The safest kind of burger?

If you ever wanted proof that corporations matter more than people in our society, you need not look further than the New York Times article on how 22-year-old Stephanie Smith was poisoned by the O157:H7 strain of coli that contaminated a “burger” from food giant Cargill. As we learn in the […]

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This powerful U.S. State Department film reminds us we will need to feed an additional 1.8 billion people by 2030. Narrator Matt Damon also warns us that for each 1 degree of global warming, we face a 10% reduction in food production. Though vague on details, the film does come down squarely in favor of […]

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Federal Judge Jeffrey White has ruled that the USDA illegally approved Monsanto’s “Roundup-Ready” GMO sugar beets in 2005. Today’s ruling in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco does not ban sale of the crops currently being harvested in Oregon’s Wilmette Valley, but plaintiffs in the case expect to […]

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If I offered you a slice of this Health Kick tomato at a farmstand in Michigan today, I would bebreaking the law

At a farm marketing meeting in Michigan two years ago, a participant talked movingly about how his mother supported the family during the Depression by selling homemade pies to area restaurants. “If it […]

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One of the bigger ongoing scandals in ag circles is the continuing failure of the federal government to force Aurora Dairy to comply with organic requirements. The Cornucopia Institute has now filed suit against Aurora’ High Plains dairy near Kersey, Colorado. Part of the problem is Aurora’s failure to pasture its cattle, as required by […]

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Late one night, I saw a pitchman hawk these contraptions on cable TV (the guy was not as good the ShamWOW! spokesman, but then, who is?). Bleary-eyed though I was, the idea made sense. Growing tomatoes means investing in something — a cage or stakes - to keep those heavy vines supported enough so the […]

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BBC “Kitchen Nightmare” Chef Gordon Ramsay has touched off a fierce debate by proposing a legal ban on all out-of-season food in all British restaurants. Chefs would therefore be forced to offer menus limited to locally grown foods in season.
Europeans are much more concerned about climate change than most Americans. However, even in England, the […]

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