by Coach Mark Smallwood, executive director at Rodale Institute Have you ever wondered how anyone makes any money on a $2.00 bag of nacho-cheese–flavored corn chips or a $0.25 apple? Economists and policy wonks have been talking about how we privatize profits and socialize loss here in the U.S. for at least a decade. If […]
Tag Archives | sustainable agriculture
5 Things We All Need to Learn from Temple Grandin
Photo: (cc) Steve Jurvetson/Flickr I recently had the great pleasure of hearing Temple Grandin speak at the Ecofarm conference in California. She is renowned for transforming the animal slaughter process to be more humane. For example, before she helped McDonald’s Corp transform its slaughtering techniques, only 30 percent of the animals were being killed on […]
We Can End the Fuel Versus Food Debate by Having Both
by guest blogger Bob Quinn, organic farmer and president of Kamut International There is an increasing debate these days about displacing food production with fuel production, especially in corn country. Many are concerned that the increased demand for grain for ethanol production increases prices for corn and therefore drives all grain prices higher—which leads to […]
Why We Need to Save the Farm Bill
by guest blogger Helen Dombalis. Despite what may be implied by its name, the Farm Bill affects much more than farm country U.S.A. The massive piece of legislation, renewed roughly every five years, has a lot to do with our entire food system. The current Farm Bill, passed back in 2008, is set to expire on September 30. That leaves Congress with just 16 business days to act!
Reform the Farm Bill
by guest blogger, Susan Prolman. This week, the full Senate is working through the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill spends $1 trillion over 10 years and sets food and agriculture policy for our nation. The bill’s title is the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, but how much reform does it really contain?
Create an Edible Ecosystem: No Fertilizer or Pest Control Needed
by guest blogger Kristina Jones. The idea behind an “edible ecosystem” garden is that it’s a different but complementary approach to organic farming that mimics a natural ecosystem, like a forest, but with food plants instead of trees and shrubs. Nobody fertilizes the forest or sprays pesticides, but the oaks still make gazillions of acorns. So we’re learning to garden like a forest.
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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