By Sean Taylor MilkRun, a Portland, Oregon-based company, is supporting small, local farmers by enabling them to sell produce safely and directly to consumers’ homes. Founded by farmer and entrepreneur Julia Niiro, MilkRun is an online platform that lets farmers set their own prices, cutting out wholesalers, shippers, and truckers. Once consumers place an order […]
By Allison Johnson Most people who buy organic do it because they want to eat healthier. It’s true – switching to an organic diet rapidly decreases exposure to a wide range of pesticides, including glyphosate (the main ingredient in Roundup). According to a new study published in Environmental Research, glyphosate levels in families’ bodies dropped […]
Farmers are the stewards of our planet’s precious soil, one of the least understood and untapped defenses against climate change. Because of its massive potential to store carbon and foundational role in growing our food supply, soil makes farming a solution for both climate change and food security. The Threat to Food Security Farming is […]
By Alejandro Argumedo August 9 is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – a celebration of the uniqueness of the traditions of Quechua, Huli, Zapotec, and thousands of other cultures, but also of the universality of potatoes, bananas, beans, and the rest of the foods that nourish the world. These crops did not […]
By Danielle Nierenberg and Jason Flatt The world’s Indigenous Peoples face severe and disproportionate rates of food insecurity. While Indigenous Peoples comprise 5 percent of the world’s population, they account for 15 percent of the world’s poor, according to the World Health Organization. But through seed saving initiatives, financial support, mentorship, and community feeding programs, […]
By Danielle Nierenberg and Maya Osman-Krinsky In the United States, over 2,000 acres of agricultural land are sold every day for housing or commercial development, according to the American Farmland Trust. This has especially affected Black farmers who, since 1920, have seen nearly a 90 percent decline in land ownership, according to the U.S. Census. […]
By Isabelle Gerretsen “When I told people I was going to grow tomatoes in the desert, they thought I was crazy,” Sky Kurtz, founder of Pure Harvest Smart Farms, told DW. With just an average 12 days of rain a year, less than 1% arable land, a desert location and an 80% import rate for […]
By Danielle Nierenberg Since the first episode of Food Talk Live aired on March 19, our twice-daily live conversation series has featured nearly 150 food system experts, advocates, scientists, chefs and more. This means that, over the past four months, I’ve probably asked more than 1,000 questions to these folks about the future of the […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed both the strengths and limitations of globalization. The crisis has made people aware of how industrialized food production can be, and just how far food can travel to get to the local supermarket. There are many benefits to this system, including low prices for consumers and larger, even global, markets […]