Modern agriculture could easily be called fossil fuel farming due to the dependence on petroleum and natural gas for food production, processing and distribution. In fact, livestock production (beef, pork, chicken, etc.) accounts for 18% of all the global warming…

This is an interview about globalization and agriculture with Miguel Altieri, Ph.D., a Chilean pioneer in developing the concept and best practices of agroecology. The interview is by Arty Mangan. AM: You do a lot of work in Latin America…

Locavore: someone who eats locally grown food. Thirteen plant foods can be grown successfully anywhere in the continental United States. These can be eaten locally and in season without needing to import them from afar. 1. Apples 2. Lettuce 3….

My now teenage son thinks I’m crazy. The feeling is mutual. His recent comment was “Why are you always talking about organic. Pesticides aren’t bad for me.” Well, I am no longer a teenager, and therefore am not immortal. So…

People often say farmers market food is too expensive. The authors of Eat Local Challenge are intent on debunding this myth with their Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge, launched last week. The challenge is to eat on a budget based on…

People panic. Yes. After I do a workshop on our food system and the increasing consolidation of agriculture by a small number of giant companies, people realize how deeply rooted the problem is in our institutions and politics, and they…

And does it matter? Maybe you get your food from more than one source? Millions go straight to Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. Wal-Mart gets a lot of flack, but if we could make it greener, more just……

Slurping a Cup of Fair Trade If you’ve never witnessed “coffee cupping,” this is a great introduction. This process is the reason why some coffee can taste so fabulous. View the 6-minute audio/ visual slideshow for a fascinating look at…

In just a couple weeks, farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and their allies will travel from Immokalee, FL – home of one of the largest farmworker communities in the country – to Chicago, IL, home of the…

Have you been wondering when we would hear about this kind of thing?! I have. A secret Monsanto study of genetically modified (GM) potatoes and rats conducted eight years ago in Russia reveals a scientific link to cancer. Activists from…