Food and Agriculture

Rising CO2 Levels Will Make Staple Crops Less Nutritious

Rising CO2 Levels Will Make Staple Crops Less Nutritious

At the elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) anticipated by around 2050, crops that provide a large share of the global population with most of their dietary zinc and iron will have significantly reduced concentrations of those nutrients, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Given that an estimated 2 billion […]

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    Canada Focuses on Food Security With Seed Diversity Initiative

    Canada Focuses on Food Security With Seed Diversity Initiative

    The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security aims to fortify Canada against the negative impacts of climate change on food security by developing a stronger domestic seed industry. Canadian Seed Security initiative will help Canada achieve food security. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock The five-year, US$5 million initiative began in February 2013 and is hosted […]

    Saving the World One Farm at a Time

    Saving the World One Farm at a Time

    This Earth Day we saw a global community in crisis. A terrifying climate trend that has the American people … yawning? A recent poll shows people nearly across the board rate climate change near the bottom of their lists of problems facing the nation. Why? Climate is big, intangible and hard to wrap our brains […]

    10 Reasons Consumers Buy Organic

    10 Reasons Consumers Buy Organic

    The Organic Consumers Association (OCA), in a series of action alerts over the past month, has criticized the gradual erosion of organic standards by vested corporate interests in the organic products industry. OCA, a nationwide watchdog organization set up to safeguard organic standards 16 years ago, and its allies in the organic community are calling […]

    Most U.S. Apples Coated With Chemical Banned in Europe

    Most U.S. Apples Coated With Chemical Banned in Europe

    A chemical widely used on non-organic American apples was banned in the European Union in 2012 because its makers could not show it did not pose a risk to human health, according to a new analysis by Environmental Working Group (EWG). USDA pesticide residue tests of apples find DPA more often and at greater concentrations than […]

    How Organic Farming Can Reverse Climate Change

    How Organic Farming Can Reverse Climate Change

    Rodale Institute announced yesterday the launch of a global campaign to generate public awareness of soil’s ability to reverse climate change, but only when the health of the soil is maintained through organic regenerative agriculture. The campaign calls for the restructuring of our global food system with the goal of reversing climate change through photosynthesis […]

    USDA Deception on Meat Inspections Continues

    USDA Deception on Meat Inspections Continues

    Further evidence that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is dismantling the meat inspection system as we know it came in an email last night. At 9:22 p.m. on April 16, I received an email from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office at USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) containing a spreadsheet with […]

    5 Ways to ‘Eat Real’ on a Budget

    5 Ways to ‘Eat Real’ on a Budget

    Food Day, which is Oct. 24 every year, is a nationwide celebration of healthy, affordable and sustainably produced food, and a grassroots campaign for better food policies. It aims to help people “eat real,” which means cutting back on sugary drinks, overly salted packaged foods, fatty factory-farmed meats and junky restaurant foods in favor of […]

    Vermont GE Labeling Law Moves One Step Closer to Reality

    Vermont GE Labeling Law Moves One Step Closer to Reality

    The Vermont Senate today voted 28-2 to approve legislation that would require foods produced using genetic engineering (GE) to be labeled in Vermont. Minor changes made by the Senate must still be approved by the state House, which previously approved the measure (107-37). Pending the governor’s signature, the law would take effect July 1, 2016. […]