Purple Heart Recipient Opens 13-Acre Farm to Teach and Help Disabled Veterans

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1995, Adam Burke joined the Army and for nine years served as Infantry squad leader. After 16 months of fighting in Iraq, Burke was injured in a mortar attack and returned to his family's farm where he used horticulture therapy as a way to heal. In 2010 he opened "Veterans Farm," a handicap-accessible farm that helps other injured veterans heal and learn organic farming techniques. Burke tells his story in the May issue of Food Nutrition & Science.

"Not only is this story touching on so many levels, it also in the end may help save farming," says Phil Lempert, founder of Food Nutrition & Science and CEO of The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com. "There's an age gap in farming and with the Veterans Farm training program, we might start to see an emergence of smaller, yet much needed farms."

Located in Jacksonville, Florida, Veterans Farm grows crops on elevated beds, in planter boxes and containers to make harvesting easier for veterans in wheelchairs. After the six-month fellowship program, veterans are provided the resources to work for larger farming organizations or to start their own farms.

Also in this month's issue Sonya Lunder, MPH and senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group who wants BPAs banned and Dr. Mitchell Cheeseman, managing director, Environment and Life Sciences, Steptoe & Johnson LLP who is opposed to a BPA ban, debate the issue.

Recently, the FDA rejected a petition to ban the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in food and beverage containers, angering and frustrating environmental activist groups that link health effects to the chemical, including asthma and diabetes, and possible hormonal changes during pregnancy that could lead to disorders like autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Those opposed to the ban argue there isn't enough research and the benefits from BPA, such as food safety, outweigh the negatives.

Other items featured this month include an update on gluten-free food sales, an article on Americans and their low fiber consumption, and an interview with Mike Babcock whose company Sea Fare Pacific products brings high-quality, wild-caught, sustainable Pacific albacore tuna to consumers that are sold in environmentally friendly pouches.

About Food Nutrition & Science
With more than 26,000 readers, Food Nutrition & Science is the only monthly newsletter created for all food industry players to communicate about the safest, most efficient and healthiest ways to get food to our plates. Founded by food industry analyst and CEO of The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com Phil Lempert, Food Nutrition & Science provides readers analysis and offers discussions on all issues relating to the food industry. To learn more about healthy foods, trends, recipes and maneuvering the supermarket download "Smarter Shopping with Phil Lempert," a state-of the-art mobile app available at iTunes.

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SOURCE Food Nutrition & Science