Agriculture | Grist

Paging Dr. Pepper

Pollan says health-care reform will fail unless we change the way we eat 11
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
First in The New York Times last week and then on NPR this weekend, Michael Pollan made that point that if we want to fix our health-care system, we have to fix our food system.
Ripe tomato

Large Florida grower steps up for farm workers 0
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
After two years of stasis, a breakthrough in the struggle for living wages in Florida tomato country.
'Feeding the world'--or consuming it?

The way we eat is trashing the fragile conditions that make human life possible 22
Posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago
In the ongoing debate about whether sustainable agriculture can "feed the world," it's important not to lose sight of what industrial agriculture is doing to ecosystems--both in specific areas and on a grand scale.
Peak oil

A tasting of five organic olive oils 4
Posted 2 months, 4 weeks ago
Homer called it liquid gold, but today it's so ubiquitous that it's lost that precious place in the pantheon. How does exploding olive cultivation wreak havoc on the land, and how do organic olive oils stack up?
Do you carrot all about local food?

Tell USDA to add urban farming to the Ag Census! Deadline is Friday. 5
Posted 3 months ago
If you care about eating healthy food, you are probably already hard at work to build a better food supply for yourself. You already know that raising food in our cities will be increasingly important. Yet getting political support for this requires making a convincing case, and this means having compelling numbers. How can you encourage the government to collect more data that will help the cause?
'TIME' for Change

Sustainable ag meets the MSM—and wins! 14
Posted 3 months ago
TIME Magazine's current cover story wants you to know that our fossil-fueled, chemically intensive industrial food system is destined to fail. The second part of that sentence isn't news to Grist readers. But the first part of that sentence is news, but I wouldn't have expected to read such a strong critique of Big Ag in a bastion of the MSM.
Ask Umbra’s video advice on bees, honey, and hugs 5
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
Bountiful offsets

Biochar as the new black gold 7
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Could biochar -- the carbon-rich remains of "burning" organic matter via an oxygen-free process -- be the solution to two of the biggest problems facing mankind: climate change and food security?
Nitrogen bomb

The obvious advantage of organic food over conventional 16
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
A recent UK report found that organic foods offer no nutritional advantages over conventional. That conclusion is probably flawed, reports Tom Philpott. And moreover, the UK study acknowledges that conventional food has significantly higher levels of nitrogen--a known health menace.
Notable quotable

The thread on which civilization hangs 4
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Farmer Joel Salatin on the biggest problem of all with industrial agriculture.
Define 'clunker'

Cash for ... other things! 3
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
So Congress approved and President Obama signed an extension of the hugely popular (and not-really-so-green) cash-for-clunkers program. Woohoo! We can think of some better "Cash for ..." programs the government should be funding ...
Liquid Lunch

Ask Umbra on livestock and water 5
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
How much water is involved in meat production, and which other products are dripping with waste? Umbra pours on the facts.
Ask Umbra’s video advice on growing food in small urban spaces 0
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Politics Gone Hog Wild

Boss Hog’s attempted regulatory coup in North Carolina 1
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
For the past two years, the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission has been crafting new rules to require water monitoring at factory hog farms, a significant source of pollution in the state. But last week, even with concerns growing over the environmental impacts of hog farms, the North Carolina Senate unanimously passed a bill that puts the rules process on hold until 2011 -- a display of the mighty political power Boss Hog holds in the state.
Is hindsight 20/20?

Learning from past civilizations 2
Posted 3 months, 4 weeks ago
To understand our current environmental dilemma, it helps to look at earlier civilizations that also got into environmental trouble. Our early 21st century civilization is not the first to face the prospect of environmentally induced economic decline. The question is how we will respond.
Notable quotable

On the origin of ‘superweeds’ and the chemical treadmill 0
Posted 3 months, 4 weeks ago
A Big Ag "weed consultant" explains the industry's attitude toward Monsanto's blockbuster herbicide Roundup--before the advent of Roundup-resistant "superweeds."
Notable quotable

Dow Agrosciences: farm like there’s no tomorrow! 1
Posted 3 months, 4 weeks ago
An agribiz exec speaks freely about how his industry likes to see land managed.
Chipotle grilled

Burrito chain’s Food, Inc. sponsorship generates off-screen drama over farm-worker issues 22
Posted 4 months ago
Chipotle Mexican Grill is sponsoring Food, Inc. screenings nationwide. But the film's director and producer--Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser--have publicly called out the burrito giant over farm-worker issues. What gives? Tom Philpott digs in.
Summer herbicide cocktail!

As farmers battle weeds ‘conventionally,’ the chemical treadmill speeds up [UPDATED] 9
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
On superweeds and summery herbicide cocktails from the agrichemical industry.
Milk Money

[UPDATED] Sen. Bernie Sanders cries “monopoly” in a collapsing milk market 47
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
Has the time come to bust the dairy trusts?