GRACE Communications Foundation
Most of us would prefer to feed ourselves and our families good, healthy, local, sustainably produced and affordable food. Unfortunately, there are many things that get in our way and don't allow this to happen. Sign the petition below to show your support for making our food system fair for all! We'll deliver it to your members of Congress.
With the U.S. economy in freefall, the number of people receiving federal food assistance benefits grew by nearly four million nationwide in 2008.
A recent NY Times article makes an argument for feeding cows more grass and supplementing their diets with Omega 3-rich Flax seed.
Ask a child where their food comes from and they will probably tell you "the grocery store." For most people, adults and children alike, the grocery store is the sole point of access to food. Little thought is put into its life beyond the shelves.
On June 26th, the House of Representatives voted on the Waxman-Markey Bill to address climate change. It passed narrowly with 219 aye and 212 nay votes. The American Clean Energy Security Act (as it is otherwise known), sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA), aims to cut emissions below the 2005 level by 80% in 2050.
Most people living below the poverty line do not have a community farm in their backyards. Many live in "food deserts" - areas where access to grocery stores is limited and fast food chains abound. I am lucky to live in a neighborhood with numerous grocery stores and healthy food outlets, but walk 10 blocks south and I would be hard-pressed to find a decent grocery store.
Demystifying the Environmental Sustainability of Food Production, a paper by Jude Capper, Roger Cady and Dale Bauman, demonstrates either a lamentable misunderstanding of the impacts of livestock production practices, or a willful effort to misrepresent the facts. Or perhaps a little of both.
Notes from "Meeting the Demand: Growing Markets for Sustainable Meat and Dairy Production," a conference organized by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). Lots of big ideas; lots of inspiring solutions.
Nothing says summer like strawberries, but before you bite into your next, read this. Methyl Bromide, a soil fumigant often used on strawberry crops, was phased out in the US by 2005 because it was depleting the ozone layer. The phase out was based on the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Clean Air Act. And what did they replace it with? Another toxic pesticide.
Never an industry to miss the chance to make a quick buck or million, Big Ag has long since jumped on the greenwagon. Lately though, a new shade of greenwash has emerged from the smarmy depths of industrial agricultural marketing departments...
Today the federal milk pricing system - originally created to ensure dairy farmers a living wage through price protection - basically acts as a fig leaf for Dean Foods and other dairy behemoths, providing cover for their anticompetitive practices. Meanwhile, federal investigations point to collusion to drive down milk prices paid to farmers by these dairy giants.
At the Hydrofutures: Water Science, Technology and Communities conference in Seattle in July, the most important takeaway in water, energy and agriculture is that there is cooperation but not a lot of collaboration.
In order to effectively address the public health crisis presented by skyrocketing rates of obesity, cheap-calorie US food policy must be overhauled.
Ellen Gustafson’s TED talk about hunger, obesity and how they're connected, and how the 30 Project will work on both.
"Vanishing of the Bees" follows the story of American beekeepers who are rapidly losing their bees to the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The investigation reveals that the culprit may be tied to our industrial farming practices.
Thanks to an outpouring of grassroots support and a prudent policy adjustment, organic beer will soon be more... organic.
