Section » Activism
The right to bear farms: Severine von Tscharner Fleming, young-farmers champion
Editor's note: Severine von Tscharner Fleming first inspired me back in 2006, when she was just an undergraduate activist at Berkeley. Since then, this wild-haired, scabby-shinned force of
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Ask the Ethicurean: How do I work to change the food system?
We recently received an email from a reader asking for career advice on how best to make a difference in the food system. He has given me permission to post it here with his name removed — I'll call him Reader D instead. Our suggestions follow, and we'd love to hear yours as well. I have been reading
WK Kellogg’s Food and Society 2009: Follow the foundation funding
I've just come back from the WK Kellogg Foundation's invitation-only Food and Society conference in San Jose, CA, where I was hanging out on the foundation's dime with about 500 other
There are much scarier food safety bills than HR 875 in Congress
If you care about food and farming and you use the Internet, you've probably received this particular e-mail. The title is something like, "BILL WOULD OUTLAW ORGANIC FARMING!!!!" or "MONSANTO'S DREAM BILL!!!!" It appears, inevitably, in all caps. I have upwards of 30 versions in my inbox. Normally, it
While we were sleeping: Score one for the GMO lobby
Updated at 3:10 pacific to include the full language of the relevant section of the bill. Thanks, IM. Things have been busy around here lately, but that's no excuse. We've just been reminded that, like time, Monsanto stops for no man. Yesterday, eliciting not a ripple from the blogosphere, the Senate
No comment, no say: lend your voice to shaping four big food & ag policies
Photo from Iowa, courtesy of factoryfarm.org. It's easy to get cynical about our ability to influence policy or policymakers - especially when we don't have lots of money or a well-dressed K St. lobby firm to throw around. But I'd venture to say that with all the change-making, democracy-taking action
After Michelle Obama: a Q&A with Scott Schenkelberg of Miriam’s Kitchen
Mrs. Obama on the line at Miriam's Kitchen; photo courtesy of Choice Photography. Last week, Michelle Obama made news by serving a meal at Miriam’s Kitchen, a DC social service agency. Miriam’s
Serving meals, shedding anger, at a free lunch program in New England
Toward the end of last year, something happened. I still can’t say what, exactly, I just know it happened almost overnight. For two years, I’d been reading and blogging almost exclusively about food. I’d devoured articles about CAFOs and corn, downer cows and diabetes, subsidies and school lunches.
Ready, set, go change the food system, part 2: More USDA action items
On Friday we published the first half of a list of specific actions the new USDA could undertake in its first six months that could significantly change the food system. After polling a cross-section of groups and individuals, we cherry-picked
Ready, set, go change the food system: A checklist for evaluating the new USDA’s first six months
Above: National Agricultural Library archival image, shot from the Washington Monument in the mid-1920s; US Department of Agriculture greenhouses on
Paving over paradise: “The Garden” documents the demise of South Central Farm
By Elise McDonough For more than 10 years, a lush oasis flourished in South Central Los Angeles, surrounded by warehouses and industry. An incredibly beautiful place, the 14-acre community garden known as South Central
Digest – News: Focusing the foodies, DNA Q&A, and MRSA attacks
Good food movement needs focus: The Post's Jane Black reports on a series of pricey charity dinners in Washington, DC organized by Berkeley foodies in honor of the inauguration. Their goal was to propel food-system change into the agenda of the new administration, but some say the movement is too fragmented
Political celebrations past and present
On election night in 1992* — the year that Bill Clinton won his first term and Barbara Boxer was first elected to the Senate — I made the flag-adorned chocolate truffles pictured above as part of a celebratory
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Rumors flying about the U.S. Department of Agribusiness as Usual
In the mad scramble preceding Tuesday's droolingly anticipated handover of executive power, there are a lot of politics happening at light speed. And some of them, apparently, are bad news — especially if you're someone who eats food. Yes, that would be you, me, and everyone we know. The rumor mill
Dope shit: Who to thank, and why, for antibiotics in your veggies
Manure, my favorite topic of conversation (particularly at parties), is pretty awesome. It has been a staple crop fertilizer virtually since humankind began cultivating its own food. It's everything synthetic fertilizer wishes
