Food and Agriculture

Costs of Eating Healthy Pay Off Over Time

Costs of Eating Healthy Pay Off Over Time

Eating healthy costs a little bit more every day, a new study says. But in the long run, a healthy diet costs very little compared to the lifetime cost of treating diet-related chronic diseases, said the study’s authors.   The study, published this week in the journal BMJ Open, analyzed diet and price information from 10 countries. […]

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    7 Traditional Thanksgiving Foods Brought to You By Bees

    7 Traditional Thanksgiving Foods Brought to You By Bees

    It’s easy to take the food that appears before us for granted particularly during the holidays. However, there is one really important creature responsible for much of our favorite Thanksgiving fare: bees. Bee pollination is a $20 billion to $30 billion per year contributor to U.S. agriculture and vital to the majority of fruit and […]

    U.S. Banks Financing Rainforest Destruction for Palm Oil Plantations

    U.S. Banks Financing Rainforest Destruction for Palm Oil Plantations

    A new report names major U.S. and European banks that are financing land grabs in Indonesia for palm oil production—which is harming the rainforest and the lives of the people who live there—and the investors who are profiting from the business. Palm oil producers in Indonesia are clearing tropical rainforests to plant their oil palm trees, obliterating the […]

    Join the Growing Number of People Going Meatless on Mondays

    Join the Growing Number of People Going Meatless on Mondays

    Philadelphia, home of the Philly cheesesteak, recently joined the growing number of communities urging residents to refrain from eating meat once a week. The city council unanimously passed a resolution saying the city “recognizes the benefits of a diet high in fruits and vegetables and urges residents to participate in Meatless Mondays to improve their […]

    Factory Farming: Bad for People, Planet and Economy

    Factory Farming: Bad for People, Planet and Economy

    Factory farms, where large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost, affect all of us. Huge meat companies have steadily driven down the prices farmers receive for the livestock they raise, forcing farmers to get big or get out. Small farms have been replaced by factory farms that […]

    New Label Tells Consumers if Meat is Free of Growth-Enhancing Drugs

    New Label Tells Consumers if Meat is Free of Growth-Enhancing Drugs

    A new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) certification program for livestock producers would permit them to market their products with a special label saying the meat contains no drugs called beta agonists—which some estimates say are fed to up to nearly 80 percent of U.S.-raised livestock. Beta agonists are feed additives used to increase muscle mass and […]

    How Food With Palm Oil is Wiping Out Orangutans and Enslaving Workers

    How Food With Palm Oil is Wiping Out Orangutans and Enslaving Workers

    By Piper Hoffman “Adam,” a poor 19-year-old Indonesian, found a job driving trucks for a palm oil plantation that paid $6 a day. The foreman picked him up for a three-week, two-thousand mile journey to the worksite in Borneo. Along the way the terms of employment changed: Adam wouldn’t be paid for two years, and […]

    10 Urban Farming Projects in New York City

    10 Urban Farming Projects in New York City

    Who would think that one of the world’s largest cities, New York City, would be a major hub for urban agriculture? Well, it is. Food Tank has compiled a list of 10 urban farming projects providing New Yorkers fresh, local produce. 1. Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, 44 Eagle St., New York, NY A 6,000-square-foot organic vegetable […]

    Farm to School Programs Grow Interest in Local Food and Healthy Eating

    Farm to School Programs Grow Interest in Local Food and Healthy Eating

    An increasing number of U.S. school districts are participating in Farm to School programs, reflecting the growing popularity of local foods. Farm to School participants implement healthy, nutritious school meals incorporating local food products and school gardens as well as lessons in health, nutrition, food and agriculture. Activities can include school gardens, student field trips to […]