Mary Nikola, an expert on leadership, management and organisational development at The School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the US, speaks with the Perishable Pundit ahead of her interactive workshop at t…
Archives for May 2015
Bringing Locally Grown Produce to Your Table
Community farmers’ markets are more popular than ever because an ever growing number of consumers are interested in or simply demanding to buy their fresh produce directly from local farmers… Twelve locations are listed throughout Middlesex County, f…
Seeing Eyes: Furry Graduates at Rutgers
It’s graduation season, and, with it, appear profiles of promising graduates, sketches of the families who provided encouragement and support and now, at Rutgers, specifically at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences on the University’s C…
Olive Oil Kills Cancer Cells
Scientists may have discovered the reason the Mediterranean diet helps people live longer and healthier- because olive oil destroys cancer cells… The discovery, by researchers from Rutgers, Hunter College and New York City University, showed that oleocanthal in extra virgin olive oil “induced cell death in all cancer cells examined- as rapidly as 30 minutes after treatment”… Onica LeGendre, Paul Breslin and David Foster said the oleocanthal entered the cancer cell and weakened a membrane in the cell wall.
Rutgers Scientists Create New Strawberry To Wow Your Taste Buds
The Garden State may soon become famous for its strawberries. New Jersey scientists think they’ve produced a berry so tasty it’s patented… As CBS2’s Elise Finch reported Tuesday, agricultural scientists at Rutgers University have been perfecting them for 10 years. The result? The patented Rutgers Scarlet strawberry… “It has certain volatile compounds- in other words compounds that you can smell, compounds that give it that deep, rich strawberry flavor,” said Rutgers Agricultural & Resource Management Agent Bill Hlubik… The Rutgers Scarlet has already won a series of taste tests. The team of mostly current and former Rutgers students tending to the crop say it’s so sweet, they’ll never be able to eat store-bought strawberries again, and neither will you.
Sounding Off On Record Purchase Of Apples
Recently USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service announced the purchase of 34.9 million pounds of fresh apples and 16.1 million pounds of processed apple products. This purchase stems from a bonus buy request made by the U.S. Apple Association (USApple)… This is the third largest apple purchase on record by the USDA. These apples and apple products will be used to supplement USDA’s nutritional programs, including school lunches… “Increasing apple purchases by the USDA for school lunches is a great idea, and about time. Motivating our kids to eat and enjoy more apples is the way to go. Nothing will increase demand for fresh apples more than kids asking Mom to buy more apples! Let’s make sure we are sending our best apples to the schools.”- Win Cowgill, area fruit agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
How to Protect your Garden from Birds
According to Rutgers Cooperative Extension, blackbirds can be nuisances to gardens. “Blackbirds” include red-winged blackbirds, cowbirds, grackles, starlings and other blackbirds. These birds will eat insects and small animals, but they’ll also feast on seeds including sunflower seeds, sorghum and grains) as well as vegetables like lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and sweet corn… There are numerous strategies that can be employed to deter birds from feeding in your garden. Some strategies may not work for all birds, though, so it may take trial-and-error to find out what really works… Rutgers Cooperative Extension offers the following ideas for keeping birds out of your fruits and vegetables…
Frog Phone
The ecologist Jeremy Feinberg, who discovered a new species of frog on Staten Island recently, counts himself among New York’s “quirk celebrities.” Friends call to tell him about shout-outs on “The Daily Show” or “The Leonard Lopate Show,” but he knows who’s really being feted. “It’s never about me,” he said. “It’s all about the frog,” the second new species found in North America since 1986. Feinberg is an oddball species himself: an urban ecologist. For three years, he worked as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Long Island, where he grew up. Now he is finishing a Ph.D. at Rutgers, and lives in Brooklyn.
New Jersey unveils a better, more flavorful strawberry
After a decade of quietly, painstakingly sowing their seeds, Rutgers agricultural scientists are finally reaping the fruits of their labor. The “Rutgers Scarlet,” as it is appropriately named, is being unveiled this month. “You have to be very patient to be a plant breeder,” said Peter Nitzsche, associate professor and agricultural agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension. “We have 13 farms across the state growing them on a test stage, and they are just coming in now. We’ve been harvesting in South Jersey since last week. This week, they’ll be harvesting them in Central Jersey, and next week, in northern New Jersey,” said Bill Hlubik, a professor and agricultural agent for the Cooperative Extension.
RCE Hosts Pit Stop on Historic Cross Country Personal Finance Education Road Trip on June 4
Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) will host a stop on a 10,000 mile road trip, The Road to Financial Wellness, a local grassroots and social media campaign designed to turn local discussions about money into a national conversation on financial wellbeing. The Rutgers stop will be Thurs., June 4, from 2 to 3 p.m., in the […]