As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation.

As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday that the number of direct-sales markets has increased 9.6 percent in the past year, with California and New York leading the way.

"Farmers markets are a critical ingredient to our nation's food system," USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said. "These outlets provide benefits not only to the farmers looking for important income opportunities, but also to the communities looking for fresh, healthy foods."

After 18 years of steady increases, the number of farmers markets across the country now registered with the USDA is 7,864. In 1994, there were 1,744.

Organizations such as Slow Food, founded in 1989 to counter fast-food, junk-food lifestyles, first ignited consumer demand for fresh, local produce.

"My husband and I prefer to eat locally and organically," said Tracy Stuntz, a college instructor who shops at the Vineyard Farmer's Market in Fresno. "You go to the grocery store and everything is the same. The farmer's market has yellow zucchini and green onions that are like a foot long — produce you don't see other places."

Some markets are so popular that there are wait lists for farmers to sell there, including one of the largest and most diverse of all, the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco. Farmers from across the region travel there three days a week to sell fruits, vegetables and artisan breads and cheeses to thousands of shoppers, including top chefs from the food-centric city.

Operated by the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, the iconic market on the San Francisco Bay is celebrating its 20th birthday.

"When we started there were only three markets in the city, and now there are 29," said Liz Hunt, a center spokeswoman.

Grant Brians of Heirloom Organic Gardens sells more than 200 old-fashioned varieties of vegetables, herbs and fruit grown on two farms in San Benito County, about 100 miles south of San Francisco. Others bring in stone fruits from the San Joaquin Valley, and berries from the coast.

Dave Stockdale, the center's executive director, said farmers markets empower consumers to become active supporters of their communities.

"Every day eaters have the opportunity to vote with their forks and support small-scale farmers, investing resources in their communities, stimulating their local economies, and keeping ag land in sustainable production," he said.

The center uses the markets to educate consumers about unique varieties of produce and how to prepare them. Stockdale said the growing interest in farmers markets has prompted others to ask the center for help creating educational programs.

San Franciscan Bryan Miller frequents the Heart of the City farmers market at the San Francisco Civic Center, a venue so popular it recently added Fridays to its normal Wednesday and Sunday operations.

"It's fresh and cheap, to be quite honest," Miller said. "I can go to the store on the bus and buy black, ugly, mass-market stuff, but I don't want to do that. I would rather get local produce."

The USDA has worked to make the markets accessible to people of all income levels by outfitting more with the ability to accept payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. More than $4 million is being made available to equip markets with wireless point-of-sale equipment.

California, the country's top agricultural producing state, has 827 markets, according to the USDA. New York has 647, more than double the next most prolific state, Massachusetts, which has 313.

The mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Southeast saw the biggest percentage growth in markets, reporting 15.8, 14.4 and 13.1 percent jumps in participation.

What causes brain freeze? Study reveals new clues

We've all been there before: On a hot day, you reach for an ice cold drink or a big scoop of ice cream and when you sink in, you're met with excruciating pain.

We're talking the dreaded "brain freeze," - often dubbed an "ice cream headache" - and a new study claims to have finally unlocked clues as to what causes this chilly sensation. The researchers behind the study say their findings may lead to better treatments for other headache sufferers, such as people with migraines or those with traumatic brain injuries.

Almost everyone has felt brain freeze at some point in their lives, according to the study and the effect is triggered by an ice-cold sip of liquid or a slurp of an ice cream or some other chilly product hitting the mouth's upper palate. But scientists have long been unable to explain the phenomenon - until now.

For the study, presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego, researchers induced brain freeze in 13 healthy adults by having them sip ice cold water with a straw on their upper palate. The researchers monitored participants' blood flow in their brains with a "transcranial Doppler test," and found the sudden headache seems to be triggered by an abrupt increase in blood flow on the brain's anterior cerebral artery. The pain disappears when that artery constricts, an effect researchers reproduced by having participants drink warm water.

According to the researchers, since migraine sufferers are more likely to experience brain freeze than people who don't experience the icy headache often, brain freeze may share traits with other types of headaches, including those brought on by the trauma of blast-related combat injuries in soldiers or migraines. One possible link between brain freeze and other headaches is local changes in brain blood flow. If further research confirms all these types of headaches are caused by blood flow changes, new drugs that block widening of the blood vessels - called vasodilation - could improve treatment for sufferers.

Why does this increase in blood flow occur? The researchers think the brain is adapting to the "freeze" through a self-defense mechanism.

"The brain is one of the relatively important organs in the body, and it needs to be working all the time," study co-author Dr. Jorge Serrador, a cardiovascular electronics researcher at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in a written statement. "It's fairly sensitive to temperature, so vasodilation might be moving warm blood inside tissue to make sure the brain stays warm." He adds the sudden influx of blood could raise pressure and cause pain.. The blood vessel constriction that follows may be a way to bring pressure down in the brain before it reaches dangerous levels.

Better Burgers Still Thriving

As part of its research into the limited-service restaurant (LSR) burger market, Technomic has found that while McDonald’s drives roughly half of activity, upscale, fast-casual “better burger” concepts are quickly moving in. In fact, fast-casual burger chains grew sales by 20.8% last year, while all limited-service burger chains grew 3.7%. And Technomic reports that it sees plenty of room for continued growth, as fast-casual sales currently only represent 3.2% of LSR burger-segment sales. Its findings have been compiled into the recent release, “Market Intelligence Report: Better Burgers.”

“Better-burger concepts have a lot going for them,” says Darren Tristano, executive vice president, Technomic. “First, they have the benefit of a basic and beloved menu focus. Raising the quality of the protein, bun, toppings and sides has been a winning formula. And a number of celebrity chefs have opened concepts that focus on burgers made with premium ingredients, helping to raise their profile. Plus, the segment includes some of the rising stars of the industry overall.” For example, Smashburger grew sales by more than 71% in 2011, and Five Guys Burgers and Fries increased sales by 24%.

Noteworthy findings in Technomic’s report include:

• Many full-service chains have gotten in on the better-burger action by adding gourmet burgers to their menus and have opened burger-focused spinoff concepts offering “build-your-own” burger options
• Quick-service burger chains have raised the quality of their burger offerings
• Consumers place a premium on quality of their burger: 74% rank quality/taste of the meat or protein as the most-important part of the burger
• Cheeseburgers are the top hamburger type on LSR burger-chain menus
• Customization is key—several fast-casual brands offer a “build-your-own-burger” option, where customers can choose from a variety of proteins, breads, cheeses, toppings and sauces

Energy Drinks Outsell Bottled Water

As noted in the recently published Beverage Industry 2012 State of the Industry report, for the first time, energy drinks have outsold bottled water (for the 52 weeks ending April 15 in U.S. supermarkets, drug, gas, convenience and mass merchandise retailers, excluding Walmart, per SymphonyIRI Group). During that period, energy drinks garnered more than $6.9 billion in sales for a 19.4% increase over the previous year; bottled water saw $6.7 billion in sales for a 3.4% increase.

Red Bull remains the top seller in the category, with nearly 40% market share for a total of $2.8 billion in sales. A recent addition to the line is Red Bull Total Zero, a slight reformulation of Red Bull Sugar Free (Total Zero is calorie-free while Sugar Free has 13 calories). In addition to the caloric difference (likely achieved via the addition of sucralose to the sweetener mix), Total Zero has slightly more caffeine (3 mg more in the 8.4-oz. can) and a slightly different flavor.

Both Monster Energy and Rockstar are starting to target the recovery market. Monster Rehab uses a tagline of “refresh, revive, rehydrate,” with one version (Protean) containing 15 grams of protein per can. Rockstar Recovery seeks to provide “energy + hydration” in a low-calorie beverage enhanced with electrolytes.

The Beverage Industry report notes that emerging categories in energy include natural options. Jamba Juice, Campbell’s Soup (via its V8 line) and Starbucks carrying “natural” energy lines.

Energy shots also continue to perform well. That segment is dominated by 5-Hour Energy (Living Essentials, LLC), which captured over 90% of the market. However, more companies, including Monster, with its concentrated 5-oz. M3 product, continue to enter this segment