Grist | Topics | 11 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 11 of 11
Headline	Author	Published	Section
Certified organic, fair-trade free riders If you support the standards but not the certifiers, then what?	JMG	22 May 2008	Gristmill
At my local Saturday farmers market, I stopped to buy some coffee at the local roaster's booth. I was eying the wares when I noticed that the spendy bags of coffee ($9 for 12 oz.) labeled 'Fair Trade' didn't have the any independent certification of that fact. I asked the guy behind the booth, and he said, 'Well, it is fair trade coffee, and the owners pay the fair trade price, but they don't want to pay for the label mark because it just pays people here in the U.S. -- ...
Topics: agriculture, farmers markets, food, green living, organic food, shopping (all these topics)

Hot Chocolates A review of six eco-chocolate brands, for your Valentine's pleasure	Tom Philpott	12 Feb 2008	The Bottom Line
The connection between chocolate and Eros runs deep. How do I love thee? Let me taste the ways. Photo: iStockphoto In southern Mexico -- where chocolate cultivation probably originated -- the treat figured among the wedding rituals of the ancient Maya. By the time it became popular in Europe in the 18th century, a Venetian named Casanova was crediting chocolate with boosting his romanti ...
Topics: advice, agriculture, food, green living, organic food, shopping, The Bottom Line (all these topics)

Dropping (Fatty) Acid Organic food healthier than non-organic, research finds		29 Oct 2007	News
Posted at 5:16 PM on 29 Oct 2007 Who woulda thunk: Organic food is healthier than pesticide-ridden food, according to preliminary results of a four-year study funded by the European Union. Researchers found that organic nosh contained more antioxidants (yum!) and less fatty acids (ew!) than non-organic. Organic milk was found to have up to 80 percent more antioxidants than conventional cow juice, as well as higher amo ...
Topics: agriculture, food, green living, health, news, organic food, scientific research (all these topics)

Long-distance organic Is it really a savior for smallholder farmers in the global south?	Tom Philpott	17 Aug 2007	Gristmill
In the latest Victual Reality, I addressed the "eat-local backlash" -- the steady trickle of media reports seeking to debunk the supposed social and environmental benefits of eating from one's foodshed. Some of the charges are easy to refute. Hey, in Maine, it takes more energy to produce hothouse tomatoes in January than it does to ship them up from South America! Really? Try eating something besides fresh tomatoes in January in Maine. Hell, if you rea ...
Topics: agriculture, food, green living, Kenya, local food, organic food (all these topics)

Sounds Perfecto to Us Organic farming can yield more food than conventional ag, says analysis		12 Jul 2007	Daily Grist
Sounds Perfecto to Us Organic farming can yield more food than conventional ag, says analysis In developed countries, organic farming can yield nearly as much food as pesticide-heavy agriculture, and in developing countries can produce up to three times as much chow, says a new analysis of 293 published studies on organic yields. "My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the c ...
Topics: agriculture, food, green living, news, organic food, sustainable ag (all these topics)

Poor Taste Why The Economist's recent assault on 'ethical food' missed the mark	Tom Philpott	03 Jan 2007	Victual Reality
Why The Economist's recent assault on "ethical food" missed the mark By Tom Philpott 03 Jan 2007 Last month, the influential British newsweekly The Economist took the measure of the sustainable-food movement and found it wanting. "There are good reasons to doubt the claims made about three of the most popular varieties of 'ethical food': organic food, fair-trade food, and local food," the journal declared, and proceeded to subject each to withering analysis. Do ...
Topics: agriculture, business, consumerism, farmers markets, food, green living, local food, organic food, sustainable ag, Victual Reality (all these topics)

Let's Make a Meal Michael Pollan digs into the mysteries of the U.S. diet in The Omnivore's Dilemma	Tom Philpott	13 Apr 2006	Arts and Minds
In The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan diagnoses the national attitude toward food: angst. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, 320 pgs, 2006. Channeling the modern middle-class shopper wandering vast supermarket aisles, Pollan asks: "The organic apple or the conventional? And ...
Topics: agriculture, books, food, green living, local food, organic food (all these topics)

Have a Heart How to have a Valentine's Day with a conscience	The Green Guide	12 Feb 2003	Earthly Possessions
Friday is Valentine's Day, but while you're buying bonbons and bouquets, be sure to be sweet to the planet, too. If Hershey's, Hallmark, and FTD aren't your idea of romance, never fear: Eco-friendly options smell good, taste good (well, maybe not the flowers), and just might land you a date. Flowers Don't say it with flowers -- unless they're organic. In 2001, Americans spent an estimated $50 per capita ...
Topics: agriculture, environmental justice, food, green living, holiday, organic food, politics (all these topics)

The Organic Verses On organic food and farming	Umbra Fisk	26 Nov 2002	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I try to buy organic food where possible, but I notice that there is often a tradeoff with other factors. For example, organic food has often been shipped further and/or is more heavily packaged. How do I assess those tradeoffs? Ellen Watertown, Mass. Dearest Ellen, As I've mentioned before, the USDA national organic standards came into effect last month, an event that has caused both rejoicing and concern in t ...
Topics: advice, agriculture, Ask Umbra, CSAs, farmers markets, food, food and agriculture, green living, local food, organic food, sustainable ag (all these topics)

Just Spray No On fruit sprays and organic food	Umbra Fisk	26 Nov 2002	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, The tangerines I bought recently had this on the label: "Thiabendazole and/or orthopenylphenol and/or imazalil used as fungicides, and coated with food-grade shellac based wax or resin to maintain freshness." Presumably the shellac stays on the skin and does not affect the fruit, but what about the other products? What are these products and do we know what the impact of spraying or putting them on the ...
Topics: advice, agriculture, Ask Umbra, food, food and agriculture, green living, industrial ag, organic food, toxics (all these topics)

The Milky Way Are we losing touch with good, simple things?	Donella H. Meadows	30 Jan 2001	Global Citizen
Years ago, when I went out to my new chicken house and found the very first freshly laid egg, I stared at it in awe. "How did that hen do that?" I wondered. She takes in grain and bugs and kitchen scraps and turns them into an egg. Shell on the outside, white and yolk on the inside, all proper and perfect. Under the right conditions (or hen) that egg could even become a chick. Just amazing! I ...
Topics: agriculture, food, green living, organic food (all these topics)

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