Animation - Food Rules according to Michael Pollan
Excerpts from Michael Pollan’s talk. This video was made for the short film competition called out by the RSA.
GRACE Communications Foundation
food production
Industrial Agriculture on Ecocentric Blog
Industrial livestock operations (aka factory farms) threaten human health, damage the environment, degrade rural communities and compromise animal welfare. This series explores the issue... in all its manure-spewing, pestilent repugnance.
Comprehending the Scale of Factory Farming
The latest calculations from Compassion in World Farming suggest that we farm around 70 billion animals worldwide every year - nearly 10 animals for every single person on the planet. Around 70% of these animals (that's nearly 50 billionare factory farmed, which is bad news for the farm animals, as well as people and planet.
''Agent Orange'' Corn: Biotech Only Winner in Chemical Arms
The USDA is currently deciding whether or not to approve an application by Dow Chemical for its controversial genetically engineered (GE) corn variety that is resistant to the highly toxic herbicide 2,4-D, one of the main ingredients in Agent Orange.
Greening the Herds Not a New or Revolutionary Idea
A recent NY Times article makes an argument for feeding cows more grass and supplementing their diets with Omega 3-rich Flax seed.
Real Food and a recipe for Aioli with fresh garden herbs
Given our current economic situation, wouldn’t it be great if that silver lining came in the form of people taking the time to get reconnected with their food?
Sap is Rising...Adventures in Maple Sugaring
Lately, we've been having cold (below freezing) nights and warm (above freezing) days -- the exact conditions needed for maple sugaring. The change in temperature is what makes the sap rise and spill out of taps into waiting buckets.
Americans: Declare Your Independence from Supermarkets!
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.
Eleanor Perényi - Another Ecocentric Woman Ahead of Her Time
When writer and former Mademoiselle editor Eleanor Perényi died in May at 91, her New York Times obituary noted that she used her "years of toil in her Connecticut garden as a window onto the wider social world, ranging over history, myth and philosophy."
Pesticides: If This Doesn’t Convince You, Nothing Will
I recently read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and was shocked. Published in 1962, it attacked the use of pesticides and read like a story that might have been written today about the detrimental effects of ____ (fill in the blank), a product that hasn’t been properly tested, but is being sold anyway.
Antibiotics: If This Doesn’t Convince You, Nothing Will
As a child I had strep throat on a regular basis. The doctor would diagnose me by putting a giant Q-tip into the back of my throat to check for bacteria. I was given penicillin, amoxicillin, and tetracycline - at least those are the names of the antibiotics that I remember.
New York Moves to Grow Markets in Food Deserts
Last year New York spent $6.1 billion on obesity related health problems, the second highest expenditure in the nation. Diabetes rates in the United States have doubled in the last 10 years. While a small percentage of obesity is caused by genetics or health problems such as thyroid or hormonal disorders, most results from unhealthy dietary habits. Particularly in urban areas, unhealthy diets can result from or be exacerbated by 'food deserts.'
All is Fair (Trade) in Love and Chocolate
In which the GRACE team tastes and rates 11 brands of Fair Trade, Organic and Rainforest Certified chocolates. Buying Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance Certified chocolates is an easy way to ensure that your purchasing power supports chocolate growers with sound human rights policies.
Dispatches from the Beltway: Meeting the Demand for Sustainable Meat & Dairy
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.
Let Them Drink Milk! States Losing Drinking Water to Tortured Cows
A conflict in New Mexico is shaping up as a pitched battle between industrial dairy's desire to avoid regulation and the public's right to clean, safe drinking water. According to the state environment department, at least two-thirds of the groundwater underneath or adjacent to New Mexico's dairy CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) has been poisoned by nitrates.
New Toxic Pesticides to Replace Older Ozone Depleting Pesticides
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.
