Archive for November, 2009
Food as performance sport
Iron stomachs: True/Slant Matthew Greenberg takes on the Food Network again, exploring — with the help of media experts — "why food TV is more and more about how to eat 48 ounces
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There Be Dragons: Examining the alternatives to unsustainable aquaculture fish feed
February 23, 2010 update: I discovered that the credit for the grasshopper photo was incorrect. The photo is actually from tazintosh's Flickr collection and the photo's Flickr page is
Sharon, the bounty!: A review of Astyk’s “Independence Days”
Ever since the idea of going locavore, or eating local on 100-mile diets, tiptoed into the mainstream a couple of years ago, more people have chosen to support their local farmers markets and to eat fresh food in season. The old chorus continues, however: "What can a locavore eat in the winter?" Well,
Calling all small farmers: Eco-Farm pre-conference focuses on the business side of sustainability
By Rebecca Thistlewaite My husband Jim and I have been farming intently for about five years now, at TLC Ranch near Santa Cruz. Our business has grown by an astonishing 3,500% in 5 years — ridiculous, I know! — but somehow we have yet to see a net profit at the end of the year. Although we feed thousands
Scientists monitor tuna by measuring toxins
Toxins tell tuna's tale: The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) population is split into two groups, with the 45 degree meridian acting as a rough dividing line. Some fish swim across the line to feed or spawn, and scientists and fishery managers would like to know how many fish make the ocean
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Pets vs. livestock: Cracking open the myths about backyard chickens
Last spring I decided that this was the year I was going to finally get some chickens. On a snowy Saturday in March I brought home six tiny cheepers that I bought at my local ranch store in Livingston, Montana. Two of
It takes a city to save a farm: How the Bay Area food and farming community helped Soul Food Farm recover from a devastating fire
I posted previously on Ethicurean (here and here) about the September fire at Soul Food Farm, a relatively new but well-known pillar of the Bay area food scene. The
Urban farmers confront zoning regulations in, around Kansas City
Plowing up zoning restrictions: As urban farming grows, so do conflicts between city zoning laws and farmers. The Kansas City, Mo., City Council is looking to ease some restrictions, while other cities in the area stand firm. The issues — involving where these farmers can farm and sell produce, as
Out of conservation, back to production
Good soil deed about to be uprooted: Millions of acres of environmentally sensitive lands are being pushed out of the federal Conservation Reserve Program and, most likely, back into production. The program was created to stabilize commodity prices while saving topsoil, improving water quality and creating
Genetically modified corn growers not obeying rules designed to maintain pest resistance
Stop bugging me: As many as 25% of the American farmers growing genetically engineered corn are no longer complying with federal rules intended to maintain the resistance of the crops to damage from insects, according to a Center for Science in the Public Interest report released Thursday based on EPA
Open season: Local Roots Markets opens in Wooster, Ohio
Nine months doesn't really seem like a very long time: over the span of a lifetime, just a mere hiccup on a long journey. But when you're in the midst of those nine months (ask any expectant mother), you find yourself amazed at how much goes on in that time frame — and how it can seem to pass so slowly,
Oakland has 1,200 acres of public land
Ready, set, grow!: A new report released today by UrbanFood.org, with support from the HOPE Collaborative and City Slicker Farms, has identified 1,200 acres of vacant and underutilized public land in Oakland, California, that could potentially be used for food production. If only half of it were cultivated,
Report scrutinizes ties between Big Food, health organizations
Ignore the man behind the curtain: Reporters Rick Montgomery and Alan Bavley examine the “marriages of convenience” between unhealthy food producers and organizations aimed at promoting health, such as the newly announced alliance between Coca Cola and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
