice for the Backyard Gardener from the Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County Californians who raise poultry outdoors are invited to get their eggs tested for contaminants.
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A honey bee and a lady beetle, aka lady bug, thrust deep inside a mustard blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The Bee and The Ladybug

March 21, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A little drama in the mustard patch... A honey bee is foraging head-first in the mustard. She's collecting nectar and pollen. She does not see the lady beetle, aka ladybug, thrust head-first above her. The honey bee is dusted with yellow pollen. The ladybug, not so much. The bee moves closer.
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It's easier for consumers to be confident they are buying local food when it's purchased fresh.
ANR News Blog: Article

'Local' food labels deceive customers

March 20, 2018
By Jeannette Warnert
A popular foodie trend is to "buy local," but use of the term is rarely enforced, reported Robert Anglen in the Arizona Republic. The story was published on USAToday.com. "The word 'local' is chic; it sells things," said Cindy Fake, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Placer and Nevada counties.
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Margaret Bishop (right) and Arianna Khieninson (left) stand behind a table of fresh foods for sale

UC Santa Cruz Produce Pop-Up

March 15, 2018
In this post James Lande, a UC Santa Cruz undergraduate and Produce Pop-up coordinator, gives us the inside scoop on an exciting student-led initiative: The Food Systems Working Group (FSWG), anchored within the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) provides a space for the stu...
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A honey bee pollinating a nectarine blossom in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

It's Tough Being a Bee During the Springlike Rains

March 14, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's tough being a bee--especially when you have work to do and the rain won't let you out of your hive. But when there's a sun break, it's gangbusters. To put it in alliteration, we spotted a bevy of boisterous bees networking in the nectarine blossoms in between the springlike rains this week.
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A bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, nectaring on lavender in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Bumble Bees on the Move

March 13, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bumble bees stole the show during the Graduate Student Poster Research Competition at the fourth annual UC Davis Bee Symposium, themed "Keeping Bees Healthy.
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