Ever since President Obama took office in January, he's kept his eye on the grand prize of making political discourse more civil. He's held up the ideal that Democrats and Republicans can find common ground and move beyond shrill partisan warring that...
Island Press Field Notes
Nowadays when I see bees in my garden, I pay close attention. I have noticed at least four different types. They buzz purposely—so focused on the periwinkle blue flowers of my rosemary hedge. I crouch down to examine their fuzzy bodies and the gorgeous...
At climate talks in Poland last week, delegates considered the issue of farm emissions. Globally farm animals generate 18 percent of greenhouse gasses—that's more than cars, planes, and buses. According to The New York Times (...
In my recent book Kitchen Literacy, I concluded by urging readers to learn where their food comes from and how it is raised. In developing my own "kitchen literacy," I...
Of all our national holidays I've always loved Thanksgiving best. Aside from the fun of cooking and eating terrific food together, it's the only national holiday that hasn't degenerated into an entirely commercial affair. In fact, it even seems to...
In the months leading up to the election, food activists (see the video by The White House Organic Farm Project, a.k.a. TheWhoFarm.org below) have been salivating over the...
November 4, 2008 will be best remembered for the historic election of Barack Obama, but it was also a day when Californians voted their gut and their appetite.
When I arrived at the National Agricultural Library just outside Washington D.C. one noon this October, a white-haired man with a commanding presence stood at the security check, impeccably dressed in an elegant...
As mentioned in last week's post, Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT), of which I am founder, learned that at least seventy of the heirloom apples unique to New England that remain are so infrequently featured in nurseries, farmers markets and...
When the leaves of New England begin to glow with crimsons, purples and golds, many of us remember that it's time for crimson, purple and gold apples to be picked, packed, sequestered in storage sheds, or processed into cider, butter, sauces or pies....