Yet studies show that we cannot avert climate chaos if we don’t support a rapid transition away from large-scale, chemical-intensive food production toward healthier and regenerative agriculture.
Policy and Organizing
Effects of U.S. Shutdown Widen Throughout the Food System
From reduced food inspections to a lapse in services for farmers, the shutdown’s effects are hitting more than just furloughed workers across the country.
Opinion | The Wrong Conversation about Trump’s Tariffs
Rather than focusing on how large corporate entities attempt to minimize tariff costs, our attention must be on how we restore democratic accountability to economic policymaking, especially when it concerns the social and ecological sustainability of food systems.
Rural Migration and the Changing Face of Agriculture
Rather than a crisis, the FAO views rural migration as critical for our food system and levelling out global inequalities. Better policies are needed, however, to maximize its benefits while minimizing its harmful effects.
Dariush Mozaffarian: Academic Institutions Need to Act for the Food System
The future of the food system requires training new experts to treat the industry differently, says Dean of Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Dariush Mozaffarian.
Students are Building Food Recovery Across the U.S.
On Food Talk, Food Recovery Network Executive Director Regina Northouse talks about the power of students in changing the ways their communities treat food waste.
“Take Back Our Democracy By Getting People Involved In Political Work”
On Food Talk, founder and Executive Director of Food & Water Watch talks about the importance of activism in the fight against climate change and solutions in the food system.
UN Backs Seed Sovereignty in Landmark Peasants’ Rights Declaration
The Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other People Working in Rural Areas, which was the product of some 17 years of diplomatic work led by the international peasant alliance La Via Campesina, formally extends human rights protections to farmers whose “seed sovereignty” is threatened by government and corporate practices.
Ways Forward to Step Up Soil Carbon and Meet Paris Pledges
One-third of carbon emissions are absorbed by the earth’s biosphere. After forests, agricultural lands and wetlands have the most potential to do this. A panel of experts convened at COP24 last week to discuss ways in which this potential can be realized.
Fireside Chat with Keith Maddox and Brigette Browning
Keith Maddox and Brigette Browning expose the realities of the San Diego labor force and how union organizations help relieve daily financial struggles for minimum wage workers.
Opinion | SNAP: A Cry for Economic Justice
Access to affordable nutritious food is a basic human right, not a privilege. However, for nearly 1 out of 8 Americans, hunger is a reality—as evidenced by the food insecurity rates which have remained at around 12 percent over the past three decades.
The Fate of a USDA Program That Helps Small Farms Survive Is Uncertain
A USDA study found businesses that received VAPG grants were significantly more likely to succeed compared to similar businesses that did not, and created more jobs. As U.S. farmers face unique economic challenges, the VAPG program may be discontinued.
“Food Should Be Treated as a Right and Not a Privilege,” Says Mendelsohn
On Food Talk, chef, restaurateur, and advocate Spike Mendelsohn talks about the food issues that motivate him to expand beyond his restaurants and into policy and advocacy spheres.
2018 NYC Food Tank Summit: Fireside Chat with Marion Nestle
Marion Nestle sits down with Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg to talk food activism and how every eater can start local to help build a better food system by voting with their dollars.
Seeds of Resistance, Harvests of Hope: Farmers Halt a Land Grab in Mozambique
“If the associations are registered and the farmers have collective rights to some land, maybe the land grabbing can stop,” Zunguze told me. Association leaders planned to visit neighboring National Farmers Union cooperatives to learn how agro-ecology could help them grow more food for their families and communities.
New Report Analyzes Success of Agricultural Policies for Development
Over 45 years, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) tracked indicators in 117 countries to understand which policies benefitted agriculture and development. Now, their groundbreaking report has found that successful agricultural transformation in a country depends on the quantity and quality of land available, existing demographic pressures, and implementation of a mix of appropriate policies.
In case you missed it: Watch the NYC Food Tank Summit on Food Loss and Food Waste
In case you missed it, you can watch the full NYC Summit on Food Loss and Food Waste on YouTube. Questions from the audience and engaging dialogue among speakers and panelists helped generate new ideas and spark action towards combating food loss and food waste from within communities, cities, and governments.