Food And Agriculture

Drinking problems

I drink raw milk (sold illegally on the underground market) 48
Posted 1 week ago Isn't it curious that at this juncture in our culture's evolution, we collectively believe Twinkies, Lucky Charms, and Coca-Cola are safe foods, but compost-grown tomatoes and raw milk are not? With legislation moving through Congress demanding that all agricultural practices be "science-based," Joel Salatin believes our food system is at Wounded Knee.
weasel in sheep's clothing

If you can’t beat ‘em, cheat ‘em 2
Posted 1 week, 1 day ago Issue 2, on Ohio's ballot, is the livestock industry’s attempt to head off restrictions on their worst practices, such as tail docking, battery cages, and gestation crates
Meatheads

Big meat tries to spin new antibiotics report [UPDATED] 2
Posted 2 weeks, 6 days ago The American Academy of Microbiologists (“the world’s oldest and largest life science organization”), just issued a major report on antibiotic resistance which, among many recommendations, calls for decreasing or eliminating the use of antibiotics in animal production.
Department of bad jokes

CAFOs: ‘Above the Law’ like Steven Seagal? 4
Posted 3 weeks ago What do CAFOs--that's concentrated-animal feedlot operations to you, punk--have to do with action-movie artiste Steven Seagal? That's for Tom Laskawy to know, and you to find out.
Bubble Trouble

The soda wars heat up—and the possibilities are thrilling 9
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Feel free to believe a soda tax won't solve obesity. But don't deny that its revenue will create all sorts of opportunities.
The Agrichemical Revolutionary

Thoughts on the legacy of Norman Borlaug 14
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago
One of the most ironic things about the obituaries celebrating Norman Borlaug is the idea that his agricultural innovations made countries like Mexico and India "self-sufficient" in food production. Actually, these nations became perilously dependent on foreign input suppliers for their food security.
Notable Quotable

Marion Nestle takes on the “organics are elitist” meme 0
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
"If Congress were less beholden to corporations, we might be able to create a system that paid farmers and farm workers decently and sold organic foods at prices that everyone could afford."
Reality bites

UPDATED: Never mind! Lead levels in White House soil “ridiculously low” for an urban garden 0
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Back when First Lady Michelle Obama planted her garden, the soil tested for slightly elevated lead levels -- not necessarily dangerous, but quite a bit higher than the amount considered the "normal" background soil lead level of 10 parts per million.
Geopolitics of food

The great wealthy nation land-grab 3
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Globally, farmland -- and just as critically, water on that land -- is disappearing at an alarming rate. Approximately 50 million acres vanish each year to urbanization, population growth, and economic and industrial development. So what are countries doing in response?
lies, damned lies and statistics

Adventures in the FUD-osphere 1
Posted 7 months ago
FDR must have been talking about the Internet when he famously said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.But for our time, we need to update FDR: not just fear, but FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).
Crap and trade

Big Ag: give us carbon credit, but don’t cap our emissions 2
Posted 7 months ago
As Congress gears up to consider climate legislation, agribusiness is getting sweaty palms -- and for good reason.
Cob Report

Cob Report 0
Posted 2 years, 7 months ago
Was It the Cowlick?

Was It the Cowlick? 0
Posted 2 years, 8 months ago
Situation Normal, All Ducked Up

Situation Normal, All Ducked Up 1
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago
To Catch a Leaf

To Catch a Leaf 0
Posted 3 years, 1 month ago
Won't You Be My Labor?

Won’t You Be My Labor? 0
Posted 3 years, 2 months ago
Well Aisle Be

Well Aisle Be 0
Posted 3 years, 4 months ago
Don't Be a Menace to South Central

Don’t Be a Menace to South Central 0
Posted 3 years, 4 months ago
Up the Arsenic

Up the Arsenic 0
Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
Stuck in the Middle With Fruit

Stuck in the Middle With Fruit 0
Posted 4 years, 2 months ago