Section » Politics and Labeling
Supreme court ruling not techically a victory for Monsanto after all
Hype haymaker: "The sustainable agriculture world is abuzz today with news of the Supreme Court's ruling regarding an earlier lawsuit, brought by alfalfa farmers, that sought to stop any planting of Monsanto's genetically engineered Roundup Ready alfalfa seed. While the press coverage heralds the ruling as a decisive victory for Monsanto, a close reading
More articles
Why we need to arm the EPA against toxic chemicals
Silent scream: "In America, chemicals are innocent until proven guilty," writes Bejamin Ross in this fascinating summary of the FDA and the larger history of U.S. regulation of toxic substances in food and our everyday environments. While this rule of thumb has been in place for over a century, it's
Comments Off • Read more »
The USDA looks at local food
Every now and then, newspapers print an article that makes it seem like locavores are running the U.S. food system, throwing our weight around, causing Big Ag to cower in corners. If only we
So long office, hello farm!
Maybe there's something in the air (or soil or water). Maybe it's the growing (no pun intended) interest in farming around the country. Maybe... it's just time. How else do you explain not one, but three Ethicurean contributors heading off into a new field? Unlike Stephanie
Industrial ag can’t get enough federal bucks?
Snow us the money! David Goldstein, Washington correspondent for McClatchy newspapers, reports that three senators are standing up for the poor, neglected industrial agriculture industry against the wicked Know
Giving everyone a Grand (Opening, at Local Roots)
One year ago, the twelve of us who formed the steering committee of the Wooster Local Food Cooperative, Inc., held a public meeting at the Wayne County Public Library to share our ideas for a year-round local food market in downtown
Buyer beware this butcher’s bullshit
It's a sad and telling sign of the SOLE food movement's popularity, when people use the movement's principles to market their beef and hide the bullshit behind the counter. As Matthew Richter writes in "Mystery
Goldman Prize winners fight against CAFO pollution, shark finning and monocultures
The Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded to six grassroots environmental heroes from around the world in San Francisco last Monday night. Three of the six 2010 winners are working directly in food-related areas. Lynn
Bringing everyone to the table: A review of “PolyCultures”
A handful of recent movies - most notably "Food, Inc." and "Fresh" - have undoubtedly boosted the number of people with something to say about national food policy. And just as the local foods movement emphasizes supporting local farms and producers, filmmakers are beginning to take a closer look at
A bad week for bluefin tuna and sharks
It was a bad week for some of the ocean's top predators in Doha, Qatar as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) rejected international trade restrictions on northern
‘Top Chef’ should take up the ultimate challenge: school lunch
Season 7 of Bravo’s Top Chef will be based in Washington, D.C., reported the Metrocurean (no relation) a few days ago, with filming to begin in early April.
The ‘femivore’: New breed of feminist, or frontier throwback?
Cross-posted from Grist, where I am serving as deputy food editor (part time). Have locavores and feminists -- factions that a few years ago, some
Here’s the catch: More sustainable seafood requires exerting pressure up the supply chain
This is part 2 of a series on improving market-based seafood sustainability initiatives, inspired by a recent article published by an international team of researchers in "Oryx: The International Journal of Conservation." (See Oryx volume 44, pp. 45-56 doi:10.1017/S0030605309990470.
Why seafood wallet cards can be the wrong bait for consumers
Seafood guides and other consumer-based campaigns are an important part of the quest for sustainable seafood and healthy oceans, but so far they have not shown enough positive results: bigger efforts are needed. That’s the main conclusion of a new article, "Conserving wild fish in a sea of market-based
Saul’s got SOLE: The Jewish deli in Berkeley evolves
When it comes to comfort food — especially comfort food that is wrapped in "tradition" like the Jewish deli — change can cause a lot of discomfort. People want what they think will make them feel better. They want
