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Articles by Tom Philpott

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

All Articles

  • Thoughts on the legacy of Norman Borlaug

    Norman Borlaug (Photo courtesy FAO)In the early 1940s, Mexico was a fraught region for U.S. geopolitical strategists. Not so long before — 1939 — a revolutionary government had nationalized the Mexican oil supply, dealing a sharp blow to U.S. oil interests, especially the Rockefeller family’s dominant Standard Oil. Meanwhile, as war raged in Europe, there […]

    Tom Philpott Food

  • If JBS-Pilgrim’s deal goes through, four mega-firms will dominate the meat landscape

    In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages from the meat and livestock industries. —— Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Brazilian firm JBS–the globe’s largest beef processor–was on the verge of buying U.S. chicken giant Pilgrim’s Pride. Although the companies have since remained mum on the tie-up, rumors of […]

    Tom Philpott Technology

  • Large Florida grower steps up for farm workers

    Eat a slice of fresh tomato from the supermarket or at a restaurant this winter, and chances are it will have come from a field in south-central Florida, site of 90 percent of U.S. winter tomato production. And this year, there’s a fighting chance that the worker who picked it might have made something close […]

    Tom Philpott Food

  • Arkansas’ Blanche Lincoln grabs Senate ag committee chair [UPDATED]

    Blanche Lincoln: bully for industrial cotton growers; bad for climate change mitigation. [Note: This post has been updated to reflect confirmation that Blanche Lincoln will take the top Senate Agriculture Committee post. Additional updates at bottom of post–including information about Lincoln’s status as a favorite of agribusiness funders.] Late yesterday afternoon marked a dark moment […]

    Tom Philpott Politics