Articles by Tom Philpott

Tom Philpott was previously Grist's food writer. He now writes for Mother Jones.

All Articles

  • Future of Food director on ‘making soil sexy’

    Filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia burst onto the sustainable-food scene with her 2004 documentary the Future of Food, a biting, well-researched indictment of Monsanto and genetically modified food. I caught up with her at Slow Food Nation to discuss her current project, a documentary about a topic dear to my heart: soil.

    Tom Philpott Food

  • Lehman quietly shuts down its carbon-trading desk

    I have no idea how to parse the long-term implications of this: Lehman Brothers shut down its carbon emissions trading desk after the bank filed for bankruptcy protection, a source close to the company told Reuters on Monday. The "source close to the company" declared the sudden stoppage "a bit anarchic." I agree! Lehman had […]

    Tom Philpott Technology

  • Why climate change may have more to do with your shopping cart than your car

    Anna Lappé might be called a green-diaper baby. Her mother, Frances Moore Lappé, brought out the seminal Diet for a Small Planet back in 1971, and has been agitating forcefully for a just, sustainable food system ever since. Her father, the toxicologist Marc Lappé, was an early, important, and persistent critic of the agrichemical industry. […]

    Tom Philpott Food

  • The SEC chief fiddled while Wall Street exposed the public to billions in bailout funds

    Remember the Securities Exchange Commission? The SEC got its start in the 1930s, when dodgy dealing on Wall Street triggered that massive economic meltdown now known as the Great Depression. The idea was that the SEC would impose transparency on stock markets and make sure that people actually knew what they were buying or selling. […]

    Tom Philpott Technology