UC ANR’s Spanish News Service website brings Agriculture and Natural Resource information to California residents who are fluent, and more comfortable learning, in Spanish. This is a vital service for all Californians as many of the issues and challenges we face together can only be solved by all of us working together.

This highly organized, visually appealing, and easy to navigate site provides a great deal of information on many important topics. The information can be accessed by audio, video, articles, and blogs.

Topics include:

• Invasive species
• Water quality
• Nutrition and fitness
• Child development
• Preventing obesity and overweight
• Reducing the risk of diabetes
• Natural resources
• Recovering from a natural disaster
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• Preventing and recovering from wildfires
• Money management
• Gardening
• And much more

A similar site is available in English.

UC’s Spanish News and Information Service provides Californian’s with important information, including preventing and recovering from wildfires.

The USDA’s ChooseMyPlate.gov website is full of great information, including sample menus and recipes.

• The Sample Menus for a 2000 Calorie Food Pattern is a 7-day healthy eating template. It is designed to supply the recommended amount of key nutrients. Even better, the food choices were chosen with cost to the consumer in mind. The cost of the menu items is less than the national average spent on food, per person, in a 4-person family.
• White House Recipes is a collection of healthy recipes with easy to follow instructions. Recipes include: Warm Baked Apples with Dried Cherries; Raisins and Blueberries; Broccoli Soup; and Cauliflower Mac and Cheese. 
• Food Group Recipes is another wonderful collection of recipes with nutrition in mind. Recipes include: Lemon Velvet Supreme; Corn Chowder; Roasted Root Vegetables; and Outtasight Salad.
• SNAP-Ed Connection Recipe Finderis a fantastic resource. This online collection includes: tips, food safety, and the ability to sort recipes by a wide range of categories. Recipes can be searched by: style, cooking equipment required, menu items, themes, nutrients, and cost.
  

  The USDA has several collections of low-cost and nutritious recipes available for free.

The California dairy industry produces the most milk of any state. In addition to milk we also produce many other dairy products including frozen desserts and cheeses. The UC Davis Dairy Research and Information Center is full of fabulous information to help industry professionals.

In addition they also have advice for those who are interested in making dairy products at home.

Their website provides information for:

• Dairy foods
• Dairy food sciences
• Dairy foods history
• Dairy processing
• Goat dairy foods
• Home manufacturing
• Links for further information
  

  The UC Davis Dairy Research and Information center has many resources, including those for goat dairy foods. Photo by Michael L. Poe.

Our food systems can be vulnerable to attacks. Pathogens, chemicals and biological contaminates, and other hazards can affect the safety of foods we eat. These dangers can be caused by natural disasters, or may be caused by intentional contamination. Alliances among traditional first responder’s, the agricultural industry, and communities can help mitigate acts of agroterrorism.

The UC Davis Western Institute for Food Safety and Security (WIFSS) in has a collection of training courses for local frontline response teams designed to strengthen their capability to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from agroterrorism or other major disasters in the food systems in their communities. Trainings cover intentional contamination and those caused by natural disasters. As with other disaster training, early and effective coordination in response can greatly improve outcomes.

Courses include:

• Understanding the Dangers of Agroterrorism
• Principles of Preparedness for Agroterrorism and Food Systems’ Disasters
• Principles of Detection and Diagnosis – Strategies and Technologies
• Principles of National Incident Management System (NIMS), Team Building and Risk Communication
• Principles of Frontline Response to Agroterrorism and Food Systems’ Disasters
• Principles of Planning and Implementing Recovery

To learn more about the training program, please contact David Goldenberg by email or by phone at 530.752.3247.

UC Davis agroterrorisim trainings include recommended response and planning for intentional contamination and contamination caused by natural disasters. Photo of Ojai Valley by Jack Kelly Clark.