Agriculture | Grist

Peterson’s Waxman-Markey amendment: the nitty gritty and what it means 6
Posted 1 week, 2 days ago
This morning the House Agriculture Committee released the 49-page Peterson amendment to the Waxman-Markey climate bill.
The Negotiators

The Non-Concession concession? 1
Posted 1 week, 2 days ago
Henry Waxman and Ed Markey seem to have mastered the art of the non-concession concession: striking deals with potential opponents in ways that meet their needs while minimizing (though not entirely eliminating) the negative impacts.
Don't panic ... offsets for organic?

The bad and maybe not-so-bad of the Waxman-Peterson deal 6
Posted 1 week, 3 days ago
Language of the Waxman-Peterson compromise has been released--and in some ways it's worse than I originally thought, and in some ways potentially better.
Our Oil Obsessed Civilization

The oil intensity of food 0
Posted 1 week, 3 days ago
Today we are an oil-based civilization, one that is totally dependent on a resource whose production will soon be falling. This prospect of peaking oil production has direct consequences for world food security, as modern agriculture depends heavily on the use of fossil fuels.
If you liked it then you shoulda counted the swing votes

House swing votes stay mum on climate bill 1
Posted 1 week, 3 days ago
Of the 31 lawmakers who form the statistical center of the House on the issue of climate change, only eight have given clear indication that they will vote for the Waxman-Markey energy bill.
News of a compromise foretold

How bad is the Peterson-Waxman deal on climate legislation? 6
Posted 1 week, 3 days ago
Surprising no one--but disappointing many--House energy chief Henry Waxman has caved in to the demands of the the agribusiness industry over the climate bill. How bad is it?
Big Ag Wins!

Peterson gets his way with climate and energy bill 1
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) on Tuesday surrendered to agriculture interests on a key provision in the massive climate and energy bill he introduced with Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
Annals of Sausage Making

Collin Peterson is not killing the planet 0
Posted 1 week, 5 days ago
Not yet, anyway. I agree with Tom Philpott that Peterson's meddling in the Waxman/Markey climate bill is far more than a distraction. Weakening the bill out of spite is pretty much the extreme opposite of statesmanship. And I decried Peterson's clearly implied climate denial just the other day. But I'm a bit leery of going quite as far as Philpott did today.
The issue is not growth or no growth, but a better world

Growing a better world 5
Posted 1 week, 5 days ago
Questioning growth has been the obsessive focus of many for decades. Questioners make important points. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been, at best, a very rough proxy for wellbeing, often not even that. For this and other reasons many liberals, progressives, and leftists consider a "steady state economy" part of building a good society. For all that critics of growth get right, they focus in the end on the wrong thing, on growth rather than waste.
NYC's Newest Farm

Three-acre organic farm appears in the middle of New York Harbor 2
Posted 1 week, 5 days 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.
We don't want to know about your crap

Factory farms get the ultimate handout 5
Posted 2 weeks, 2 days ago
An amendment in the 2010 Interior and Environment spending bill will prevent the EPA from requiring factory farms to report their GHG emissions -- a move that represents a blatant handout to large factory farms.
Home stretch!

Dems ‘very close’ to a climate deal, White House to intensify push for bill, floor vote 1
Posted 2 weeks, 2 days ago
We are coming into the home stretch on the climate bill, and the key players are (finally) starting to step up their efforts.
Study warns warming may outstrip Africa’s ability to feed itself 1
Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago
By mid-century, climate change may have outrun the ability of Africa's farmers to adapt to rising temperatures, threatening the continent's precarious food security, warns a new study.
Farm Crisis 2009

Stand up for rural America while you still can 3
Posted 2 weeks, 4 days ago
For the past six months, dairy farmers across the country have suffered a historic drop in milk prices while operating costs remain high. This is impacting mainly conventional and small to mid-size family dairy farmers -- the worst crisis most dairy farmers have faced in their entire careers. Without immediate action from Congress and the Obama administration, this current crisis could be the launching point for the final liquidation of the independent family farmer.
Climate ... it's everywhere

What the U.S. climate report says about your state 1
Posted 2 weeks, 4 days ago
Here's a rundown of what the Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States report says will happen in other regions of this great (for now!) American land.
Short Answer: Yes

Quiz: Should I see the critically acclaimed documentary ‘Food, Inc.’? 5
Posted 2 weeks, 5 days ago
Food, Inc. is a riveting documentary. Fast-paced and chock full of detail, the film does not shy from shocking, rarely-seen footage. But should YOU, dear reader, go see it? Take our quiz to find out.
Running dry

Time to save our nation’s dairy farmers 51
Posted 2 weeks, 5 days ago
Suicides, farm sales, milk dumping--that all might sound like scenes from the Great Depression. But right now, U.S. dairy farmers are in a severe crisis.
Took them long enough

“We will have a bill,” Pelosi vows — several House Republicans agree 0
Posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago
AN INCONSUPERSIZEMENT TRUTH

Globesity: How climate change and obesity draw from the same roots 7
Posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago
You've heard all the reasons before: We drive too much. We eat too much meat and processed food. We spend too much time with plugged-in devices -- computers, TVs, air conditioners. Climate change, right? Half right. We're really talking about the the worldwide rise in obesity.
One big dinner table

When it comes to food, we’re all in this together 3
Posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Teenagers and nations like to declare independence. But for a long time now, humans have relied on a broad, global, and utterly interdependent genetic and cultural basis for food production.