Carrot & Stick - 'carrot' awards to Nora, the certified organic restaurant in Washington, D.C., and to the Dept. of Agriculture for its additional funding to the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program - Brief Article

Vegetarian Times, Sept, 1999

A carrot to Nora, the upscale Washington, D.C., restaurant (and a favorite haunt of President Clinton) for being the first restaurant in the country to be certified organic. To earn the designation, at least 95 percent of all ingredients used--from vegetables and grains to salt and sugar--must be organically produced. "From Day One, we have used only the purest additive-free ingredients available," says owner Nora Pouillon. "I really believe organically grown food tastes better and has more nutrients than conventionally grown food." If you ask us, there's no better recipe for success.

A stick to Belgian officials involved in what's become known as "Chicken-gate." The scandal began last January, when nearly 2,000 farmers unwittingly gave their livestock feed that had been tainted with the carcinogenic industrial waste product, dioxin. Although government officials discovered the problem in April, it took them two months to pull potentially tainted eggs, poultry, beef and pork from the market. Here's a tip for those Belgian authorities: Leave the waffling to your famous hearty meal and keep it out of food-safety issues.

A carrot to the United States Department of Agriculture for increasing funding of its Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) by 20 percent, bringing the total allocation to $15 million. In 1998, FMNP was responsible for providing fresh fruits and vegetables to more than 1.3 million low-income families who would not have otherwise been able to afford the produce.