Blogs

Repealing the Clean Water Rule is Not About Protecting Farmers

By Mark Ryan, Betsy Southerland / On October 4th, 2019

All Americans —farmers included— will suffer the consequences of degraded water quality and damaging floods that will come with the repeal of the Clean Water Rule.

The Grand Food Bargain: A Conversation with Kevin Walker

By Jada Mosley / On March 25th, 2019

In this conversation, Kevin D. Walker answers the question: What is the grand food bargain?

#FOREWORDFRIDAY: Food on the Cheap

By Jada Mosley / On March 1st, 2019

In this week's #ForewordFriday, hear the story of the straight-shooting “green economy cowboy” Bob Quinn in his own words.

A Chat with Bob Quinn & Liz Carlisle

By Jason Leppig / On February 25th, 2019

Kirkus Reviews called it "A compelling agricultural story skillfully told; environmentalists will eat it up." In Grain by Grain: A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food you’ll hear the story of a straight-shooting “green economy cowboy” in his own words—following Bob Quinn from the farm fields of Montana to Italian university research labs where he discovered the health benefits of ancient wheat.

Saving More Than Seeds

By Andy Dyer / On April 3rd, 2018

Gene banks and seed vaults are saving and protecting crop seeds and the genetic diversity within crops, crop races, and some closely related species. There are some 1,700 gene and seed banks in the world with perhaps the most well-known being the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norway), but others include the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (Syria), Kew Millenium Seed Bank (UK), Global Crop Diversity Trust (Germany), and National Seed Storage Laboratory (USA). They are capable of storing and protecting many millions of species and crop cultivars.

Can Urban Gardening Make Us Whole?

By Laurie Mazur / On October 23rd, 2017

An in-depth look at how urban gardening is hoping to heal divisions that have plagued Milwaukee—and our nation as a whole

Size Does Matter: The Ecology of Organic Food

By Andy Dyer / On May 18th, 2016

The push for organic food to supplant conventionally produced food (i.e., produced with pesticides, supplements and artificial fertilizers) has always been hampered by the claim that the organic production style couldn’t provide the volume of food needed to supply the US population. That claim was not really based in reality so much as a number of predictions about production costs, food costs, and backlash from invested corporations. With 100 million acres of prime US farmland being used to produce field corn, a crop that is diverted almost entirely to animal feed and ethanol pro

Want to Raise Backyard Chickens in Nation’s Capital? You’re Out of Cluck

By Baylen J. Linnekin / On May 13th, 2016

Washington, DC attorneys Allison Sheedy and Daniel McInnis share their home in the city’s Chevy Chase neighborhood with their four children. They share their large yard with Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, Minnie Mouse, India, and Red, their four egg-laying hens.

Federal Judge Rules Skim Milk Isn't 'Skim Milk'

By Baylen J. Linnekin / On May 11th, 2016

This is what happens when government regulators control definitions of words.

Wealthy Investors vs. the Land, Livelihoods, and Locals

By Michael Kugelman / On April 7th, 2016

Whenever we hear about stories like these, stories of such immense exploitation and predation, there is a tendency to think: How can this happen? How can obscenely rich investors run roughshod over the land, livelihoods, and rights of impoverished local communities, and with utterly no consequences?