Organic Food

Myth congeniality

Pollan shoots down organic myths at Grist event 25
Posted 1 month ago Michael Pollan debunked some myths about organic agriculture Tuesday night at a Grist event in San Francisco, in a conversation with Grist food writer Tom Philpott and the audience. In response to a question about whether we can really feed the world without industrialized ag (ah yes, a perennial), Pollan pointed out that we're not feeding the world with it now.
TRAY CHIC

Ask Umbra’s video advice on making lunch matter 0
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago Common wisdom tells us there’s no free lunch. But you can have a guilt-free lunch, thanks to Umbra Fisk’s recipe for midday munchers everywhere. You won’t have to swallow your pride -- you can eat well, save money, and help this juicy planet we call home.
Ask Umbra’s video advice on making lunch matter 8
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago
GMO job--or new food paradigm?

Another Monsanto man in a key USDA post? Obama’s ag policy’s giving me whiplash 20
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago With new ag appointments, the Obama administration's food/ag policy keeps zigzagging between progressive change and the agrichemical status quo.
The Contrarian's Dilemma

James McWilliams’ over-hyped and undercooked anti-locavore polemic 15
Posted 1 month, 4 weeks ago
In his new book Just Food, the historian James McWilliams lectures local-food activists on why they should learn to love pesticides and food shipped in from across the globe.
Choice nuggets

From Big Ag’s climate problem to Whole Foods’ latest snafu, tasty morsels from around the Web 5
Posted 2 months ago
Grist's food editor serves up a brief rundown of interesting food/agriculture journalism from around the web.
Down and dirty

A debate about soil, organics, and nutrition 24
Posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Is organic food healthier than conventional? Skeptics can't imagine it. Tom Philpott asks them to consider the soil.
Notable quotable

Michael Pollan on the affordability of good, local, organic food 2
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
"I don't think our goal should be to make all food in America as cheap as cheap food is now. ... If the goal is cheap food, we're going to hurt our farmers, we're going to hurt the environment, we're going to hurt the public health. The goal should be to give people the money so they can afford to buy good food. ..."
Our genetically modified State Department

Memo to Hillary’s science czar: organic ag isn’t a ‘myth’ 10
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Can organic ag feed the world? Hillary Clinton's science czar says no way. The science says otherwise.
NYC's Newest Farm

Three-acre organic farm appears in the middle of New York Harbor 2
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
The sustainable garden with the most exclusive real estate in Washington is no doubt the one at the White House. The sustainable farm with the most exclusive view in New York City is the one that opened on Governors Island last week.
Notable Quotable

Marion Nestle takes on the “organics are elitist” meme 0
Posted 4 months, 2 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."
Go deep, organic!

Coleman’s elegant year-round vegetable production blueprint 1
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
One of the original American organic farmers lays out his system for producing vegetables year-round, even in northern climes, using super-sustainable "deep organic" methods.
Best Served Cold

A tasting of seven organic ice cream flavors 15
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Summer's here, and that means it's time for ice cream! OK, it's always time for ice cream, who are we kidding. In today's column, Tom Philpott makes the enormous sacrifice of taste-testing several organic varieties -- in our next installment, we'll take a look at non-dairy brands.
A fine bromance

Snap, son! Baseballer Ryan Howard gets White House garden tour 1
Posted 5 months ago
Two men and a veggie garden: White House chef/gardener Sam Kass shows off his boss' garden to baseball great Ryan Howard. Earnestness ensues. Isn't it bromantic?
'Recovering from the Green Revolution'

NPR: Organic ag rises in India 0
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
India's a major player on the world stage. How disturbing, then, that its farmers are in severe crisis. A new NPR report brings a dash of hope: Indian farmers are going organic in increasing numbers.
Also, Can We Come Over?

Have a happy (and green) Memorial Day weekend 2
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Whether you're grilling, gardening, or sinking your teeth into a big, juicy watermelon, we've got some choice advice.
Crop protection racket

Agrichemical industry steps up pressure on White House organic garden 6
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Does the agrichemical industry's campaign to get Michelle Obama to use "crop protection" products on her organic garden strike anyone else as a bit Mafia-esque?
EPA administrator Lisa Jackson on The Daily Show 5
Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Two funny Daily Show videos.
News of the beard

Seattle chef Maria Hines wins James Beard Award for her organic creations 0
Posted 5 months, 4 weeks ago
Seattle chef Maria Hines has cooked up an award-winning recipe for success: serve sustainable, organic foods from your local area in a welcoming atmosphere with a neighborhoody feel.
Make a list, check it twice

Pare down the pesticides 2
Posted 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Be a picky eater. Pare down the pesticides in your diet (without cutting too far into your food budget) by focusing your organic purchases on the "dirty dozen" fruits and veggies that tend to be chem-laden to the core.