Climate Food and Agriculture

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  • Some Oakland occupiers have a beef with Whole Foods

    Representatives of the less-peaceful element at Occupy Oakland got wind that Whole Foods was threatening to fire employees who participated in Occupy's general strike, so they vandalized a local store. It turns out those rumors were false, but who could turn down the chance to wreck a Whole Foods? The troublemakers spray-painted the front of […]

    Jess Zimmerman Food

  • Consumers losing faith in Big Food

    Photo: Christopher Cotrell Four years ago, a coalition of agribusiness companies and industry groups, including Monsanto, the American Farm Bureau, the Midwest Dairy Council, and the National Pork Producers Council, got together to start the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to build consumer trust and confidence in today’s food […]

    Tom Laskawy Agriculture

  • Food Studies: College students plant seeds of change

    Food Studies features the voices of volunteer student bloggers from a variety of different food- and agriculture-related programs at universities around the world. You can explore the full series here. Photo: Anna ZeideIf you’ve ever visited the University of Wisconsin, you’ve probably eaten some Babcock ice cream, perhaps while enjoying a sunset on the Terrace. […]

    Anna Zeide Food

  • Maude’s Market: Spreading local food in Monsanto country

    Maude Bauschard, outside her local food market in St. Louis. Maude Bauschard sells local and sustainably produced groceries and runs a weekly community-supported agriculture (CSA) box from a small store she calls Maude’s Market. This wouldn’t sound like much if she were living in a city on one of the coasts, but Bauschard lives in […]

    Twilight Greenaway Food

  • Girl Scouts can now win ‘locavore’ merit badges

    Dust off your old sash, because you could be eligible for the Girl Scout "locavore" merit badge. (It means you only eat the cookies that your neighbor's kid sells, right?) Here's how you earn your locavore badge: Explore the benefits and challenges of going local Find your local food sources Cook a simple dish showcasing […]

    Jess Zimmerman Food

  • Confessions of a former Big Food executive

    Photo: Casey V. PhotographyA few weeks ago, I learned of a relatively new blog about food industry deception, but with an interesting twist. The blog’s author is Bruce Bradley, who spent over 15 years as a food marketer at companies like General Mills, Pillsbury, and Nabisco. He has since, in his words, “become more educated […]

    Andy Bellatti Food

  • Sugary beverage companies are increasing advertising to kids

    Despite promises to ease up on advertising to kids, the sugary beverage industry has been increasing marketing to children. If you’re keeping score at home, this is the opposite. They accomplished this feat with a diabolical genius: While pledging to keep their brands out of "television, radio, and print," brands like Coca-Cola have reached out […]

    Sarah Laskow Food

  • Peebottle Farms: What to feed your chickens to get the best eggs?

    “I have a theory, and I don’t think you’re gonna like it.” Justin was seated across from me at a communal table in a “Secret Restaurant.” We had met not half an hour before, but were now deep in discussion about what chickens should eat to produce the best-tasting eggs — an obsession of mine […]

    Nina Lalli Agriculture

  • Will a ‘Secret Farm Bill’ be passed this week?

    Photo: Jeff Cushner Update (Nov. 4, 2011): According to this SFGate article, the new bill is expected to be submitted to the congressional supercommittee as early as today (Friday). Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) (the same Kind who put forth the Kind-Flake amendment during the 2007-2008 Farm Bill process) has stepped up at the 11th hour […]

    Twilight Greenaway Agriculture

  • How to feed 7 billion of us without ruining the planet

    Now that we’re surrounded by 7 billion of our closest friends, it’s probably a good time to talk about how we’re going to feed them. The government, along with corporations like Monsanto, Syngenta, Dupont, and others who are part of our current industrial agriculture system, will tell you that feeding the world is all about […]

    Tom Laskawy Agriculture