Michael Pollan discusses food production, consumer choices, the future of organics and climate change. By Mark Eisen, The Progressive Michael Pollan has got people talking. His recent books, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, have captured the public imagination, setting off countless coffee shop… Read more »

CivilEats by Elizabeth Grossman Source: Tax Credits A first of its kind study shows organic agriculture earns farmers significantly more, and suggests it might be worth the price. Most people buy organic to avoid pesticides, antibiotics, and GMOs, and to support environmentally friendly growing practices. Now you can add helping farmers make a living to… Read more »

Cornucopia’s Take: The growing consumer hunger for organics has made organics a $43 billion a year business. As shortages appear, more farmers look to transition to organics. While they wrestle with changing agricultural practices, corporations are scrambling to find supplies – sometimes in the U.S. and increasingly from abroad. Paying Farmers to Go Organic, Even Before… Read more »

NPR – The Salt by Dan Charles Source: Cascadian Farm Rearranging veggie genes is big business, and we’re not even talking about biotechnology. Private companies and university researchers spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year breeding better genetic varieties of food crops. But organic farmers say those programs have a big blind spot when… Read more »

EcoWatch by Cole Mellino Source: USDA NRCS South Dakota Soils naturally absorb and sequester carbon dioxide and following organic practices, such as adding compost and bringing back herds of grazing animals, can make a huge difference in how much carbon dioxide soils can retain. In 2007, a California rancher, John Wick and his partners at the… Read more »