Industrial farming costs us dearly in greenhouse gas emission levels. By some measures, the ecological impact of the farming industry outweighs even its economic impact. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock off-gassing (methane, ammonia and others from sheep dung, cow farts, etc) makes up 18% of our total greenhouse gas emissions …
Um. Look I don’t want to be an alarmist or anything. But. Um. See, I’ve got kids? And, see…they’re kind of…energetic enough? I mean really, truly. Spend five seconds in my house and you will see: they are doing just fine bouncing off the walls of their own accord. So, I’ll thank the world for …
Excuse me while I step up on the soapbox. Ahem. I’ve been chided before about being too political on my food blog. More recipes, Woman! But the thing is, food is all tied up with politics, and there are a few things we eaters need to understand about this. For our own safety. So we …
Sometimes you just can’t find an organic peach. Of course, most grocery stores and markets continue to expand their local and organic produce sections, but we have all faced a produce aisle, dinner party recipes in hand, without a nontoxic eggplant in sight. Should we just go conventional or try to find an organic replacement? …
I’ll say it: I like local food. I tend to choose it whenever I can find it, and whenever I can afford it. I’ll say something else, as well: I don’t just eat local foods. I’m extremely fortunate, as my corner of the world (Southern Vermont) offers an agricultural bounty unknown to many parts of …
Urban Agriculturalist is a series on the ways city and suburb dwellers use their land as a food resource. Struck by the high carbon cost of sending food to dense urban areas and communities in extreme climates, Andrew Bodlovich and Hogan Gleeson devised a highly efficient, waste-free aquaponic growing system in which vegetable crops and …
Urban Agriculturalist is a series on the ways city and suburb dwellers use their land as a food resource. Los Angeles has a dearth of publicly owned fruit trees, but who owns the fruit they produce? The three activists behind Fallen Fruit dare to ask, “Is this my banana?” By their estimate, 22 different crops …
If you’ve been paying attention to food news over the past month, you have surely heard of the downer cow debacle between the Humane Society and the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company. In shocking, secret footage recorded by Humane Society activists at the Chino, California livestock farm, handlers are shown using electric prods, high-pressure hoses and forklifts …
A Downer Question: Should Food Safety and Livestock Welfare Be Separate Issues? Read More 👉
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened today with the beginning shipments of 100 million seeds that originated in over 100 countries. The seeds represent everything from food staples such as maize, rice, wheat, cowpea, and sorghum to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato. The vault, located on a remote island …
Good Magazine, profiled before on Green Options, is one of my favorite magazines because it highlights good things happening in the world AND because they give 100% of subscriptions to the nonprofit of the subscribers choice that is affiliated with Good. It always has a variety of interesting articles, features a clean, modern design, and …
I admit that I am not the most rational person in the world. When faced with big choices, weighing the pros and cons is not how I behave. My decisions – whether to have a baby, where to live, who to marry – are not based solely on logic. They are also based on my …
