- 5 Times The Sustainable Food Movement Won Big In 2016 (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2ii8d1k
- Civil Eats: Our Best Food Justice Stories from 2016 http://bit.ly/2i8vGUT
- 25 Rockstar Farmers, Artisans and Storytellers We Celebrate from 2016 (Barnraiser) http://bit.ly/2hDu1FU
- First map of smallholder farms in the developing world: They produce more than half the planet’s food calories (ILRI Clippings) http://bit.ly/2ilpW7Y
- Beans Could Be the Low-Tech Solution to Food’s Biggest Problems (takepart) http://bit.ly/2gwQowD As the world gets hotter and drier, pulses may be key to feeding us.
- They Lost Their Jungles to Plantations, But These Indigenous Women Grew Them Back (Yes!) http://bit.ly/2gBmCGE When a governmental effort to encourage cash crops threatened their food security and native land, India’s indigenous families came together to revive their traditional foo systems.
- The Reddest State Goes Green (Just Don’t Mention Climate Change) (takepart) http://bit.ly/2hwLm4X As drought and heat waves wallop Texas, ranchers, farmers, and cities are quietly embracing renewable energy and adapting to an undeniable truth.
- First Urban ‘Agrihood’ In America Feeds 2,000 Households For Free (True Activist) http://bit.ly/2hplBUk
- Where Have All the Apples Gone and Can These Farmers Bring Them Back? (Civil Eats) http://bit.ly/2irxgi8
- The Demise of Greece’s Agricultural Commons (truthout) http://bit.ly/2ixXEGk
- Greece: CAP In Your Country (European Commission) http://bit.ly/2i8FhIS
- At Standing Rock, No One Goes Hungry: The Kitchen That Sere Traditional Lakota Food and Values (Yes!) http://bit.ly/2iapUlQ
- Phat Beets, New Gardens: A Community Response to Food Gentrification (Food First) http://bit.ly/2hzNFBe
- Retired UC Santa Cruz botanist helps name succulent after Jimi Hendrix (Santa Cruz Sentinel) http://bit.ly/2h1G2BG
- Twelve Organizations Promoting Urban agriculture around the World (foodtank) http://bit.ly/2inwwtx
- Tom Philpott: The Rise of Pesticide Giants and Other Food Stories to Watch Next Year (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2i7O3t0
Food and Culture
- University of Toronto Students Spend Four Days Munching on 200 Year Old Diet From Southeast Asia (UT News) http://bit.ly/2fOtamq
- The Reason Jews Eat Chinese Food On Christmas Is Rooted in Solidarity (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2igAYel
Hunger, Food Access & Security, Obesity & Malnutrition
- How One Homeless Couple Finds and Prepares Their Meals (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2ih4H6Z
- In the Battle against Malnutrition, UN Expert Says Junk Food is the Real Culprit (Civil Eats) http://bit.ly/2gz1TzU Hilal Elver, UN Special Raporteur on the Right to Food, says Big Food’s impact on public health should alarm us.
Gleaning, Reuse, Recycling, Composting & Waste
- Burundi: Farmer finds new techniques for preserving tomatoes (Farm Radio International) http://bit.ly/2ip5G4f
- German city bans plastic coffee pods (K-cups) in another win for the environment (Global Citizen) http://glblctzn.me/2iEujhw
- Should charges go beyond plastic bags? (Plastic Oceans) http://bit.ly/2g6CdKH
Healthy/Safe Food
- In One of the Nation’s Unhealthiest Places, This Hospital Prescribes Fresh Food From Its Own Farm (Yes!) http://bit.ly/2hTmrW5
- 6 Reasons We Need to Be Even More Mindful Consumers as Trump comes to the White House (AlterNet) http://bit.ly/2h1cVis President-elect Trump has surrounded himself with pro-corporate advisers who would endanger public health, animals and the environment.
- A Terrifying Superbug Just Showed Up on a US Farm for the First Time (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2hpDy4d The bacteria found in a hog operation is resistant even to some of our most powerful antibiotics.
Labor/Unions/Coops
- Donald Trump’s Fight With Hotel Workers in Las Vegas Comes To An End (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2hta3vf His workers in Vegas won a four-year-contract, and his workers in Washington, DC, may follow suit.
- Trump vineyard seeks Labor Department approval to hire foreign workers (Washington Post) http://wapo.st/2hjIZ5s
Protests
- Thousands of Fight for 15 protesters rise up in 340 cities across the US (The Guardian) http://bit.ly/2fLUuNd Workers took part in protests in New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles and other places Tuesday to call for fairer minimum wages nationwide.
- Backlash. Breitbart: US companies confront a volatile political climate (Washington Post) http://wapo.st/2fXLNEL
Business, Social Enterprise & Our Economy
- Ingredients for social justice in Oakland culinary industry (SF Chronicle) http://bit.ly/2hNIPzq
- 9 Women of Color Who are Changing the Food Industry (AlterNet) http://bit.ly/2i7BJZB In a male-dominated field, women of color are making strides as chefs and food business owners across the country.
- A vegan chain you’ve never hear of is expanding nationwide – and that should scar McDonald’s (Business Insider) http://read.bi/2hJZbwy
- How Mike Callicrate built an alternative cattle empire from ranch to retail (The New Food Economy) http://bit.ly/1Om3Skm
- Report: Growing disaster: the Fortune 500 goes farming (GRAIN) http://bit.ly/2hlp6JJ The world’s largest agribusiness corporations are rolling out public-private partnership programme to take control of foo and farming in the Global South.
- The ‘chickenization’ of beef (High Country News) http://bit.ly/2hKWnvn Obama failed to protect small-scale ranchers competing against Big Ag.
- Nestlé and Coca-Cola Attempt to Block National Parks From Banning Bottled Water Sales (truthout) http://bit.ly/2g7hLKG
- McDonald’s Could Be Forced to Issue Refunds If Lawsuit Proves ‘Value Meals’ Lack Value (AlterNet) http://bit.ly/2hiyYE3 “A value meal is supposed to be a cheaper price. That’s the whole point of a ‘value’ meal.”
- Kellogg pulls advertising from Breitbart (New York Post) http://nyp.st/2h41oml
- Quitting Season: Why Farmers Walk Away From Their Farms (Civil Eats) http://bit.ly/2hafRMK Failure of farms, or failure of the system?
- M. Fortier and the Rise of the High-Profit Micro Farm (modern farmer) http://bit.ly/2ew1m69
- How to build a regional grain economy from scratch (The New Food Economy) http://bit.ly/2iht8E0
Food Fraud/Scandals/Weird
- Modesto (CA) man pleads guilty in French Laundry wine theft (SF Chronicle) http://bit.ly/2hefmCt
Water & Our Oceans
- The thousands of US locales where lead poisoning is worse than in Flint (Reuters) http://reut.rs/2iO1ijo
- Report finds child lead exposure rate in Oakland (CA) higher than Flint’s (SF Gate) http://bit.ly/2hxvWZg
- That thing the Standing Rock protesters were afraid of just happened (Science Alert) http://bit.ly/2gALo6v 176,000 gallons of oil spilling into a nearby creek.
- North Dakota Oil Pipeline Spills An Estimated 176,000 Gallons (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2gWs6to The leak is about 150 miles from the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access pipeline.
- North Dakota pipeline shut down after oil leaks into waterway (KTVQ) http://bit.ly/2gORpxq
- The Great Lakes Have Become A Dumping Ground For Millions of Pounds of Plastic (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2icBixg
- As Groundwater Dwindles, a Global Food Shock Looms (National Geographic) http://bit.ly/2hNQqxO
- Great Barrier Reef Suffered Worst Coral Die-Off on Record in 2016 (Truthout) http://bit.ly/2hCaMJS
- Climate change, meet your apocalyptic twin: oceans poisoned by plastic (PRI) http://bit.ly/2hV0N6p
Government/Regulation/Policy/Farm Bill
- The White House Just Made It Easier To Know The Fish You’re Eating Is actually Fish (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2h5KO4C
- Department Of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: New Rule: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Seafood Import Monitoring Program http://bit.ly/2gsOegW
- While we weren’t looking, Congress passed an amazing bipartisan bill. (Upworthy) http://u.pw/2gX4VPh “We can’t ask a child to feed her mind when she can barely feed her stomach.”
- Summary: H.R. 1567 – Global Food Security Act of 2016 (congress.gov) http://bit.ly/2gRMNXZ
- House of Representatives Target Healthy School Lunch Standards (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2hcOqhF Lawmakers seem to want “brining junk food back into schools.”
- Obama’s USDA Just Played Chicken With the Trump Transition Team (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2i5Wypf Brand new rules protect poultry farmers from corporate power. But will the Trump team enforce them?
- USDA Announces Farmer Fair Practices Rules – Clarification for Industry & Protections for Farmers – Release No. 0263.16 (USDA) http://bit.ly/2i5WsxP
- Final EPA Study Confirms Fracking Contaminates Drinking Water (EcoWatch) http://bit.ly/2hNXeLw
- EPA Report: Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States (Final Report) http://bit.ly/2gJfpWF
- Flint water crisis: Senate passes bill funding removal of lead-tainted pipes (The Guardian) http://bit.ly/2hARvZA
- Senate Finally Approves Flint Aid – At California’s Expense (Common Dreams) http://bit.ly/2gBocbz Michigan action shouldn’t come at expense of ‘endangered species protection in California, but that is the result of the partisan games at play,’ said NRDC
- California Water Bill Rewards Farmers, Screws Environment (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2hrz9uE
- Big Ag Just Got A Big, Wet Kiss From Paul Ryan (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2gMDNp3 Watch the House Speaker talk some real nonsense about what’s “crushing” farms.
- Paul Ryan Says Free School Lunches Give Kids ‘An Empty Soul’ (Time) http://ti.me/2gMKVC9 This from 2014, but…
- Quinoa Apocalypse (National Review) http://bit.ly/2h2LIiF The food movement is cooked under the Trump administration
- Organic standards will exclude next generation of GMOs (Friends of the Earth) http://bit.ly/2g41N46
- Trump’s Labor Pick, Fast-Food CEO Andrew Puzder, Opposes Minimum Wage Increase & Paid Sick Leave (Democracy Now!) http://bit.ly/2hlTx3m
- Trump Chooses Fast-Food CEO To Be His Labor Secretary (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2h7nNy2
- Trump Just Wrapped Up a Nice Double Gift to the Meat Industry (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2gx3tSW One major advocate just took over the EPA; another will handle relations with China.
- John Kasich Quietly Signs Measure Blocking Local Governments From Raising Minimum Wage (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2i00xRl The law will also stop municipalities from passing additional protections for workers.
- Ohio Lawmakers Sneak Measure Restricting Minimum Wage Into Bill About Puppies (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2gu4wGt Ohio lawmakers passed a measure this week that blocks local governments from raising the minimum wage and passing laws to benefit workers.
- Michigan Is Still Fighting A Court Order To Provide Water To Flint (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2g8vNMf
- Michigan’s Effort To Drug Test Welfare Recipients Catches Zero Bad Actors (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2gWQAlJ Once again, a state’s suspicion that poor people are addicts is unconfirmed.
- Washington State Launches Suit Against Monsanto for Toxic PCB Pollution (Common Dreams) http://bit.ly/2hwaw3m
- Governor LePage orders Department of Labor not to enforce minimum wage law (Maine Becon) http://bit.ly/2hJ6gwA
- Press Release: New Minimum Wage and Overtime-Exempt Minimum Salary Take Effect in Maine Jan. 7 (Maine.gov) http://bit.ly/2ihbVqD The press release indicates that the Maine Dpt. of Labor will not enforce the minimum wage law…
- Washington (State) wins record-setting judgment (My Columbia Basin) http://bit.ly/2gQdjnb County Superior Court Judge orders the Grocery Manufacturers Association to pay $18 million in penalties and punitive damages…
- Gullah Geechee: Descendants of Slaves fight for their land (BBC News) http://bbc.in/2h2Fdwt
- Portland to vote on taxing companies if CEO earns 100 times more than staff (The Guardian) http://bit.ly/2g5Ngcf City official proposing the tax, considered the first of its kind, says income inequality is among society’s greatest challenges: ‘It’s absolutely frightening’
- A Last Resort That Might Work: Small Town Votes In Community Bill of Rights to Ban Fracking (Yes!)
GMOs/Cloning/Food Technology/Synthetic Biology/Nanotechnology
- New Study Show Major Molecular Differences between GMO and Non-GMO Corn (Sustainable Pulse) http://bit.ly/2h1B9IH
Poisons
- Bader Farms v. Monsanto, An Epic Duel Over Illegal Spraying of Herbicide Dicamba (Beyond Pesticides) http://bit.ly/2hpvctg
- Missouri’s largest peach farmer sues Monsanto over alleged damage from illegal herbicide use (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) http://bit.ly/2h4qPR9
Animals
- Sales Of Livestock Antibiotics Are Still Growing (Huffington Post) http://huff.to/2iasbO0
- Pig Farms Can Control When You Get the Flu (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2it9TIq North Carolina’s hog farms are a “crucible for human influenza epidemics.”
- Study: Are People Living Near Modern Swine Production Facilities at Increased Risk of Influenza Virus Infection? (Clinical Infectious Diseases) http://bit.ly/2iuKrOw
- A Guy Who Exists Purely to Troll the Humane Society Was Just Hired by Donald Trump (Mother Jones) http://bit.ly/2gE86zB USDA transition leader Brian Klippenstein heads a group that literally defends puppy mills.