Photo by Tyler S Andrews via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The forecast for California for the coming months is drought--no surprises here. In fact, it's going to be the "the fourth driest year in the last 114 years," according to KNBC.com, and we're expected to have "below-average rainfall for the third year in a row." So the Department of Water Resources is trying to get resourceful by setting up a program for growers......

Chino's Westland/Hallmark Meat Company came into the spotlight recently when secret video footage revealed staff was mistreating the animals. On the heels of this week's news that the slaughterhouse's manager could face several years in prison if charged with animal cruelty comes the news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has recalled 143 million pounds of their frozen beef, making it "the largest beef recall in the United States," according to the Daily News. The......

Photo by Wm Jas via Flickr After the Humane Soceity of the United States released a video (seen below) of abused cows at a Chino slaughterhouse, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began an investigation on Wednesday. With a quick response, The California Department of Education Nutrition Services Division urged all public schools to check where their cafeteria meat was coming from and two fast food chains cut their ties with the Chino based Westland/Hallmark......

It sounds like the plot of a Charlton Heston film from the 70's, but the possibility of meat from cloned livestock has become a reality. The FDA just released an extensive risk assessment whose aim is "determining whether cloning poses any health risks to the animals involved in the cloning process, and whether any hazards arise during the development of clones or their progeny that may pose food consumption risks" (you can check out......

Los Angeles is working on being the second city in the state to successfully reduce pigeon and squirrel populations by using birth control rather than killing the animals. The LA Times reports that squirrel birth control known as GonaCon, which succeeded in cutting squirrel's birth rate by 66% in 2004 in Berkeley, was piloted in Palisades Park but then thwarted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture which deemed the park too small to continue......

" "Just because you've rolled horse manure in powdered sugar doesn't mean you have a doughnut": people aren't very happy with the Farm Bill, and yet the Senate still seems set on passing a totally inadequate "reformed" bill that continues to subsidize Big Agriculture at the expense of our nation's health. City officials are "identifying" Muslim communities across the city -- but it's not profiling, it's "community engagement"!! Those kooky kids at City Hall!......

Although water conservation certainly isn't at the top of everyone's 'scintillating conversation' list, an article about Long Beach's declared water emergency in today's LA Times might move the topic up just a bit. Los Angeles doesn't lie in a naturally wet region - annually, we can only expect about 16 inches of rain (which makes it sort of understandable that no one who lives out here seems to be able to drive on wet......

-- U.S. agricultural exports to China have increased to nearly $6.7 billion this year thanks to a sudden rise in demand for California produce, especially fruit and nuts. -- The NY Times also points us to 101 simple summer meals that can be readied in ten minutes or less. Anybody else have quick recipes to share? -- And speaking of U.S. Agriculture: the House Ag Committee has put together its Farm Bill, set to......

10:36 p.m., last night: Daily News publishes a story about 14628 Sylvan Street in Van Nuys -- the oldest house in Van Nuys built in 1911 by William Paul Whitsett (now you know where that street name came from). The article tells how this historic house is threatened by demolition for condos. Preservationists want to save the house. 8:23 a.m., this morning: LACityNerd posts and e-mail blasts the blogLAsphere about the article quoting City......

Since you know LAist is crazy about bacon, how about this burger made of ground bacon? [Serious Eats] In the meat-eating corner: Ted Nugent! In the meat-free corner: Paul McCartney! Read what Nugent really thinks about the folks in the music biz he knows who have been "Fired for eating meat by an animal-rights maniac, hard-core vegan bass player." [Waco Tribune-Hearld] David Haskell of Bin 8945: Chowhounds can be so tasteless, bloggers mean business......

Call it overpriced. Call it overrated. Call it crappy, sour-priced crud. But call it deceptive? Bryan Williams thinks so, and that's why the West Hollywood "legal recruiter" is suing Pinkberry, the newest craze in frozen dessert treats. Williams' lawsuit does not ask for punitive damages. He simply wants the wildly successful yogurt chain to tone down its claims that the product is frozen yogurt. A statement from a California Department of Food and Agriculture......

What with all the political hubbub brewing this year over issues like The War, immigration, abortion, political corruption, we’re pretty sure the Farm Bill is going to get the shaft as far as public conversation is concerned – just like in 2002, when its passing was totally overshadowed by 9/11 and the ensuing hysteria. Frankly, it’s a damn shame. This is one issue that actually has a chance of raising bipartisan support – even......

Rat poison was found on the imported wheat in the recalled pet foods and is the likely culprit of reported animal deaths & illnesses, according to the Department of Agriculture and the EPA. ABC News reports: A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that the rodenticide, which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in......

We've seen issues with spinach, Taco Bell lettuce, and most recently peanut butter, and now there is a recall on a product that is stamped ok for the South Beach Diet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said today that Carolina Culinary Food is recalling packages of Oscar Mayer ready-to-eat chicken breast strips with rib meat as well as the same packages branded "Louis Rich" because Georgia Department of Agriculture......

Farms are like NFL referees: if they're getting noticed, that's bad news. Bad news hit Oxnard's Boskovich Farms, when it was discovered that their green onions were part of the east coast E.coli incidents that caused dozens of people to get sick after eating at Taco Bell restaurants. In a statement that Boskovich posted on their website, the farm hints at the idea that the E.coli might have been developed at the "third party"......

There's a sex-scandal case going on in Oklahoma which makes LA look tame. A Federal judge allegedly used a penis pump on himself while on the bench during a trial. And yes, that's illegal, and best of all, funny. Over the past few days, the jurors have watched a defense attorney and a prosecutor pantomime masturbation. A doctor has lectured on the lengths the defendant was willing to go to enhance his sexual performance.......

The locals who have been farming for the last 14 years on the land now known as the South Central Farm don't want to move; but the man who owns the property wants to turn it into a warehouse. What to do? A brilliant idea popped into the head of a reader of a blog called sustainablog which is crazy and simple enough to work: put the farm on the roof of the damn......

LAist is a California hippie at heart, truly decidated to universal healthcare for all, supportive of good public schools, and a champion of the underdog. However this South Central Farm issue is one we're having a hard time getting behind. Yes it's easy to see the three sides (the greedy businessmen; the visionless and slow city hall; and the poor, innocent urban farmers) and immediately be drawn to the idealistic locals being removed by......

As much as LAist loves this town, we gotta admit that local pizza lovers suffer from a dearth of decent product. The L.A. Times Food section, however, gives us reason to rejoice. This article about Peppe Miele tells us how he’s keepin’ it real at Antica Pizzeria in Marina del Rey. While his L.A. Trattoria location on Third Street closed to make way for the culinary hot spot A.O.C., Miele continues to produce the......