Climate Food and Agriculture
All Stories
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Shiny plants will save the climate, say researchers
You thought fighting climate change was going to be hard? Pssh — all we gotta do is plant some peppers and we’ll be home free. OK, it might not be that easy, but California scientists say they’ve hit on an unusual climate-change solution: shiny plants. Encouraging farmers to plant foliage that reflects the sun’s heat […]
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GM crops reduce emissions and could be used as carbon offsets, says biotech company
Money paid to offset greens’ sins by emission could go toward planting of genetically modified crops in China, if biotech company Arcadia Biosciences gets its way. Arcadia says its rice requires less nitrogen fertilizer, and farmers planting it should be rewarded with carbon credits for reducing their emissions of greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. The company […]
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NYC invests in local-food infrastructure
While the farm bill wallows about in Congress, awaiting reconciliation between House and Senate versions, some state and local governments are making their own smart food policies, investing public resources in the worthwhile goal of rebuilding local food systems. A piece in last week’s New York Times food section reminded me of that happy fact. […]
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An interview with Carol Moseley Braun about her biodynamic food company
This election season, Carol Moseley Braun isn’t gunning to become the first black president or the first female president. (Been there, done that.) Instead, she’s trying to break ground in another arena, one she considers vastly more satisfying than politics: food. Healthy, organic, biodynamic food. Carol Moseley Braun. Photo: AP / Seth Perlman In 2002, […]
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A full-flavored attack on industrial food
Edible Media takes an occasional look at interesting or deplorable food journalism on the web and off. I have to admit, when I think of vegan fare, I first picture little lumps of soy curd, swimming in a brown pool of Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids — perhaps with a spear or two of oversteamed broccoli […]
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Ammonium drifts into national parks
You may not be able to smell cow poop in Yellowstone, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain National Parks, but the air there has become increasingly contaminated with nitrogen compound ammonium, says a recent report from the National Park Service. Possibly originating in concentrated animal feeding operations, ammonium in the three parks — as well as six […]
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Edna Lewis, late doyenne of traditional southern fare, in Gourmet
Edible Media takes an occasional look at interesting or deplorable food journalism on the web. The January issue of Gourmet is devoted to the food of the U.S. south — probably our sturdiest regional culinary tradition. I adore southern cooking, and the issue had my stomach grumbling from start to finish. I can think of […]
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Unlike the U.S., European governments are cutting back on agrofuel goodies
European biodiesel makers have entered a rough patch. The price for their main feedstock, rapeseed, has risen more than 50 percent since the beginning of the year. But the price of the final product, biodiesel, has plunged, because producers are churning out far more biodiesel than the market can absorb. Similar conditions hold sway among […]
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No holiday cheer from the meat industry
This isn’t what you want to hear about in the wake of the holiday feast, but here goes. From a meat-industry trade journal: A new strain of swine influenza — H2N3, which belongs to the group of H2 influenza viruses that last infected humans during the 1957 pandemic, has been identified by researchers. However, this […]
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Let the nativists try eating their words
The prognostication game is a tricky one, but here are two wild guesses: 1) Lou Dobbs will enjoy a robust meal today; and 2) he’ll issue some stark platitude, either to chortling table mates or millions of viewers of his CNN show, denouncing the "illegal aliens" who sneak in to "leach America’s prosperity" or some […]
