The New York Times by Mark Bittman Olivier de Schutter Image Credit: Heinrich Boll Stiftung I wish Olivier de Schutter had the power to match the acuity of his analysis, but it’s great that we’ve had an advocate whose vision is as broad as that of the corporations who have for the last 50 years determined global… Read more »
Search Results for: GMO
Factory Farmed Chickens: The Hidden Cost of Cheap Chicken
A few dollars per pound is a bargain, but who else pays the price? Rodale News by Peter Singer and Jim Mason Americans eat a phenomenal amount of chicken, more than any other meat. Those of us over 50 can still remember when chicken was a treat for special occasions because it was more expensive than… Read more »
An Inconvenient Truth About Our Food
New York Times by Mark Bittman “Fed Up” is probably the most important movie to be made since “An Inconvenient Truth,” to which it’s related in a couple of ways. One of its producers is Laurie David, who also produced “An Inconvenient Truth.” Climate change, diet and agriculture are inexorably intertwined; we can’t tackle climate… Read more »
Peak Soil: Unless We Act Now the Very Ground Beneath Us Will Die
Protecting and improving the health of soil is even more important today than it ever has been, says the Soil Association’s Helen Browning, especially coupled with the challenges that climate change will bring in the future. Forked By Helen Browning As a farmer, my foremost responsibility is to protect and enhance the soil in my… Read more »
Canada Declares Farm Use of Neonicotinoids “Unsustainable”
Beyond Pesticides Last Friday, Health Canada released new measures the agency claims are intended to protect bees from exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides. As with recent regulations proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), beekeepers and environmental groups are criticizing the measures as inadequate, not going far enough to protect domesticated honey bees that both… Read more »
What’s Ailing America’s Cattle?
Scientists Suspect Livestock-Feed Additives Are Behind Distress Wall Street Journal By Jesse Newman and Kelsey Gee A growing number of cattle arriving for slaughter at U.S. meatpacking plants have recently shown unusual signs of distress. Some walked stiffly, while others had trouble moving or simply lay down, their tongues hanging from their mouths. A few… Read more »
Return of the Dust Bowl
The parched prairies of the Midwest are facing a natural disaster not seen since the ‘dusters’ of the 1930s The Independent By David Usborne Keyes, OK — The jam jar sitting on John Vannatta’s kitchen table appears to be filled with coffee, until he shows you the label on the lid. The preserve inside is… Read more »
Organic Agriculture May Be Outgrowing Its Ideals
The New York Times By Elisabeth Rosenthal (David Agren contributed reporting) TODOS SANTOS, Mexico — Clamshell containers on supermarket shelves in the United States may depict verdant fields, tangles of vines and ruby red tomatoes. But at this time of year, the tomatoes, peppers and basil certified as organic by the Agriculture Department often hail… Read more »
(ALERT OVER) Big Ag/USDA Could Run Organic Leafy Green Growers out of Business!
National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Comments: Due July 28 Action Alert Corporate agribusiness wants to tell the rest of us how to farm, and shut anyone out of the market who does not follow their one-size-fits-all “food safety” standards for leafy green vegetables. The USDA is supporting their plan, which, if accepted, will allow a… Read more »
New Food-Safety Rules Threaten Small, Organic Farms
San Jose Mercury News By Jane Palmer Tom Willey is so concerned about food safety he is willing to bet the farm on it. Literally. Willey and his wife, Densesse, own an organic farm just outside of Madera in the central San Joaquin Valley, where they grow lettuce, carrots, cabbage and nearly 50 other hand-harvested… Read more »
