Four food advocates discuss their views on the state of our food system. They explore the relationship between class, race, and food access, investing in local farm programs, and young people’s hopeful role in sustainable agriculture.
Farmers
Wise: We Won’t Feed the World By Giving Up on Small-Scale Farmers
Timothy A. Wise describes how agribusinesses highjack policy tables, while governments neglect the small-scale farmers with solutions to feed all.
“The farmer is literally hedging their bets” in Eastern and Southern Africa
Drought tolerant crops that deliver nutrition and income to farmers could bring more food security to the region. Dr. Moses Siambi from ICRISAT explains how relying on single, water-intensive crops during dry periods can be risky.
Celebrating A Diversity of Opinions Is Key to Collaboration, Says Erin Fitzgerald
To boost transparency in the agricultural industry, Erin Fitzgerald of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance calls upon people to learn more from farmers and the diversity of ways they tend to their land.
Opinion | Cambodian Agri-Tech Centre Provides Opportunities for Rural Youth
The Green Shoots Foundation discusses the mission of the Agro-Tech Center in educating and training youth in rural Cambodia.
A New Global Agriculture: Using Big Data to Bring Farmers Together
For centuries, farmers have been isolated—geographically, economically, technologically. Big Data has the potential to transform agriculture in the 21st century and create a new global commons for agricultural knowledge that could allow farmers from Missouri to Myanmar to learn from one another.
Stephanie Race: Preparing for Future Farming Hurdles Requires Multidisciplinary Data
The urgency to transform agricultural research and data into cutting-edge solutions for growers “is as if someone turned the volume up on the stereo,” says Stephanie Race of Crop Performance Ltd. and Earth Labs.
Opinion | Why We Need Organic for All?
Pesticides such as chlorpyrifos are linked to increased neurodevelopmental problems yet little is being done to protect farmworkers from pesticide exposure; which is hundreds of times greater levels of toxic pesticides than consumers’.
Eating Local Just Got Easier for Some North American Cities
Much of the time, food racks up quite a few miles on the foodometer before it reaches our plates. But Square Roots and Gordon Food Service are partnering to help bring locally-grown food to customers across North America year-round.
Rallying the Troops: Farmers Around the U.S. Head to Iowa to Call for Better Agricultural Policy
National farm organizations to gather on March 30 in Storm Lake, Iowa, to call for a Farmers Bill of Rights and policy to thwart further consolidation in the food system.
Opinion | A Farmer’s Transformation
A former tobacco farmer reflects on his transformation toward regenerative agriculture, influenced by a farmer-driven program that aims to feed the world while improving the health of the planet.
Confronting Gender Bias in Agriculture Takes Daily Work, Says Maiga of CORAF
Mariame Maiga of WECARD/CORAF talks about how confronting gender inequity in Africa is a daily obligation for anyone working in agricultural research and sustainable development.
Making Tropical Agriculture more Resilient and Sustainable
Small-scale farmers in the tropics face many challenges. However, Dr. Ruben Echeverría of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture remains hopeful.
To Save Future Food, Youth Deserve A Better System at SXSW
At South by Southwest, Food Tank’s panel featuring Haile Thomas, The HAPPY Org; Tony Hillery, Harlem Grown; and Regina Anderson, Food Recovery Network discussed the key to a better future food system: leaders of the future.
Climate change exacerbates the challenge of plant pests
The FAO predicts that the severity of the pest problem is only going to increase with Climate Change—calling for farmers’ to enhance their knowledge and skills to best manage pests and diseases of crops.
Re-introducing a Nutrition-Packed Berry in the Midwest
In Hartsburg, Missouri, Terry Durham created River Hills Harvest so elderberry growers throughout the Central United States could benefit from shared knowledge about sustainable growing practices and marketing.
Start National Reading Month With 21 Food and Ag Reads
Food Tank is highlighting 21 books on food, agriculture, and environment to inspire readers of all ages to get in on the National Reading Month celebrations in 2019.
15 Must See Events at Natural Products #ExpoWest 2019
Food Tank is traveling to Anaheim, CA to participate in the Natural Products Expo West 2019—an event that hosts thousands of companies in the natural products industry.
At Clover Sonoma, Supporting Farmers Brings Urbanites to the Farm
On “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” CEO of Clover Sonoma Marcus Benedetti talks about maintaining a dairy connected to a network of partnerships with family-owned dairy farms.
Plastic, Plastic Everywhere: Microplastics in the Food System
Move over pesticides—there is a new interloper jeopardizing the health of food systems across the globe, and you are likely wearing it, sitting on it, or drinking from it right now.
