New York Times columnist Verlyn Klinkenborg today reminds us that the tough times up to and after World War II turned us into a nation of gardeners. Are we on the brink of growing our own food again?
In a 2004 column, Klinkenborg also wrote about the Victory Garden movement, which he notes is a far […]

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Research on tiny things sometimes illuminates big themes. Michigan State University biologist John J. Smith was studying a fruit fly that was evolving from laying its eggs on hawthorn trees to using apple trees. What he learned was that a parasitic wasp that traditionally feeds on the fruit flies’ larvae was evolving in tandem […]

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Mack Dreyfuss writes admiringly about alpacas for the Sustainable Farmer website. Mack visited Geoff Rostan’s Timber Ridge Farm, where these noble animals have now joined their spitting-but-not-kissing cousins the llamas as livestock recognized by USDA. This official status allows the farmers who raise them to acquire insurance that helps make their investment secure.
I must admit, […]

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