- 20% of US Diets Responsible for Almost Half of Country’s Food_Related Emissions, Study Finds (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2FQt0Ih
- Study: Greenhouse gas emissions and energy use associated with production of individual self-selected US diet (IOP Science) https://bit.ly/2DS3j48
- ‘Dangerous’ Decline in Biodiversity Threatening Humanity’s Wellbeing Worldwide (Common Dreams) https://bit.ly/2uglHnT
- Has #MeToo Changed Your Relationship With Restaurants? (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2GjuaLU We want to hear from you.
- Asparagus Pee Is Real, But Only Some Of Us Can Smell It (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2pTtNxp
- Researchers Just Found a Hidden Cause of California’s Smog Problem (Climate Desk) https://bit.ly/2GlzdIn Fertilized soils may be contributing up to 40 percent of the state’s nitrogen oxides emissions.
- Residents Near Hog Farms Just Got Much, Much Worse (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2J5JV7B It just became much easier for large livestock operations to pollute near people’s homes.
- ‘Buy local’ food programs deceive consumers and are rarely enforced, a USA today Network investigation finds (az central) https://bit.ly/2GurzMY In just one example, peanuts are trucked into Oklahoma. But that doesn’t stop a manufacturer from getting a “Made In Oklahoma” brand…
- Behind the Rise and Fall of Growing Power (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2FCRpRp The urban farming powerhouse had global reputation. Then, it collapsed last year under mounting debt, prompting big questions about what happened and what comes next.
- Scientists examine threat to food security if we meet the Paris climate targets (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2ImkEoH Even with aggressive climate policies to limit global warming, food security in some areas will be threatened
- Half a Degree of Warming Makes a Big Difference to Global Food Security, Study Finds (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2JlhzGS
- Study: Changes in extremes, fresh water availability and vulnerability to food insecurity projected at 1.5°C and 2°C global warming with a higher-resolution global climate model (The Royal Society Publishing) https://bit.ly/2GrdcvQ
- Climate Change Threatens US Culinary Traditions, From Maple Syrup to Hot Sauce (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2Gyl4Yx
- Study: Managing for delicious ecosystem service under climate change: can United States sugar maple (Acer saccharum) syrup production be maintained in a warming climate? (International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management) https://bit.ly/2HbmSb6
- Six “Organic” Dairies in Texas Outproduce 453 Organic Dairies in Wisconsin (The Cornucopia Institute) https://bit.ly/2H0PLci
- Wisconsin’s small organic dairies squeezed by Texas mega-farms (USDA Today) https://usat.ly/2IBtuiB
Breathe easier under a plan to cut airborne dust and manure at cattle feedlot (Tri-City Herald) https://bit.ly/2HjJ56E
Farmers, Farming, Ranching, Herding, Fishing & Production
- Why the founding fathers wanted Americans to be farmers (Quartz) https://bit.ly/2FXhmr8
- Have You Herd? Farmer Writes A Memoo Using Cows and Satellite Imagery (NPR) https://n.pr/2DW0QGc
- When Robots Milk Cows, Farm Families Taste Freedom (NPR) https://n.pr/2JskEov
- Youth Farm In Hawaii Is Growing Food And Leaders (NPR) https://n.pr/2J1iOe3
- Sorry, pretty much everyone: young farmers are the least diverse – and smallest – group of farmers in the country (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2GmRFVg
- Female Farmers in the (San Francisco) East Bay Cultivate a Sense of Community (East Bay Express) https://bit.ly/2E4JtD3
- When the Death of a Family Farm Leads to Suicide (NYT) https://nyti.ms/2GyWV8p
Facing the most severe economic drought in recent history, New York’s dairy farmers are battling economic and emotional distress.
Food and Culture
- After Years Of Violence, Chef Offers Colombian Farmers Pride And Profit (NPR) https://n.pr/2G4YWEP
- A Feast For The Eyes: An Art-Inspired Food Tour At The Met (NPR) https://n.pr/2GDyi9B
- Food Historian Reckons With the Black Roots of Southern Food (Smithsonian Magazine) https://bit.ly/2IkOOZA … Michael Twitty shares the contributions that enslaved African-Americans and their descendants have made to southern cuisine
- The Long Run Home (Earth Island Journal) https://bit.ly/2EkF4ff A vanishing tribe, a critically-endangered fish, and the race to pull them back from the brink.
- You Might Be Eating Halal Meat And Not Even Know It (NPR) https://n.pr/2Et6L5B
- How Tucson Preserves Its Native Food Heritage (Yes!) https://bit.ly/2qvh04w
Seeds & Cultivars
- The Red Delicious is an apple atrocity. Why are we growing billions of pounds of them each year? (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2DsRVvq As tastier breeds like Honeycrisp and Gala edge the Red Delicious out of grocery stores, what happens to the forgotten fruit?
- Giant chocolate industry depends on tiny insects for survival (PRI) https://bit.ly/2GoEgMs
Hunger, Food Access & Security, Obesity, Malnutrition, and Nutrition
- Republicans in Congress Are So Eager to Slash Food Stamps, They’re About to Make a Big Mistake (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2GJhoGA A battle over SNAP work requirements
- Spring Break Leaves Some College Students Looking For Their Next Meal (Wisconsin Public Radio) https://bit.ly/2pZHIlq Experts say hunger on campuses is all too common
- Study: Hungry and Homeless in College (Wisconsin Hope Lab) https://bit.ly/2nREEVy
- New York’s “No Student Goes Hungry” proposal sounds great on paper. How feasible is it in reality? (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2Dck3XT
- The Truth About Bisexual College Students And Hunger (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2JLU89C
- Food, Housing Insecurity May Be Keeping College Students From Graduating (NPR) https://n.pr/2uLh19Z
- Only 30 percent of American food aid pays for actual food (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2GHZm7K The next farm bill may change that. If the Food for Peace Modernization Act passes, it would mark the most radical – and progressive – change to America’s food-aid commitments in sixty years.
- How obesity makes it harder to taste (Science News) https://bit.ly/2GNcVAt
Gleaning, Reuse, Recycling, Composting & Waste
- Turning (EU) food waste into animal feed could take a chunk out of livestock emissions (Horizon Magazine) https://bit.ly/2Ivr4BM
- Microplastic may enter freshwater and soil via compost (Science News) https://bit.ly/2HmgXjH
- Instead of reshaping domestic waste management, US asks China to lift its scrap waste ban (Nation of Change) https://bit.ly/2GEhHT5
- Trashed: Inside the Deadly World of Private Garbage Collection (ProPublica) https://bit.ly/2EWuOvr Waste removal is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. On the darkened streets of New York City, it’s a race for survival.
Healthy/Food Safety
- Can Food-Focused Medicine Cure Food-Related Disease? (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2pCbf5e
- The Coca-Cola Invasion Is Causing Mexico’s Slow Death by Junk Food (AlterNet) https://bit.ly/2H6NnOU Mexico’s traditional diet of beans and corn has been replaced with pizza and hamburgers.
- FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb want to define “healthy” and “natural” (New Food economy) https://bit.ly/2GmsL44 And maybe take the dairy out of yogurt, too.
- Here’s the Federal Government’s Big Chance to Improve Public Health and Reduce Animal Suffering – at the Same Time (AlterNet) https://bit.ly/2Ia8uiw The USDA must make plant-based eating priority in the 2020-2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- The Science About Eating out That Will Scare You Into Cooking Your Own Dinner (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2pUqWVV A new study links restaurant meals with higher levels of plastic-based chemicals in the body.
- Would You Like Some Phthalates With Your Sandwich? (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2GqmsMG
- Study: Dietary sources of cumulative phthalates exposure among the US general population NHANES 2005-2014 (Environmental International)
- Study: Phage particles harboring antibiotic resistance genes in fresh-cut vegetables and agricultural soil (Environment International) https://bit.ly/2GXiLPN
- The road to Alzheimer’s disease is lined with processed foods (Quartz) https://bit.ly/2uqWmaK
Food Fraud/Scandals/Weird
- Fake processed food is becoming an epidemic in African urban life (Quartz) https://bit.ly/2FIuGTa
- Trends and Solutions in Combating Global Food Fraud (Food Safety Magazine) https://bit.ly/2GHAnS0
- What turns some law-abiding Canadians into smugglers? The high price of imported cheese (PRI) https://bit.ly/2FejxWP
Children & School Food
- Brazilian School Districts Make Historic Switch to 100% Plant Based Meals (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2J7H9im
- What Children Understand About Food Insecurity (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2GnGBTK Researchers have begun asking children about their households’ lack of food – and making surprising discoveries.
Labor/Unions/Coops
- Kicking out immigrants doesn’t raise wages (The Economist) https://econ.st/2Hzkknn
- Deporting Immigrants Doesn’t Lead to Higher Wages (The Maven) https://bit.ly/2vdUt1N
- Waiting Tables or Harvesting Food, Why Fair Labor Is Still About Civil Rights (Yes!) https://bit.ly/2GXI0EQ For too many women, deciding whether to stand up to harassment at work is a choice between earning a enough tips to put foo on their tables or not.
- Undocumented workers fight for wages under the threat of deportation (PRI) https://bit.ly/2GqeDXx
- Tennessee ICE Raid Signals Return to Large-Scale Workplace Raids (Southern Poverty Law Center) https://bit.ly/2EqzxDT
- Five days in pictures: Farmworkers fast for freedom from sexual violence in the fields (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2GjI5S7
- Union Behind The ‘Fight For $15’ Cuts Funding For Fast Food Campaign (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2JasuD5 In the Trump era, the Service Employees International Union is pumping less money into organizing McDonald’s workers, filings show.
- A Heimlich Maneuver for Stopping Harassers (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2GIR6Bj And four more ideas on how to clean up restaurant culture.
Protests
- Calling Out Trudeau ‘Betrayal, Water Defenders Mobilize Against Kinder Morgan Pipeline (Common Dreams) https://bit.ly/2IOIZED
- Farmworkers to Wendy’s: No, We Didn’t “Exploit” #MeToo (In These Times) https://bit.ly/2INSVyc
Pollinators
- Flying insects tell tales of long distance migrations (Science News) https://bit.ly/2EtUeif Well timed travel ensures food and breeding opportunities
- How honeybees’ royal jelly might be a baby glue, too (Science News) https://bit.ly/2GZGzox A last minute pH shift turns goo sticky and keeps queen larvae from falling out of the cells.
- Jeff Bezos and Amazon Can Help Save the Bees – So What Are They Waiting For? (AlterNet) https://bit.ly/2GBLewI Several major retailers have committed to stop selling harmful neonic pesticides to protect bees. Not Amazon.
Animals
- Large-Scale Animal Agriculture Is Threatening Rural Communities. Congress Is About to Make It Worse. (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2DRD4et Missouri communities fend off a rise in feedlots.
- A new coronavirus is killing pigs in China (Science News) https://bit.ly/2H2qiiK
Business, Social Enterprise & Our Economy
- The death of the “Big Food” era is imminent after the industry’s biggest lobbying group crumbles (Quartz) https://bit.ly/2oUpJwc
- Bills to Ban Local Soda Taxes Are Moving In the States, Coke and Pepsi Borrow from the Tobacco Playbook (The Center For Media And Democracy) https://bit.ly/2JfwKRQ
- Foodwatch Germany slams Coca-Cola’s denial of health threat (Deutsche Welle) https://bit.ly/2GK9DNx The German consumer watchdog Foodwatch accused Coca-Cola of denying the obvious health damage caused by its soft drinks. But the government has no plans for a UK-style sugar tax.
- Edibles Market Is Exploding. You Can Bet Big Corporations Are Watching. (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2GJ4b0J “They recognize the writing on the wall.”
- A UK Grocery Chain Banned Palm Oil. Here’s Why That’s Not Enough. (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2qoZNKY
- How Three Black Women Use Food as Tools for Resistance (East Bay Express) https://bit.ly/2GkWLkE Away from the confines of restaurants, Monifa Dayo, Hella Black Brunch, and Soul Oakland create meals to spark change.
- Why Is China Treating North Carolina Like the Developing World? (Rolling Stone) https://rol.st/2G7U992 How lax regulations made it cheaper for China to outsource pork production – and all of its environmental and human costs – to the US.
- With its purchase of Whole Foods, is Amazon’s goal to revolutionize food distribution? (The Conversation) https://bit.ly/2pTy6Zq
- Rest in peace, Mendocino Brewing Company (Ukiah Daily Journal) https://bit.ly/2Eb2hAC
- NECCO Wagers: Fans Stock Up As America’s Oldest Candy Company Faces Closure (Newsweek) https://bit.ly/2JMxZYU
- As Big Beer Moves In, Activists in Mexicali Fight To Keep Their Water (NPR) https://n.pr/2I5ofqX
- Two US grocery chains are on the verge of bankruptcy as Amazon moves in (Quartz) https://bit.ly/2EBPeJq
- 85,000 Petition Supermarket Giant (Kroger Co.) to Open Plastic-Free Aisle (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2IgmU0y
- This Canadian First Nations group want you to buy salmon raised on land (PRI) https://bit.ly/2J73PPJ
- Popular B.C. chefs ask provincial government not to renew salmon farm licenses (National Observer) https://bit.ly/2q9Dh8F
- Don’t Call It Pot: My Dinner With San Francisco’s Cannabis Gourmets (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2umkP1g A new group of elite entrepreneurs are trading in marijuana-infused luxury foods.
- In Oaxaca, Mexico, A Locally Made Soda Takes Aim At Coca-Cola’s Supremacy (NPR) https://n.pr/2pDlq9Z
- Why is farmers’ market bread so ridiculously expensive? (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2IiiV3P Don’t blame growers and bakers for the $10 heirloom loaf. Blame American farm policy.
- As Vermont’s Milk Industry Continues To Free-Fall, Canadian Dairies Are Thriving (NPR) https://n.pr/2uVM3fs
Food Fraud/Scandals/Weird
- The Chicken Controversy Causing an International Uproar (Food52) https://f52.co/2q86FMk
Water & Our Oceans
- This is What a West Without Water Will Look Like (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2tPliZp A huge swath of the US is facing massive droughts. It’s only going to get worse.
- Pipeline leaks 42,000 gallons into Indiana stream (Nation of Change) https://bit.ly/2IMaMpc
- Inside a secretive lobbying effort to deregulate federal levees (Reveal News) https://bit.ly/2q6dCxJ
- Is Coal Waste Leaching Into America’s Drinking Water? (The New Republic) https://bit.ly/2pRM9j1 Coal ash ponds are contaminating ground water across the country, but the consequences are unclear because the government doesn’t monitor them.
- From ‘Sea to Shining Sea,’ Industrial Ag Fouls America’s Waterways (Common Dreams) https://bit.ly/2ud1bok Given agriculture’s role in destroying our most precious natural resource, you’d think the US Congress would do everything in its power to protect your water.
- The Great Lakes Are Filling Up With Giant Green Blobs (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2q2lak2 Industrial agriculture fuels them, and new science shows that they emit way more greenhouse gas than previously thought.
- Kansas farmers tried cutting water use, and guess what? They saved money. (grist) https://bit.ly/2I0Rlb4
- Oysters could clean up the New York harbor. But regulators worry people will eat them (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2EdaWm0
- This Is Why You Don’t See People-Size Salmon Anymore (NPR) https://n.pr/2IioY9j
- Study: Competing tradeoffs between increasing marine mammal predation and fisheries harvest of Chinook salmon (Nature) https://go.nature.com/2i8Ws1x
- The Trouble With Tuna Poke Bowls (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2uk9EWN The Hawaiian dish is all the rage – but the oceans are paying the price.
- To Save Whales, Maine’s Iconic Lobster Industry May Have To Change (NPR) https://n.pr/2IQjIKi
Government/Regulation/Policy/Farm Bill
- Alarm Sounds After EU Regulators Greenlight Bayer-Monsanto #MergerFromHell (Common Dreams) https://bit.ly/2FT4Flj Critics of the deal warn the decision will allow the companies, “together with BASF, to become data giants in agriculture – the ‘Facebooks of farming’ – with all the pitfalls that entails.”
- Are White South African Farmers Facing “Genocide”? Why These Claims Illustrate Australia’s Discriminatory Refugee Policy (Truthout) https://bit.ly/2GY1BSb
- Spending Bill Protects Tipped Workers From Sharing With The Boss (NPR) https://n.pr/2HYG4YA
- ICE arrests farmworkers, sparking fears in the Central Valley over immigrants and the economy (Los Angeles Times) https://lat.ms/2JaXbIb
- Strict Work Requirements to Get Food Stamps, But Not Farm Subsidies (Environmental Working Group) https://bit.ly/2Ef5cbg
- New USDA Subsidy Program Will Send Hundreds of Millions of Dollars to Cotton Farmers (Environmental Working Group) https://bit.ly/2Eew1N0
- The Market’s Advice: Plan, Plant, Plant (Cotton Grower) https://bit.ly/2GOtEpf
- USDA secretary accused of siding with industry over science in new report (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2H2iqOe A Union of Concerned Scientists report said Sonny Perdue was ‘sidelining science’ and called for congressional scrutiny of the agency
- Secretary Perdue Issues USDA Statement on Plant Breeding Innovation (USDA) https://bit.ly/2ushihX
- The non-browning mushroom recasts the GMO debate (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2Gtb0Ql
- After Supreme Court ruling, Flint residents will finally see officials in court (grist) https://bit.ly/2DQn0cP
- USDA Defies Advisers, Allows Carrageenan To Keep Organic Label (NPR) https://n.pr/2qeI4Wc
- USDA Rejects Advice of Expert Panel (The Cornucopia Institute) https://bit.ly/2HjgEpq
- The EPA edited out farmworker concerns about pesticides (grist) https://bit.ly/2GIrHLe
- EPA reportedly ‘distorted’ meeting notes and workers could be more vulnerable to pesticide exposure (Think Progress) https://bit.ly/2IjlItn
- Trump saved a pesticide Obama wanted banned. Then, it poisoned several farmworkers. (grist) https://bit.ly/2IipVxg
- FDA Issues Mandatory Recall For Kratom Products Over Salmonella Risks (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2GygzwV The order targets products distributed y Triangle Pharmanaturals, which refused a voluntary recall request.
- NLRB Just Dealt a Major Blow to the Fight for $15. Now’s the Time to Take Stock of the Campaign. (In These Times) https://bit.ly/2E2fkUJ
- Trump signs bill that kills Obama-era rule targeting wag theft, unsafe working conditions (Chicago Tribune) https://trib.in/2pqGvUL
- Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Fix EQIP, a Broken Farm Conservation Program (modern farmer) https://bit.ly/2GFXah3
- Farmers Are Collateral Damage in Trump’s Trade War (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2GiAEuq
- China Joins the Fray, Reacts to US Tariffs With Huge Tariffs of Their Own (modern farmer) https://bit.ly/2J0FHOG
- “Farmers for Free Trade” Runs Ad During, “Fox and Friends” To Get Trump’s Attention (modern farmer) https://bit.ly/2pRCr0a
- What Chinese Tariffs Targeting American Crops Will Mean For Farmers (NPR) https://n.pr/2GuVKqf
- US Farmers Likely To Be Among Hardest Hit By Chinese Tariffs (NPR) https://n.pr/2GF25eV
- The First American Casualties of Trump’s Trade War With China (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2GzVuqb Tariffs on pork and soybeans reverberate through the Heartland.
- Trump Want to Ban Health Warnings on His Favorite Food (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2u6f4UY He’s using the NAFTA renegotiations as a tool in the effort.
- After 3 Decades, Washington State Bans Atlantic Salmon Farms (NPR) https://n.pr/2Gc1iC0
- No More Bottled Water For Flint, As Michigan Declares Taps ‘Restored’ (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2H7f1h5 The whistleblower who exposed elevated blood lead levels in Flint children says the decision is premature.
- Flint Residents Chocked By State’s Decision To End Bottled Water Delivery (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2GK3rZL
- Kansas Governor Signs “Tyson Bill,” Despite Protests (modern farmer) https://bit.ly/2GmJIey Kansas governor Jeff Colyer just signed a bill that, on the surface, looks like a minor change in poultry production legislation – that is until you talk to the people who have been protesting for the past six months.
- How a Kansas Town Held off a Tyson Plant (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2pTilll Tonganoxie residents are the latest in a wave of rural communities standing up to Big Ag.
- Texas Seeks US Permission To Import Foreign Workers To Its Fields (The Maven) https://bit.ly/2EJqoGQ
- Michigan OKs Nestlé Water Extraction, Despite 80K+ Public Comments Against It (NPR) https://n.pr/2GZTnLw
- Despite Overwhelming Opposition From Residents, Michigan Permits Nestlé to Draw More Groundwater for Bottling (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2JlEPEj Out of 81, 862 comments filed, only 75 were reportedly in favor of granting the permit.
- LaPage (Maine Governor) looks to override local pesticide rules in 30 municipalities. But why? (Portland Press Herald) https://bit.ly/2Eb9Rey More communities are developing ordinances meant to protect residents from toxic chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects.
- Californians to take their coffee with a cancer warning (The Herald-Dispatch) https://bit.ly/2H4Ow9L
- Will there be a farm bill? It’s hard to tell (High Plains Journal) https://bit.ly/2uCSwvv
GMOs/CRISPR/Cloning/Synthetic Biology/Nanotechnology
- GMO Yeast Mimics Flavors Of Hops, But Will Craft Brewers Bite? (NPR) https://n.pr/2GTpufO
- European Study Concludes GMO-Organic Coexistence is a sham (The Cornucopia Institute) https://bit.ly/2JpGf0K
- Study: Socio-Economic Impacts of GMOs on European Agriculture (IFOAM EU Group) https://bit.ly/2qcNykn
- Are You Ready for the New Wave of Genetically Engineered Foods? (US Right To Know) https://bit.ly/2J6yBYZ
- “Debunked” CRISPR Study Still Leaves More Questions than Answers (The Cornucopia Institute) https://bit.ly/2JtAjUn
- A Flawed Study Shows How Little We Understand CRISPER’s Effects (Wired) https://bit.ly/2uIC5xC
- USDA Refuses to Regulate Genome Editing in Plants (The Cornucopia Institute) https://bit.ly/2JtxSkD
Technology
- Robots Are Trying To Pick Strawberries. So Far, They’re Not Very Good At It (NPR) https://n.pr/2IEswmr
Poisons
- Researchers Link Glyphosate to Shorter Pregnancies (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2q4HVoo
- Study: Glyphosate exposure in pregnancy and shortened gestation length: a prospective Indiana birth cohort study (Environmental Health) https://bit.ly/2FNG14C
- Popular Beer and Wine Brands Contaminated With Monsanto’s Weedkiller, Test Reveal (AlterNet) https://bit.ly/2G80gLc Some brewers and vintners are taking steps to avoid contamination from glyphosate.
- Report: Glyphosate ppm, wine (Health Research Institute Laboratories) https://bit.ly/2GpTz3k
- Thanks to Scott Pruitt, 30 Million Pounds of Brain Damaging Pesticide Will Be Sprayed on Corps in Next 5 Years (Environmental Working Group) https://bit.ly/2pVcVab The EPA’s own calculations suggest that babies, children and pregant women all eat much more chlorpyrifos than is safe.