Big Ag
-
Corporate farming to trump saving salmon?
What’s Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) up to? Under pressure from Stewart Resnick, billionaire corporate farmer & major campaign donor, Feinstein is attempting to put a legislative limit on how much water from the California Bay-Delta system goes to rescuing the region’s endangered fisheries. It would quite literally erase biological science & replace it with political […]
-
![]()
![]()
The future of farming and food at the Eco Farm Conference
Last week I went to California for the 2010 Eco Farm Conference — a three-day organic farming extravaganza featuring big names (and big influences of the organic agriculture movement) such as Wes Jackson, Frances Moore Lappé, Deputy Security of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan, and a ton of folks who are part of an ever-growing and expanding […]
-
![]()
![]()
Seeking sustainability, finding skeptics at the American Farm Bureau meeting
Seattle, Wash. — Attending the American Farm Bureau’s annual meeting in the Emerald City on Sunday, I felt like a Red Sox fan at a Yankees game. It did nothing to calm my nerves when I heard Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman say this: A line must be drawn between our polite and respectful engagement […]
-
![]()
![]()
Industrial farming head just says ‘no’ to call for civility
For those of you wondering if we can have a more civil discourse over food and agriculture in this country, American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman has an answer for you: Fat chance! According to Stallman [MS Word], the top challenge facing farmers isn’t the rising cost of seed, fertilizer, and pesticides. Or the alarming […]
-
![]()
![]()
Is the Obama administration about to eat the foodies’ lunch?
These are heady times for foodies — you know, the people who love farmers markets and community supported agriculture (CSAs), and hate Big Ag. They’ve turned the documentary movies “Food Inc.” and “Fresh!” into big hits. And they’ve turned “Slow food” into a generic term (there actually is an organization by that name that boasts […]
-
Scientists demand meeting to talk climate with head of American Farm Bureau
It’s not just mountaintop removal mining that’s making activists of scientists. Now a group of 40 climate scientists backed by the Union of Concerned Scientists has written a letter demanding a meeting with American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman to discuss his group’s continued endorsement of climate denial and refusal to acknowledge the reality of […]
-
![]()
![]()
New report calls for atrazine review
An important new report on atrazine was published yesterday and it’s about time. Pesticide Action Network and Land Stewardship Project have brought together the science and farming communities to make a strong statement about the need for a new review of the herbicide atrazine and to outline alternatives for its use. I’ve followed the atrazine […]
-
![]()
![]()
Getting at the roots of unsustainable U.S. ag policy
Cross-posted from Civil Eats. Around one third of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the way we produce, process, distribute, and consume the food we eat according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Meanwhile, farmers the world over will be the most affected by climate change, as higher carbon in the atmosphere and […]
-
![]()
![]()
Seed behemoth Monsanto stumbles into antitrust trouble
Even as it bombards the airwaves and magazine ad pages to tout its commitment to “sustainable agriculture,” GMO seed giant Monsanto has been having a rough go on the PR front of late. First came a report (PDF) from the Organic Center showing that the company’s core Round Up Ready products have sparked a veritable […]
