Climate Food and Agriculture

All Stories

  • Why you should be afraid of huge cow manure bubbles

    Jessica Mullen via FlickrBecause if they explode (or are intentionally popped by dairy-bubble party poopers), you could be shit-out-of-muck, like this Indiana farmer. His dairy operation’s waste management system is suffering from indigestion the size of small houses. And while he plans to Pepto-Bismol the situation with a gas mask, a boat, and a pocket […]

    Ashley Braun Food and Agriculture

  • In a D.C. school, the simple power of a good breakfast

    This is the first of three articles on how food made from scratch using local ingredients is served to the students and staff at Washington Jesuit Academy, a free-tuition private school for at-risk kids. Duane Drake, head chef at Washington Jesuit Academy. Chef Duane Drake lines a dozen pie shells on sheet pans and begins […]

    Ed Bruske Food and Agriculture

  • The NYT highlights a key food-system gap: infrastucture

    When you’ve been in the trenches writing about a problem for a while, it’s good to see it finally getting traction in media and policy circles. That’s why I was thrilled to see Sunday’s New York Times piece on how a shortage of infrastructure is hampering the growth of local and regional food production. If […]

    Tom Philpott Food and Agriculture

  • Have Jesus’ disciples been overeating?

    Leonardo da Vinci’s 1498 painting of The Last Supper.Photo: Drewwiki via Wikimedia Commons In a strange study published this week by the International Journal of Obesity, professors found that portion sizes in artistic renditions of The Last Supper increased dramatically in the past 1,000 years, the L.A. Times reports. The study, conducted by brothers Brian […]

    Tyler Falk Food and Agriculture

  • Food, Inc Director says "It's not just about food, it's about our right to know" (VIDEO)

    Robert Kenner’s documentary about the industrialization of food got a plug from Oprah, was nominated for “Best Documentary” in this year’s Academy Awards and has its PBS premier on April 21st. He came to the Planet Forward studios to respond to questions posed by our members, including a fifth generation family farmer who’s intimately aware […]

    Frank Sesno Food

  • The health-care act requires calorie labeling at fast-food joints

      From Marion Nestle: The impossibly impenetrable health care bill that just passed the House has one little piece of good news buried in it: national calorie labeling. The provision covers chains with 20 outlets throughout the country and is supposed to go into effect in a year or so.  It also covers vending machines!  […]

    Tom Philpott Food

  • Halting tropical deforestation is in the U.S. interest

    Click to enlarge. “Want to Protect Farms and Ranches Here? Protect them there. Ending deforestation in the tropics isn’t just some tree-hugger’s cause.” Those are the opening lines of a new advertisement campaign run by the Ohio Corn Growers Association and Avoided Deforestation Partners which stresses the need to protect tropical forests in order to […]

    Jake Schmidt Climate & Energy

  • Meet a young farmer leading a greenhorn ‘guerilla’ movement

    Severine von Tscharner Fleming, farmer and director of the film The Greenhorns. Severine von Tscharner Fleming is the director of the forthcoming film The Greenhorns and founder of the crucial new young farmer organization of the same name. Here’s her no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners perspective on the young farmers movement. Make no mistake, this woman is dedicated […]

    Erik Hoffner Food and Agriculture

  • Researchers: HFCS is much worse than table sugar

    The long-running, contentious debate over the dangers of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may be approaching a conclusive end — one not likely to please those sensitive souls over at the Corn Refiners Association. While there has been extensive evidence that fructose is harmful to human health and associated with metabolic diseases like diabetes and […]

    Tom Laskawy Food and Agriculture

  • For the food industry, has organic surpassed its sell-by date?

    Organic and the mega-market: an uncomfortable fit? Photo: Tim Psych on FlickrIs organic ag doomed to permanent niche status? Yes, according to this report from the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago. Based on the article, the summit appears to have been a gathering of food-industry execs and Wall Street analysts. And for this […]

    Tom Philpott Food and Agriculture