Articles by Tom Philpott

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

All Articles

  • From dominant Monsanto to ‘innovative Med-American,’ tasty morsels from around the web

    When my info-larder gets too packed, it’s time to serve up some choice nuggets from around the Web. —————- Get ’em while they’re hot.  • NPR delivers a blunt report on Monsanto’s dominant position in the seed industry, complete with farmers complaining about monopoly pricing. With this sort of straight talk in mainstream media, one […]

    Tom Philpott Technology

  • Thoughts on The Atlantic’s attack on school gardens

    Hands-on education at Berkeley’s Edible Schoolyard. Photo: Edible SchoolyardFor several years starting in the early ’90s, I worked as a remedial math and writing teacher at Austin Community College. At that time–and, for all I know, now–the Texas public education system was mercilessly stratified: high-income districts lavished resources on schools, while their counterparts in low-income […]

    Tom Philpott Food

  • Gates Foundation throws its lot with agribusiness

    The Gates Foundation has emerged as a kind of de facto USDA for Africa: a deep-pocketed funder with a focus on agriculture, in a continent that has seen ag-research funding plunge over the past several decades. For a while, the Gates Foundation sought to avoid a reputation as a cheerleader for biotech “solutions” to Africa’s […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • Russ Parsons on launching a civil, inclusive food-system debate

    Can we all just get along? Image: Tom Twigg for GristIn a recent article, the LA Times foodie pundit Russ Parsons attempted to start a “more constructive give-and-take, the start of a true conversation” on the food system. He argues the debate has congealed into a tedious battle between “hard-line aggies” who are “convinced that […]

    Tom Philpott Food