Aronia berries are one of the latest superfood crazes, but they may have staying power: not only are they nutritious, but also profitable for farmers.
Tag: farming
Why Vegan? Because Every Death Is a Tragedy
Despite the big numbers, the awfulness of statistics of farmed and slaughtered animals is a matter of flesh and blood—an inescapable onslaught of pain, suffering, and thoughtlessness. The statistics become terrible every single day, whether we are standing in the midst of a slaughterhouse, or walking down a grocery store aisle, or watching a fast-food commercial on television.
Harvesting Justice 19: “The Revolution is Going to be Fought With The Hoe”- Agriculture and Environment in New Mexico
Miguel Santistevan and his partner Margarita García are helping youth reclaim knowledge about traditions behind lands and waters. Sol Feliz Farm, Miguel’s grandfather’s house east of Taos, is an acre of spiral gardens, rock gardens, and straight rows. The farm’s Agriculture Implementation Research and Education (AIRE) project is capturing the imagination of an impassioned group of youth in northern New Mexico.
Harvesting Justice 17: “The Awakening That’s Happening” – Local, Sustainable Food
“People are realizing that we can’t rely on the industrial food system much longer. The awakening that’s happening is our greatest opportunity,” says New Mexican farmer and activist Miguel Santistevan. This awakening has sparked the revival of local, sustainable food systems.
Harvesting Justice #5: Uprooting Racism in the Food System – African Americans Organize
A shovel overturned can flip so much more than soil, worms, and weeds. Structural racism – the ways in which social systems and institutions promote and perpetuate the oppression of people of color – manifests at all points in the food system. It emerges as barriers to land ownership and credit access for farmers of color, as wage discrimination and poor working conditions for food and farmworkers of color, and as lack of healthy food in neighborhoods of color. It shows up as discrimination in housing, employment, redlining, and other elements which impact food access and food justice.
Cultivating a Better Food System in 2013
Danielle Nierenberg and Ellen Gustafson, founders of new organization The Food Tank, share their ideas for improving the global food system in 2013 and beyond.
How Sustainable is Food from a Hydroponic Garden?
Growing food on-site in hydroponic gardens is catching on in a number of locations. But does this approach create truly “local” produce, with all of the health and environmental benefits?
World in Serious Trouble on Food Front
The world was hoping for a good U.S. harvest to replenish dangerously low grain stocks; this is no longer in the cards because of this Summer’s extreme weather. World carryover stocks of grain will fall further at the end of this crop year, making the food situation even more precarious. Food prices, already elevated, will follow the price of corn upward, quite possibly to record highs.
Limited Encouragement In The Latest Update Of The FAO Food Price Index
Yesterday, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations released it’s monthly update on global food trade pricing. The overall “Food Price Index” that combines all categories did decline slightly, but less than the previous month. The index is still substantially higher than it was at a comparable period during the last cycle.
Aflatoxin: A Toxic Potential of Climate Change
One of the most toxic and carcinogenic threats in the human food supply is a natural chemical called “aflatoxin”; the chance that it will contaminate a crop is enhanced by drought and/or insect damage – both conditions expected to be more common with the onset of climate change.
Bumper 2011 Grain Harvest Fails to Rebuild Global Stocks
2011’s grain harvest was massive: the largest ever. Given the number of lean years prior to it, though, the grain produced will not replenish global stocks… and, thus, stabilize food prices.
Short Film Discusses GM Crops “Farmer to Farmer”
There have been several points over the past few weeks when I’ve thought “You know what… let’s just take a break on agriculture.” Proponents of biotechnology, organic agriculture, and other [ … ]
10 Existential Threats To Global Agriculture
I tend to be a “glass half full” sort of person, particularly about the prospects of successfully feeding the 9-10 billion people we expect by 2050. My optimism is based [ … ]