Organic dairy farmer and lifelong social-justice activist John Kinsman passed away January 20 on his family farm near Lime Ridge, Wisconsin. He was 87. A founder and the longtime president of Family Farm Defenders, John touched the lives of thousands of people, worldwide, for decades as a grassroots proponent of organic sustainable agriculture and a… Read more »
Organic Farmers Fight Proposed Iron Mine
“There’s an old farm saying: You don’t piss in your own well,” says Landis Spickerman of Hermit Creek Farm. But that’s just what a proposed open-pit iron mine located three miles from their Northern Wisconsin farm threatens to do. “A mine will pollute our watershed,” explains Steven Spickerman. “It could kill the business we’ve worked… Read more »
Small Dairies Struggle to Survive in Colorado
In Weld County, larger producers have an edge The Durango Herald by Eric Brown GREELEY (AP) – The cattle at Gege Ellzey’s family dairy are said to be part of a bloodline that can be traced back to the livestock that hauled her ancestors West in covered wagons. Those are things she tries not to… Read more »
Farmers Abandoning GMO Seeds and the Reason Will Surprise You
Off the Grid News by Daniel Jennings A growing number of farmers are abandoning genetically modified seeds, but it’s not because they are ideologically opposed to the industry. Simply put, they say non-GMO crops are more productive and profitable. Modern Farmer magazine discovered that there is a movement among farmers abandoning genetically modified organisms (GMO) because of simple… Read more »
Abundance Doesn’t Mean Health
The New York Times by Mark Bittman The relatively new notion that around a third or more of the world’s population is badly (“mal”) nourished conflates hunger and diet-spawned illnesses like diabetes, both of which are preventable. Both result from a lack of access to quality food, which in turn can result from a lack… Read more »
Crop Flops: GMOs Lead Ag Down the Wrong Path
Grist by Tom Philpott Before I respond to Nathanael Johnson’s assertion that the “stakes are so low” in the debate over GMOs, I want to address a smaller point. “The debate isn’t about actual genetically modified organisms — if it was we’d be debating the individual plants, not GMOs as a whole,” Johnson writes. That’s a good… Read more »
Demand Grows for Hogs That Are Raised Humanely Outdoors
New York Times by Stephanie Strom Credit: LouGold at Visionshare SHUSHAN, N.Y. — Turn down the road to Flying Pigs Farm here, and two or three of Michael Yezzi’s pigs are probably standing in the middle of it. “They’re the welcoming committee,” Mr. Yezzi explained recently. These particular pigs, three Gloucestershire Old Spots that could easily find… Read more »
Fakethrough! GMOs and the Capitulation of Science Journalism
Independent Science News by Jonathan Latham, PhD Good journalism examines its sources critically, it takes nothing at face value, places its topics in a historical context, and it values above all the public interest. Such journalism is, most people agree, essential to any equitable and open system of government. These statements about journalism are especially… Read more »
California Drought: Farmers, Ranchers Face Uncertain Future
SFGate by Stacy Finz Credit: Arivumathi Frank Imhof, a Sunol cattleman is checking the weather constantly. If he doesn’t get rain soon, “lots of people are going to be out of a job,” he says. He’s considering culling nearly 40 percent of his breeding herd and selling calves that are four to five months short of… Read more »
Is Carrageenan Natural?
This article includes excerpts from the report: Carrageenan: How a Natural Food Additive is Making Us Sick Carrageenan is a common food additive that is derived from specific types of red seaweeds, which are then processed with alkali. This processed substance is distributed widely and used as a “natural” food ingredient. It’s why you’ll find… Read more »
