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.
Industrial Agriculture
Justin Kamine: “Society needs to move toward the notion of a circular economy”
Justin Kamine, Co-Founder and Partner of KDC Ag, believes looking to nature to form large scale infrastructure solutions is the quickest and most effective way eliminate food waste.
Loren Cardeli: “Agriculture got us here, and agriculture can also save us”
Loren Cardeli, Founder and President of A Growing Culture (AGC), has worked closely with smallholder farmers around the world and helps consumers to reevaluate how their relationships with farmers.
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.
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.
We Don’t Need to Double Food Production by 2050, Says New Study
A study by U.S. academics challenges the assertion that we need to double food production by 2050. Rather than questioning the assumptions in the famous calculations that first suggested a doubling was necessary, the new team of academics updated the data used.
Monsanto Faces Labor Law Violations Class Action Suit
Seed-corn workers brought a first of its kind class action suit against seed giant Monsanto for violations to two federal labor laws the day after the release of a two-year investigation into labor violations in the seed-corn industry.
Grasshoppers Jump into the United States Food Market
Your next protein shake might be made with grasshoppers thanks to a new company, Hargol FoodTech, and their sustainable, humane insect farming techniques.
Research Raises Concerns for Pregnancy Complications from Pesticide Exposure
Researchers discover a correlation between glyphosate pesticide exposure during pregnancy and complications including low birth weight, raising another health concern for the world’s most commonly used and increasingly controversial pesticide.
Trump Signs Executive Order to Revitalize Rural America
Trump’s new executive order “Revitalize Agriculture and Promote Rural Prosperity” aims to increase economic viability of farmers and widen scope of exports.
Students Launch Nationwide Rolling Fast for Farmworker Justice in Columbus, Ohio
Nineteen students affiliated with Ohio State Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) and Real Food OSU fasted for seven days in March to urge the administration of Ohio State University (OSU) to cut their contract with Wendy’s. The fast was a response to…
Crete Cook Cultivates Sustainable Sanctuaries
Interview with Nikki Rose, Founder and Director of Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries, about the influences of history and traditions on nutrition, sustainability, and biodiversity.
United Nations Report Rejects Pesticide Myth
A new United Nations report has rejected the myth that pesticides are necessary in feeding the world, highlighting the catastrophic damage they have caused to people and the environment.
Food Tank’s Reading List: 17 Books to Dig into this Spring
Mussels, cheeses, and biofuels. Permaculture and mini farms. Presidential chefs and scientists. Food Tank’s Spring reading list is a feast for the mind and stomach.
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
Alfrea Plants Garden Spaces into the Sharing Economy
Food Tank had the opportunity to interview David Wagstaff. He founded Alfrea, the company with an online marketplace for landowners, garden helpers, and farmers who want to sell produce.
Top Five Reasons Why We Must Block Agrichemical and Seed Mega-Mergers
Antonio Roman-Alcalá outlines how three impending mergers between six of corporate giants will further consolidate market and political power, leading to even greater corporate control of our farms and plates
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.
Sonny Perdue is President-elect Trump’s Nominee for Secretary of Agriculture
Former Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the Secretary of Agriculture.
Tell Congress That Farmers Count—Take the 2017 National Young Farmer Survey
Take the National Young Farmers Coalition’s survey to let Congress know #FarmersCount.