The Paris Climate Conference (known as COP21) is finally taking place, bringing with it that strange mix of hope mingled with despair. Everyone seems to have his or her own personal agenda (including me) for how the conference should play out—and how we can save ourselves from a climate disaster. Organizations from all over the […]
Organic Issues
How Pennsylvanians Took a Stand for a Healthy Environment
by guest blogger Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper Rights to pure water, clean air, and a healthy environment have been vindicated twice in Pennsylvania in this past week alone. Pennsylvania’s recent election of state Supreme Court justices who recognize the importance of honoring all the state’s constitutional provisions, including its environmental rights amendment, was […]
I Hate Granola
Recently on Twitter, I clicked on a link from the Economist baiting me with a tweet about which American fast-food company is both most profitable and most ecofriendly. I knew before clicking that the answer was Chipotle, but wanted to confirm. I was greeted by this opening sentence: “SUSTAINABILITY suffers from an image problem. Not […]
Lost in Transition: Why Are Farmers Resistant to Organic?
by Maria Rodale and Kimbal Musk, who recently visited Iowa together and wrote the following for The Des Moines Register: At this moment in time, American consumer demand for organic foods far exceeds the supply. Though the organic sector is a $39.1 billion market with an annual growth rate of 10 percent (the fastest-growing sector […]
The American Hospital with an Organic Farm
Full disclosure: I’m not referring to just any organic farm. This is a Rodale Institute organic farm. It’s not just any hospital, either. It’s a hospital based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (my hometown), which had the courage to do something that only one other hospital in America has done: find a way to grow organic food […]
The Healing Power of Regenerative Organic Agriculture
September 20, 2015 marked 25 years since my father, Robert Rodale, was killed in a car accident in Russia. If on that fateful day someone would have asked him what his legacy was to be, I know for a fact he would have answered: “Regenerative organic agriculture.” To him, organic alone was not enough. He […]
The True Impact of an Apple
You’re standing in the supermarket. You’re in the produce section looking at apples. Organic and conventional apples are there right next to each other. They look the same. Which one do you pick? Based on all the questions I get about the price of organic, I’m going to guess many will pick the cheaper apple. […]
5 Essential Steps to Clean Water for Everyone
According to data from the Beverage Marketing Corporation (a market research firm), bottled water will outsell soda in America in approximately two years. I can hear the sound of environmentalists shrieking (“Just drink tap!”), health proponents clapping (“Finally, people are choosing water over sugary drinks!”), and giant water companies quietly panicking (“Oh, crap! Where are […]
Scratch
Raised on America’s first organic farm, Scratch author Maria Rodale learned how to make everyday favorites from, yes, scratch — the way you remember them; the way they turn out best.
Order NowOrganic Manifesto
Drawing on findings from leading health researchers as well as conversations with both chemical and organic farmers from coast to coast, Maria Rodale irrefutably outlines the unacceptably high cost of chemical farming on our health and our environment.
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