Wasn’t the Green Revolution supposed to save the children?: A comprehensive look at the problem of child labor around the world. According to the UN International Labor Organization, there are an estimated 218 million child laborers worldwide — and 7 out of 10 of them are in agriculture. Farmers in India blame Monsanto’s high prices for genetically modified, pesticide-resistant seeds create a cost squeeze that forces them to use child labor. Grab a hanky; this story is heartbreaking. Also, since when were Syngenta genetically modified seeds for such “vegetables as okra, tomatoes, chilies and eggplant” approved? (Forbes)

Big-boxing match: Wal-Mart Senior Director of Sustainability Rand Waddroup just finished reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and wants to know what kinds of sustainable food products people would like to see on their shelves.

… Whole Foods, whole compost : One of the coolest business relationships we’ve heard of in a while — a waste-recycling arrangement between a local farmer and Whole Foods.

News about sustainable, organic, local and ethical food and farming from around the web, as well as about the icky stuff.

Although the big companies (who buy though layers of contractors and middlemen to give themselves plausible deniability) initiated a voluntarily program several years ago to reduce child labor, not much improvement can be found.

… Water dries up fast in food desert : When a community group’s effort to bring a full-service grocery store to their neighborhood failed, they approached the managers of a local convenience stores with survey data showing the need for fresh food.

Wooly bully : Mangalitsa hog farmer/funder Heath in Washington State has quite the rant — inspired by this innocuous, sweetly boosterish NY Times article on small dairies — about why “local” doesn’t always taste better, and how California chefs who buy in-state are almost certainly buying inferior pork than what he raises.

… Can’t buy you love: Monsanto grants a ton of money to ag-study programs (Iowa State even has a Monsanto Auditorium), but only those who research biotechnology are awarded cash — those who are working on organic methods are on their own.

Guest contributor Ali sent us this photo, which she took last fall in Pittsfield, MA. We worked on writing a caption for it, but got worn out after discussing the source of the paper, the type of ink, whether the printers were fairly paid, and what they should have eaten for lunch.
We invite you to […]

Breaking news and developments, such as contaminated-food outbreaks, Farm Bill milestones, and how the farming community is doing around the world.

Happily, our friends at the Center for Rural Affairs have contributed this round-up of important news regarding farm and rural news contributed by Ethanol Helps, Not that Much: The benefits of ethanol production to rural communities are real, they just aren’t that significant. New research by Iowa State University Economist David Swenson details the gap between the actual number of jobs and economic activity created and the claims ethanol’s proponents make…. Now a powerful coalition of 153 liberal House members are threatening to pull their support for the final bill unless it makes significant and permanent increases in anti-hunger and nutrition programs…. (The Hill) Revolutionizing Africa: One Holstein at a Time: Uganda is the native home to the Ankole cattle, a breed uniquely adapted to the region. But the Ankole isn’t the grain-eating, milk-producing, manure-spewing machine that the American Holstein is, so now everyone from the World Bank to Heifer International is doing their best to supplant the graceful and native Ankole with the (more familiar to them) Holstein.

During both World War I and II, the American government mandated that its citizens ration food in order to feed the troops overseas. In order to supplement their rations of meat, oil, sugar, and other precious foods, the American people followed the government’s call to plant War Gardens (in WWI) and, later, Victory Gardens. Home […]

This is a special edition of the Digest devoted to reactions to the Food and Drug Administration’s determination that clones and their milk are safe for consumption.
Rick Weiss reports on the USDA’s request for a "voluntary moratorium" on selling clones to allow consumers to adjust to the idea (i.e., let them forget about this week’s […]

Breaking news and developments, such as contaminated-food outbreaks, Farm Bill milestones, and how the farming community is faring around the world.

Editorials and op-eds about sustainable agriculture (or its opposite) from newspapers and websites big and small.

In-depth, offbeat, or thought-provoking features about aspects of SOLE food, from eating locally to farms marketing to methods of food preservation.

Posts by bloggers at both personal and nonprofit sites that you won’t want to miss.

Breaking news and developments, such as contaminated-food outbreaks, Farm Bill milestones, and how the farming community is faring around the world.