Climate Food and Agriculture
All Stories
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Meat Wagon: Undercover video shows sick calves getting brains bashed in with pickax, and more
In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages from the meat and livestock industries. ——————- A grim ending awaits sick dairy calves on factory farms.Photo: Garrett ZieglerAs I’ve written so many times before, much of the dysfunction in our food system stems from its hyper-consolidation: It’s controlled by a handful of companies whose business […]
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Like the desert mouse, PepsiCo’s factory to survive on the water in the food it consumes
Some animals don't drink water — and now some factories might not, either. The potatoes that PepsiCo turns into Walker's Crisps — those sinisterly addictive potato chips that people in the UK can't seem to get enough of — arrive at the factory containing as much as 80% water by weight. So why not harvest it […]
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USDA moves to let Monsanto perform its own environmental impact studies on GMOs
“Everything looks A-OK. What a surprise!”Last August, Federal Judge Jeffrey White issued a stinging rebuke to the USDA for its process on approving new genetically modified seeds. He ruled that the agency’s practice of “deregulating” novel seed varieties without first performing an environmental impact study violated the National Environmental Policy Act. The target of Judge […]
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How to solve world hunger by bringing farming indoors
What if the only way to save crops from climate change was taking the climate out of the equation entirely? Researchers in the Netherlands think that artificially lit, carefully irrigated "sunless farming" may have the power to reverse world hunger. With the right crops and the right equipment, researchers think that a space as small […]
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Nearly half of supermarket meat is tainted, says disgusting new study
Now would be a good time to go vegetarian, or demitarian, or just find a reputable butcher. A new study from the Translational Genomics Research Institute has found that 47 percent of tested samples of supermarket meat and poultry were infected with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which causes a range of health problems including skin infections […]
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The food movement’s multiple-personality disorder: Let’s move beyond foodies and localists
It’s time for people who care about food to quit navel-gazing.Photo: Jared WongThe food movement has a case of multiple-personality disorder. One of its personalities is the foodie, who approaches the movement as a vehicle to increase sensual-aesthetic pleasure. Another of its personalities is the localizer, who views the movement through the lens of the […]
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Feed your plants this photosynthetic gourmet meal
Artist Jonathon Keats has cooked up a light meal for plants. The full five-star affair will be showing at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, but here’s the fast-food version, suitable for your houseplants or your urban garden: [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1011847&w=425&h=350&fv=videoId%3D867300856001%26playerID%3D1813626064%26playerKey%3DAQ%7E%7E%2CAAAAAF1BIQQ%7E%2Cg5cZB_aGkYZXG-DCZXT7a-c4jcGaSdDQ%26domain%3Dembed%26dynamicStreaming%3Dtrue] “My recipes are all based on the scientific study of plant physiology, applied to the […]
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What bean-counting ‘contrarians’ miss about the local-food movement
Start counting, pal.Photo: Travis K. WittRoughly 10 years ago, the long history of alternative agriculture entered a new phase. Sometime between the founding of Slow Food in 1986 and the publication of The Omnivore’s Dilemma in 2006, what might be called the “local food movement” took shape. Despite the fixation on locality, the movement’s goals […]
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Ranchers struggle against giant meatpackers and economic troubles
All cattle, no hats.Photo: Rob CrowA sea of cream-colored cowboy hats, the kind ranchers wear on their days off, fills a sterile conference room at the Fort Collins Marriott. Banners from groups like the Ranchers-Cattlemen Legal Action Fund and the Western Organization of Resource Councils add bright slashes of color, and warn that JBS, the […]
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Modernist urban farm makes veggies sexy
Not what you think of when you hear "cube farm," is it? This awesome urban farm is the vegetable equivalent of lobster tanks in a seafood place. It's set up outside a restaurant in Tokyo's Roppongi district, and the veggies grown here are served inside. Another view below the fold: This one solves the mystery […]
