Climate Food and Agriculture

Organic produce reduces kids’ exposure to pesticides, says study

Pesticide-free produce leads to pesticide-free kids, says a new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives. Young research subjects who ate conventional produce were found to have organophosphate residue in their bodily fluids, while kids who ate organic produce did not. Will wonders never cease.

Blue Bottle generates more than just a caffeine buzz, but what does it mean?

In “Mad Flavor,” I describe exceptional culinary experiences from small artisan producers. Mad Flavor is currently reporting from the San Francisco Bay Area. Now these guys obsess over coffee. I say that with affection. For years, I home-roasted my own green beans. I once owned a vacuum pot, and used it lovingly until it shattered. […]

Organic food reduces organophosphate exposure in children

By now, I think most people understand that organic food is supposed to be healthier for you. But I think there are still some people who feel that the health benefits are a just a bunch of marketing hype.

Well, this new study suggests that it ain't just hype -- organic produce really does reduce kids' exposure to some potentially risky pesticides. From the Seattle P-I:

The peer-reviewed study found that the urine and saliva of children eating a variety of conventional foods from area groceries contained biological markers of organophosphates, the family of pesticides spawned by the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II.

When the same children ate organic fruits, vegetables and juices, signs of pesticides were not found.

In case you’d forgotten, industrial meat is a friggin’ nightmare

It’s a little weird that no one on Gristmill has yet pointed to Mark Bittman’s stellar NYT piece on the environmental ravages of industrial meat. Philpott, where you at? Anyway, it’s amazing. Go read it. Here’s a taste (ha ha): Growing meat (it’s hard to use the word "raising" when applied to animals in factory […]

Will peak oil force the localization of agriculture?

Stuart Staniford says no. Sharon Astyk says yes. Jeff Vail also says yes.

Let cows eat vaccines along with distillers grains

In December, a study came out suggesting a link between distillers grains — a waste product of the corn-ethanol process — and a spike in cases of beef tainted with the deadly E. coli 0157 virus. You see, the government-mandated ethanol boom has dramatically pushed up corn prices. To cut costs, feedlot operators have been […]

Notes on California’s big sustainable-farming conference

Note: This is another in a series of posts from Eco-Farm, the annual conference held by the Ecological Farming Association of California. At Eco-Farm, some 1,400-1,500 organic farmers, Big Organic marketers, and sundry sustainable-ag enthusiasts pack into a rustic, beautiful seaside conference hall an hour-and-a-half south of San Francisco to talk farming amid the dunes. […]

A long-time beekeeper’s take on colony collapse

Note: For the next few days I’ll be reporting from Eco-Farm, the annual conference held by the Ecological Farming Association of California. At Eco-Farm, some 1,400-1,500 organic farmers, Big Organic marketers, and sundry sustainable-ag enthusiasts pack into a rustic, beautiful seaside conference hall an hour-and-a-half south of San Francisco to talk farming amid the dunes. […]

Is it possible for an NFL star to go meatless?

Grist recently published my interview with Rory Freedman, one of the authors of vegan diet book Skinny Bitch. The finished piece is just a selection of the topics from our conversation (we had quite a long lunch), and one of the questions that didn’t make the cut was about responding to critics who say veganism […]

Orange County opens recycled-water plant

A sewage reclamation plant officially opened today in Orange County, Calif., and will, sure enough, reclaim treated effluent and turn it into drinking water. Recognizing that its growing population — currently 2.3 million — is likely to outpace its supply of fresh water, O.C. is relying on the facility to turn 70 million gallons of […]