• 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.