Over the last twenty years, an spike in immigration from Somalia has had a surprising outcome for the American food system: an increased market for camel meat. This article explores the intricate connections for food economics that underlie this new market.
Animals
Paraguay’s Self-Sustaining Agricultural School Helps Rural Students Learn and Earn
High school students in Paraguay become entrepreneurs when a microfinance institution takes over their agricultural high school.
Opinion: The Republican Farm Bill is as Broken as our Food System
As Congress battles over this year’s Farm Bill — the massive US$87 billion a year legislation dictating the nation’s food and farming policies — it’s critical we spend all this money wisely. As taxpayers and eaters, everyone has a stake in making sure this huge investment results in a healthier food system for the future.
Farmer Friday: Producing Better Pork
Farmer Friday’s Phil Kramer comes from a long history of Niman Ranch pork production. Check out how he sees pork farming evolving and why food education is important for consumers.
Farmer Friday: April Wilson on Food Education and Small Farms
Niman Ranch farmer, April Wilson, talks about the importance of knowing where your food comes from, interacting with the animals and the land, and inspiring people to farm.
Feed Behind Our Food Challenges Retailers
Feed Behind Our Food develops a strategy for retailers across the animal feed supply chain to produce more sustainably for a growing world.
Quality Meat from Quality Care: An Interview with Niman Ranch Farmer Randy Gadient
Randy Gadient, a Niman Rancher and hog farmer, explains why connecting with animals, involving more young farmers, and reviving small farms are key to changing the food system.
Farmer Fridays: Scott Sibbel on Sustainable and Humane Farm Practices
Scott Sibbel, a Niman Ranch farmer, tells how sustainable, traditional, and humane farming techniques are transforming the U.S. food system.
Kale vs. Cow: New Film Explores Benefits of Better Meat
Filmmaker, dietitian, and sustainability advocate Diana Rodgers spoke with Food Tank about her work as a champion for better meat and her new documentary Kale vs. Cow.
BCFN Award Recognizes Young Food System Researchers
This year’s winners are researching food security and interventions to improve mother/child health in Lebanon and integrated pest management to lower negative rice production impacts.
Vote With Your Turkey: How Your Holiday Purchase Can Save Lives
Americans eat approximately 40 million turkeys on Thanksgiving and another 22 million for Christmas. Consumers have an opportunity this holiday season to help move turkey producers away from misusing life-saving medicines.
Dolcini: “Efforts to help one species generally promote all species”
Val Dolcini is passionate about helping pollinators and American farmers. Before joining P2, an organization dedicated to promoting the health of pollinators, he held numerous positions in government, businesses, and nonprofits including the USDA Farm Service Agency.
Battling Agricultural Pests with Bats
In exchange for protection from predators, stable temperatures, and safe shelter, bats take care of some damaging pests for gardeners—no chemicals required.
Conservationist Danielle Fox: Without Monarch Butterflies, “We Really Are in Bad Shape”
Food Tank spoke with Danielle Fox, the community conservationist for the city of Columbia, Missouri, to get her take on what we can do to save monarch butterflies and why it’s worth doing.
Host BBQ for Bee Awareness Event in Your Town
Without bees, picnics and BBQs would not exist as we know them, as highlighted by an upcoming event to raise bee awareness.
Nonprofit Promotes Healthier Lifestyle by Decreasing Meat Consumption
The Reducetarian Foundation hopes to unite vegans, vegetarians, and everyone willing to decrease the amount of meat they eat, in order to improve health, the planet, and animal welfare.
Monique Mikhail: “Food is an issue that is at the heart of so many other issues”
Monique Mikhail looks for food system solutions by trading in big agribusiness for support of small-scale, ecological farmers. She calls for investment sustainability that is spear-headed by the current generation and an education system that passes on that knowledge to future generations.
Under Contract: Documentary Exposes Hardships of Contract Farming
Under Contract: Farmers and the Fine Print gives a voice to farmers who are trapped in merciless production contracts. The documentary allows farmers and industry experts to describe how production contracts—the new face of modern agriculture—is reshaping rural America
New Report Reveals Climate Damage from the Meat and Dairy Industries
Interview with GRAIN, a nonprofit research and advocacy group, about a downside to the meat and dairy industries—more greenhouse gas emissions than all transportation combined—and what you can do about it.