World hunger has been a hot debate between humanitarians and environmentalists – rightfully so. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that in 2010 there were 925 million hungry people worldwide. That means that nearly 1 in 7 people are undernourished. The problem is not due to a lack of food. Instead the deficiency is related to the cost of food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified multiple factors responsible for rising food prices that are responsible for increased starvation. Two of those factors, slowing growth in agricultural production and rising farm production costs, can be mitigated with the science and technologies of selective plant breeding.

Aside from the common vitamins and minerals, there are other elements that play an important role for the overall health and nutrition of the body. These microminerals, or trace minerals, actually play a significant role in human health. They aid in vitamin utilization as well as disease protection.

In 1992, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed the Food Guide Pyramid. This handy visual reminded people which foods we could eat in large quantities and which foods we should moderate. In April 2005, with recommendations from the US Department of heath and Human Services (DHHS) as well as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPyramid was born.

Since many of us are not eating a nutritionally complete diet, a variety of people choose vitamins to supplement whatever they are missing. In fact, 44% of the US population takes dietary supplements including vitamins. The risk of vitamin toxicity is ever present even though over 80% of Americans think that vitamins are safe. Do you think vitamins are the answer to a healthier you?

These days, we have several players in the ever-growing $1.5 billion artificial sweetener industry. Sugar substitutes are used in place of sucrose, or table sugar, to sweeten food or drinks. They are sweeter than regular sugar and, therefore, smaller quantities can be used to sweeten food to the same sweetness level. These compounds or chemicals sweeten food without the significant calories and also help diabetics to live a normal live. So what’s the catch?

Whenever you go to the supermarket, one question to consider is whether that product is good for you or not. You may have hear health nuts recommend eating whole foods for a healthy body. Have you ever wondered what the big deal is with whole foods?

When was the last time that you were truly satisfied with the taste of store-bought vegetables? You will likely discover a big difference when you buy from local growers vs. bringing home produce from big supermarkets. Can you remember a time that you went to the local produce market instead of the big supermarket? Here are a handful of reasons for buying local.