The Crop Trust is scaling up a ten-year effort to catalog, conserve, and prepare the genetics of wild relatives of major food crops, called crop wild relatives (CWRs), in light of increasing stresses to agricultural systems including climate change and population growth.
Crops and Commodities
Thirst for Avocado Leaves Plantations Dry
United States avocado consumption has doubled in the last decade straining local environments in exporting regions such as Michoacán, Mexico, where a loss of forest cover and underground water reserves has increased their risk of fires.
The Plight of Jamaica’s Small-Scale Coffee Farmers to Climate Change
BCFN Alumni Anne-Teresa Birthwright discusses how climate change is pushing small-scale coffee farmers in Jamaica towards new realities.
Sundari Kraft: “People eat more veggies when they take part in gardening”
How Sundari Kraft is changing the Denver food system and cleaning up food swamps through education, grassroots movement building, and policy change.
New Investigative Series: Indonesia For Sale
Indonesia for Sale, an in-depth series on politicians, palm oil plantation companies, and deforestation in Indonesia, highlights the country’s current conflict over land.
Agricultural Biodiversity: “Technically, Financially, and Politically” Feasible
Food Tank spoke with Marie Haga, Executive DIrector of the Crop Trust, about its new Food Forever Initiative.
Food Security and Agriculture in Haiti Hit Hard by Hurricane Irma
In the weeks following Hurricane Irma, humanitarian organizations launch responses and request funding to help Haiti through food insecurity and agricultural destruction.
How (and Why) a Soap Company is Changing the Food System
The skin-care company is now investing a surprising amount of time and capital in projects that affect how people eat—from GMO labeling to promoting regenerative agriculture—putting themselves at the forefront of efforts to build a more sustainable food system.
Tutwiler: “Agrobiodiversity holds the key to future food security”
Ann Tutwiler discusses report from Bioversity International on connections between agrobiodiversity and nutrition, sustainability, food security, conservation, and resilience.
Herbicide Dicamba Can Stay Volatile for 36 Hours, Arkansas Researchers Say
Farmers in nearly a dozen states are complaining about dicamba, the primary ingredient of a new Monsanto herbicide, blowing into their fields and allegedly ruining their crops.
Uniting Chefs, Eaters, and Plant Breeders: The 2017 Variety Showcase
The Culinary Breeding Network will bring together 500 chefs, plant breeders, and others in Portland, OR in October to share, discover, and taste new vegetables and grain cultivars that make for culinary excellence
Dr. Prasanta Kalita: “A hungry stomach can’t think”
Dr. Prasanta Kalita discusses his career addressing the need for more food, education, water, health, and awareness, both in the United States and abroad.
For Climate Change, the American Farmer is the Sleeping Giant
American corn farmers are a major group still skeptical of climate change and have been largely unharmed by it so far. This could change in the near future, bringing new force and an unlikely ally to the fight against climate change.
Hurricane Harvey’s Impact on Texan Farmers
Extensive wind and water damage caused by Hurricane Harvey has destroyed crops, stranded livestock, and contaminated the food supply. Texan farmers and ranchers will require ongoing support as they begin to assess damages.
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.
Trade Barriers Aren’t the Way to Fix Nutrition
Joe Glauber argues that discriminating against the origin of certain foods is not likely to improve global diets, and policies for healthier eating are better targeted at consuming the right kinds of foods.
Did Monsanto Write Malawi’s Seed Policy?
Malawi’s new draft seed policy, crafted in part by a Monsanto official, defines ‘seed’ as one that is quality certified, overriding the common cultural understanding of the term seed, and preventing local farmers from selling or displaying farm-saved seed at local seed fairs.
Remembering Sam Dryden: Global Leader in Food Security and Agricultural Development
Global food security and agricultural development leader and advocate Sam Dryden has passed away at age 67.
The Trump Administration’s False Promise to Rural America
If future GMO crops are to play positive environmental and social roles, they must be developed and deployed under policies and other conditions that favor and value agro-ecology, rural society, food sovereignty, and the environment over corporate control and excessive profit.
MicroGen Biotech: Tackling Pollutants in Soil
Food Tank speaks with Dr. Xuemei Germaine, founder of MicroGen Biotech, about the microbial products they are developing to increase crop yields, improve the crop safety, and promote soil health. MicroGen is working to address the health risks of soil pollutants through their patented platform technology.
