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News from the week of May 4 - 10, 2008
News Topics
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The European Union’s senior agriculture official defended the bloc’s push for biofuels Tuesday and said biofuel crops are being unfairly blamed for soaring food prices around the world. Mariann Fischer Boel, the …
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The production of biofuels out of crops has contributed to the current worldwide rise in food prices, a UN expert said Tuesday. Aslam Chaudhry, an expert with the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, told …
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The food versus fuel debate erupted Tuesday at a House hearing on the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, which established a progressive renewable fuels standard. The RFS requires that U.S. biofuels production …
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Bill Gates, whose early investment in Pacific Ethanol Inc. was a big boost for the promising startup, has reduced his stake in the now-struggling Sacramento company. Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC sold about 890,000 …
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A unique European alliance has been set up between two major companies in plant construction and biocatalysis to develop climate-friendly biofuels, which will not compete with food production. Süd-Chemie AG, a world-leading …
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Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. and VBV LLC, together with its subsidiaries, today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon closing, the companies will combine, creating a …
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Osage Bio Energy, based in Glen Allen, Virginia, intends to build four alternative motor fuel production plants run on barley, versus the more-controversial corn. They will compete with Midwest ethanol producers who now …
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During the commissioning phase of the plant approximately 3,500 tonnes of biodiesel were produced and of this approximately 2,500 tonnes have been sold. Additionally the plant produced almost 350 tonnes of Crude Glycerine …
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POET, the largest producer of ethanol in the world, has cancelled plans for its proposed facility near Glenville, Minnesota. According to Larry Ward, Vice President of Project Development for POET, permitting has delayed the …
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Science has provided the souped-up seeds to feed the world, through biotechnology and old-fashioned crossbreeding. Now the problem is the dirt they’re planted in. As seeds get better, much of the world’s soil is …
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Sitting in a Mexico City office, dressed in a pressed white shirt, Gerardo Sanchez seems a world away from his herds of goats and fields of beans. But he’s no poster boy for the new world agricultural order, in which …
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Soyatech announced today that it will host Soya & Oilseed Summit 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri on September 17-19 at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. Designed to facilitate top-level exchange of information among leaders in food …
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Assuming that the majority of the corn crop gets planted before the middle of May, prospects for a 2008 average U.S. yield at or above trend will be maintained, said a University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist …
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Major U.S. corn states have less than half their acres sown compared with their five-year averages, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Monday. On a five-year average, farmers in the 18 largest corn-growing states …
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HighQuest Partners, a strategic advisory and management consulting firm, today issued a white paper entitled "Pricing Dynamics: How $100 Oil Really Gave Us $6 Corn" that explains how the prices of corn and vegetable oils have …
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Brazil’s grain crop output in 2007 is expected to reach a record 142 million tons, up 7.8 percent from the 131.7 million tons harvested in 2006, the National Supply Company said Thursday. According to a study carried …
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Speculative investors are turning to fuels and the food sector as a "safe haven," driving up prices in the process, some food security activists say. With stock markets and the property sector in the United States weakening …
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Northern Plains specialty crop exporters, already hobbled by exorbitant overland freight expenses, now face the even grimmer prospect of simply being able to find enough containers to carry their products overseas …
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China has enough grain to keep food prices steady, the country’s economic planner said Tuesday amid reports authorities were struggling to prevent the smuggling of rice and wheat to overseas markets. China views basic …
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Brown rice, a 100 percent whole grain food, joins the recognized ranks of healthful whole grains, according to an announcement this week from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that will allow brown rice food labels to …
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Research by a team based at CSIRO in Australia, and led by Dr David Topping, has found that wholegrain foods made from a novel, hull-less, high amylose barley can markedly improve indices of bowel health. The novel barley is …
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Someday, hopefully soon, Canadian shoppers will be able to buy tortillas and nut-like snacks made from Canadian-grown barley, says a Winnipeg food scientist who has worked on developing the whole grain to use in new products …
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What is (really) old is new again as the latest craze sweeping the food industry worldwide is ancient grains. Packaged food and beverage markets are seeing a growing influx of new products featuring grains that were favored …
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Australian government pledged on Tuesday to fund wheat trials in Afghanistan in order to wean struggling farmers off illegal opium crops. Paul Fox, research program manager for crop improvement with the Australian Center for …
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This rule establishes an industry-funded promotion, research, and information program for sorghum, which includes but is not limited to, grain sorghum, sorghum forage, sorghum hay, sorghum haylage, sorghum billets, and …
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Ingredients and Nutraceuticals | |
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A soybean protein composition with improved flavor, emulsifying capacity and gel strength is efficiently produced from a soybean material on an industrial scale. By allowing a II group element such as calcium to exist in …
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The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved an artificial sweetener made from all natural crops such as wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, barley etc. Besides being an ingredient that can replace sugar in thousands of …
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Cargill is expanding its capabilities to serve the baking industry with the opening of a new Product Innovation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The new center opened in March and allows bakery customers to collaborate …
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Isoflavones, one main group of phytoestrogens, have antioxidative and photoprotective effects in cellular and mouse studies. The aim of this study is to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the isoflavone-mediated …
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When it comes to using distiller’s grains in finishing rations of High Plains cattle, a Texas AgriLife Research scientist says the type of grain used makes all the difference. Dr. Jim MacDonald, AgriLife Research beef …
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Soybean & Oilseed Processing | |
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Bunge North America Inc. announced plans to build a $72 million expansion to its Decatur facility. The expansion, it said, is contingent on receiving a tax abatement from the city of Decatur at a Monday meeting of the …
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Harbinger Capital Partners, a big investment firm known for buying into distressed companies and pushing management for change, has taken a significant stake in Corn Products International Inc., a maker of corn-based …
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A canola protein isolate having a protein content of at least about 90 wt% ( N x 6.25), preferably at least about 100 wt%, and consisting predominantly of the 2S protein and substantially free from the 7S and 12 proteins is …
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Environmental group Greenpeace has echoed calls by consumer goods giant Unilever to impose a moratorium on deforestation in Indonesia in support for the company’s pledge to purchase only certified sustainable palm oil …
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Indian entrepreneurs will soon become farmers in Latin America. About 14 producers of vegetable oils, including Gujarat Ambuja, KS Oil, Liberty Oil, Pranab Agro and Betul Oil, have formed a consortium to acquire 10,000 …
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H.I.G. Capital, L.L.C., a leading global private equity firm focused on mid-market companies, announced today that it is acquiring the U.S. oleochemical business of Croda International Plc. As part of its restructuring …
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The EPA is providing notice that it has responded to a petition for reconsideration of the final rule published May 1, 2007, entitled "Prevention of Significant Deterioration, Nonattainment New Source Review and Title V …
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