- Northern California is suddenly awash in locally grown black truffles (San Francisco Chronicle) https://bit.ly/2Gtzfkg
- The Dark Side of Innovation for Family Farmers: Reflections on an International Symposium on Innovation (Agroecology Now!) https://bit.ly/2S68f1j
- Families wait for city to consider cracking cap on chicken coops (Edmonton Journal) https://bit.ly/2CZthEm
- US academics feel the invisible hand of politicians and big agriculture (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2CY4GzY
- Green New Deal: Fulcrum for the farm and food movement? (Food First) https://bit.ly/2Rm6tbv
- Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal: What it means for food and farming (Modern Farmer) https://bit.ly/2TxSNrE
- What the New Green Deal Means for the Food on Your Plate (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2I9K0uS
- Dairy Dilemma: Food Shelters Awash In Surplus Milk They Can’t Afford To Store (WFPL) https://bit.ly/2BmR9Sz
- This Magic Ratio Of Fat To Carbs Makes The Perfect Comfort Food (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2G9rvEV Human breast milk contains a 1-2 ratio of fat to carbohydrates, suggesting some people may still be chasing the feeling it gave them.
- How Big Beer’s Fight Over Corn Syrup Explains American Brewing Today (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2Gpxjt6
- Corn Farmers Are Mad at Budweiser (Grub Street) https://grb.st/2SlFMF3
- Panicky Portlanders Strip Grocery Shelves Bare of Kale as Snowstorm Descends (Willamette Week) https://bit.ly/2GxujuN
- Three Micheline stars! Meet the first woman to smash America’s boys club (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2DyVGBQ
- Can Eating Organic Lower Your Exposure to Pesticides? (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2BFjRhL
- What the pesticides in our urine tell us about organic food (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2SWYimA
- Study: Organic diet interventions significantly reduce urinary pesticide levels in US children and adults (Environmental Research) https://bit.ly/2DLjuCu
Highlights: Diet is a primary Source of pesticide exposure
- Organic die reduced neonicotinoid
- OP
- pyrethroid, 2,4-D exposure in US families
- 2,4-D exposure in US families
- Greatest reduction observed for malathion, clothianidin, and Chlorpyrifos
- It’s time to think big in Maine agriculture (Portland Press Herald) https://bit.ly/2WOrLhL State policy can encourage cooperative to help small farmers get more food to market.
- How to Stop Hating Your Least Favorite Foods (The Atlantic) https://bit.ly/2XeLCHd I can’t stand cucumbers, but I’m ready to change if I can.
Farmers, Farming, Ranching, Herding, Fishing & Production
- Black Agrarianism: Resistance (Food First) https://bit.ly/2Bm3Yg2
- ‘This One Here Is Gonna Kick My Butt’ – Farm Bankruptcies Are Soaring (WSJ) https://on.wsj.com/2RSM7CU Trade disputes over agriculture add pain to low commodity prices that have been grinding down American farmers for years
- Farm bankruptcies swell to decade high in Farm Belt (Axios) https://bit.ly/2TwBdUO
- The Mental Health Crisis Hidden Behind Your Grocery Store Vegetables (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2SXkVao One of the nation’s biggest industries is staffing by workers facing grueling conditions and sky-high depression rates.
- At 25 years, Straus diary still pioneering (Point Reyes Light) https://bit.ly/2SERKJW
- Montana Ranchers are Kicking Up Dust to Bring Back Country of Origin Labels on Meat (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2WSf4Ck Newly proposed bill would require COOL placards for beef ad pork sold in Montana, and supporters want to see the return of a national policy.
- “This has poisoned everything” – pollution casts shadow over New Mexico’s booming dairy industry (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2tvnimJ Pollution from Cannon air force base has gone unreported for decades. Now it’s threatening the US food supply
- California’s ‘dry farmers’ grow crops without irrigation (Santa Cruz Sentinel) https://bit.ly/2Du6IrQ The environmentally conscious practice relies on rainwater to grow seasonal crops
Land and Soil
- There’s More Foreign-Owned American Farmland Than the Size of Tennessee. That We Know Of. (Modern Farmer) https://bit.ly/2WXRS60
Climate
- Study: Earth system impacts of the European arrival and Great Dying in the Americas after 1492 (Quaternary Science Reviews) https://bit.ly/2RuXvog
- Extreme weather events are fueling ‘food shocks’ and jeopardizing global security (Think Progress) https://bit.ly/2WFKcov Climate change is driving more severe weather which in turn is threatening food.
- Climate Change Is Causing Food And Mental Health Crisis For These Indigenous People (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2UMLaOi
- Puerto Rico, Climate Change & Food (Presbyterian Mission) https://bit.ly/2US2yRF
- Revival of natural farming in Puerto Rico (Presbyterian Mission) https://bit.ly/2N0a8qN
Plants, Seeds & Cultivars
- Cherokee Nation Seed Bank online distribution begins Feb. 1 (Cherokee Phoenix) https://bit.ly/2TsvK19
Water & Our Oceans
- The world’s watersheds, mapped in gorgeous detail (Big Think) https://bit.ly/2SqX43z
- The World Is on the Brink of Widespread Water Wars (Truthout) https://bit.ly/2SsqGh8
- Wild rice waters a big reason Indian tribes oppose Enbridge pipeline project (Star Tribune) http://strib.mn/2TyjhZO Precious wild rice grows downstream from Enbridge’s proposed route across northern Minnesota.
- Crew injured, diesel fuel spilled into river when train derails in remote Wyoming canyon (Casper Star Tribune) https://bit.ly/2tcVKlZ
- Oil leak near St. Louis estimate: 1,800 gallons (KOA TV) https://bit.ly/2RP1bkW
- Images taken from space in 2018 and 2019 show two very different Californias (SF Gate) https://bit.ly/2Bug3zC We have water!
- California’s contaminated drinking water is a disgrace (San Jose Mercury News) https://bayareane.ws/2RUV921
- Massive Pacific Coast Starfish Die-Off Is Linked To Global Warming (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2BdxnZC The “marine heat wave” is triggering a “continental-scale collapse of a pivotal predator,” says new study.
- Study: Disease epidemic and marine heat wave are associated with the continental-scale collapse of pivotal predator (Pycnopodia helianthoides) (Science Magazine) https://bit.ly/2DQv4xy
- After 16 Months Of Dead Fish, Manatees and Dolphins, Florida’s Red Tide Ebbs (NPR) https://n.pr/2BNQASb
Food Culture & History
- Bed-Stuy’s Trinidadian Bakery Wins James Beard Award (Patch Bed-Stuy) https://bit.ly/2t696As A&A Bake & Double and Roti Shop has been deemed an American classic by the renowned culinary institute.
- I’m a Queer Brown Immigrant Chef. I Don’t Have the Luxury of Staying Silent (Time) https://bit.ly/2tcC3uy
- How corporations shaped the American diet, from Jell-O to pineapple pizza (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2S4Y4VW
- A Comfort Food Tour Around The World (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2DxU8aZ
- Book Review: The Limits of Home Cooking (Pacific Standard) https://bit.ly/2WUHhsf A richly reported new book offering powerful insights into the cooking habits – and daily struggles – of working-class Americans.
Hunger, Food Access & Security, Obesity, Malnutrition & Nutrition
- 1.4 million Puerto Ricans face deep cuts in food aid without federal action (NBC News) https://nbcnews.to/2E4y61d The federal food assistance program Puerto Rico is set to run out of money next month.
- GAO Report: Food Insecurity: Better Information Could Help Eligible College Students (US Government Accountability Office) https://bit.ly/2LYG8uT
- Metro Buses Converted Into Mobile Food Markets For Low Income Neighborhoods (Black Business) https://bit.ly/2D8dSSj
- Soda industry influence on obesity science and policy in China (Journal of Public Health Policy) https://bit.ly/2Rz9Yvh
Gleaning, Foraging, Reuse, Recycling, Composting & Waste
- I Am A Dumpster Diver. Here’s What I Have Learned. (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2SwQubP
- From paradise to landfill: beloved California beach covered in trash (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2GxamnP
- Global alliance to take on plastic waste in the environment (National Geographic) https://on.natgeo.com/2UUDuJV
Healthy Food & Food Safety
- Tyson, Perdue Recall More Than 120,000 Pounds of Chicken Nuggets Combined (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2DJHCXd
- Trump’s NYC eateries written up for ‘live mice,’ other ‘critical health code violations in recent months (New York Daily News) https://nydn.us/2Sawbf5
- Criminal Investigation Launched After ‘Sick Cow’ Scandal in Poland (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2HQ5ahr
Food Fraud, Scandals, Weird & Funny
- How NYU and Food-Service Giant Armark Stumbled Into a Black History Month PR Fiasco (NY Magazine) https://nym.ag/2UR1rl3
- World War I Grenade Discovered Among Potatoes at Hong Kong Potato Chip Factory (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2DajQlY The mud-caked device was found on Saturday morning in a shipment of potatoes from France.
Training & Education
- Eco Farming Certificate, Feather River College https://bit.ly/2MW3u4I
Labor, Unions & Coops
- (California) Workers waiting ‘on call’ must be paid, court rules (SF Gate) https://bit.ly/2Dl4s65
- Low Wage, Not Low Skill: Why Devaluing Our Workers Matters (Forbes) https://bit.ly/2SrbvEO
- A minimum-wage worker needs 1.5 jobs just to afford half the rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in most of the US (Business Insider) https://read.bi/2MW4mGD
- The Racist Roots Of Tipping Reemerge In The Gig Economy (Forbes) https://bit.ly/2GwyGXM
- One of the World’s Most Iconic Craft Breweries Is Unionizing (Splinter News) https://bit.ly/2E0IuXC
- Worker Cooperatives Are More Productive Than Normal Companies (Yes!) https://bit.ly/1qoQace When maximizing profits isn’t the only goal, companies can actually work better.
- After Superstorm Sandy’s Rain, Cooperatives Sprang Up Like Mushrooms (Truthout) https://bit.ly/2BGtUTv
Pollinators & Insects
- Hold the Soy, Save the Pollinators (Civil Eats) https://bit.ly/2RGU3qK
- Endangered monarch butterflies found breeding in SC (The Post and Courier) https://bit.ly/2MVIwmn
- (Eastern) Monarch butterfly population up 144 percent on wintering grounds (Penn Live) https://bit.ly/2GevgIk
- Monarch Conservation (Xerces Society) https://bit.ly/2RFgWL9
- Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’ (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2GAMHD1
- Insects Are Dying En Masse, Risking ‘Catastrophic’ Collapse Of Earth’s Ecosystems (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2DqT88E
- Study: Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers (Biological Conservation) https://bit.ly/2DQB6ya Habitat loss by conversion to intensive agriculture is the main driver of the declines.
- Insects Are Dying En Masse, Risking ‘Catastrophic’ Collapse Of Earth’s Ecosystems (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2DqT88E
Animals, Fish & Seafood
- California City Launches “Goat Fund Me” for Wildfire Preventing Goats (Modern Farmer) https://bit.ly/2Tu8Qq9
- Where beef is more than dinner (Food & Environmental Reporting Network) https://bit.ly/2MMz6d4 Think a cow is only destined to be eaten? Think again. Cow parts are hot commodities in the biomedical research industry.
- Down of the slow chicken (Food & Environmental Reporting Network) https://bit.ly/2RwP3Vv Big poultry producers are turning to slower-growing birds, making it possible to cut antibiotic use and improve animal welfare.
- Fish and chip shops serving endangered shark (The Week) https://bit.ly/2BoWuZN
Business, Social Enterprise & Our Economy
- Calabash: An Afro-Caribbean, Malaysian and Persian restaurant-market takes shape in Oakland (San Francisco Chronicle) https://bit.ly/2BupQ93
- The Last Pioneer (theLAnd) https://bit.ly/2IcD93t A savage journey to the heart of the greasy-as-hell California fast food dream.
- How Meal Delivery Apps Are Killing Your Favorite Restaurants (broke-ass stuart) https://bit.ly/2X8czfk
- Munchery, Sprig: What went wrong with on-demand, artisanal food (San Francisco Chronicle) https://bit.ly/2TAqoRM
- Costco to be the first major retailer to dump Monsanto’s Roundup and Glyphosate herbicide from its shelves (Waking Times) https://bit.ly/2TATzE2
- Maine lobster orders tank as Chinese turn to tariff-free Canada (Portland Press Herald) https://bit.ly/2GoFpmJ
- 50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat (NPR) https://n.pr/2UUDt8T
- Danone is struggling to sell Its Earthbound Farms unit (New York Post) https://nyp.st/2tbah1q Food conglomerates that have moved into the organics market are struggling, it might have something to do with integrity and green washing…
- Some History: Carmel Valley-born Earthbound Farms Sells to massive WhiteWave Foods. (Monterey County Weekly) https://bit.ly/2RLQgbz
Government, Regulation, Policy & Farm Bill
- EU proposes ban on 90% of microplastic pollution (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2RILsnv
- EU glyphosate approval was based on plagiarized Monsanto text, report finds (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2ALO3qS
- Report: Detailed Expert Report on Plagiarism and superordinated Copy Paste in the Renewal Assessment Report (RAR) on Glyphosate (European Free Alliance) https://bit.ly/2VUqkhd
- The White Earth Ban of Ojibwe Legally Recognized the Rights of Wild Rice. Here’s Why (Yes!) https://bit.ly/2SNm18H Finally plant species have rights, too.
- President’s State of the Union Neglects Dire Farm Economy Conditions, NFU Says (National Farmers Union) https://bit.ly/2UINeGQ
- “Pink Slime” gets reclassified as ground beef (Fox17 West Michigan) https://bit.ly/2IvGmvx
- ABC News called it “pink slime.” Now, USDA says it can be labeled “ground beef.” (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2taFcuR On the semantics of a product that scandalized America—is now on a comeback tour.
- Trump EPA Oks ‘Emergency’ to Dump Bee-Killing Pesticide on 16 Million Acres (EcoWatch) https://bit.ly/2In6Sa2
- Trump Trade War Helps Push Farmers Into Record Number Of Bankruptcies (Huffington Post) https://bit.ly/2tfwpro
- The USDA Has a 1.39 Billion Pound Stockpile of Excess Cheese (Modern Farmer) https://bit.ly/2t73uWE
- While Everyone Was Focused on the Shutdown, the White House Rolled Back Worker Safety Rules (Fortune) https://bit.ly/2S1da3G
- Court orders ban of top-selling pesticide, says EPA violated law, ignored scientific studies (Chicago Tribune) https://bit.ly/2Gt2Bzx
- The state of the USDA: A quite dismantling (IATP) https://bit.ly/2TwN7OF
- How Will the (Maybe Temporary) Reopening of the USDA and FDA Look? (Modern Farmer) https://bit.ly/2S8qF1z
- Killing 22 Hogs a Minute, Meatpackers Test Old Limits of Safety (Bloomberg) https://bloom.bg/2TtIm8z Trump’s USDA is looking to speed up the slaughter line.
- Trump’s EPA Refuses to Limit the Nasty Teflon Chemicals Lurking in Our Drinking Water (Mother Jones) https://bit.ly/2G7J4oI
- Alberta to evict urban community farm that supplies shelters with organic produce (The Globe and Mail) https://tgam.ca/2WFhOCW
- New Jersey becomes 4th state to increase minimum wage to $15 (CBS News) https://cbsn.ws/2BvSVRB
- Illinois Governor to Sign Bill Raising Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour by 2025 (WSJ) https://on.wsj.com/2TUjcQz Business groups oppose labor-backed measure raising minimum from $8.25
- Illinois minimum wage bill raises hour rate to $15 passes House (ABC 7 Chicago) https://abc7.ws/2tlzPsI
- (Maine State) Rep. Pleucker concentrates on bills supporting farms, pesticide control, municipal revenue (Penobscot Bay Pilot) https://bit.ly/2tgFvE9
- State (California) Encourages Sustainable Farming Practices With Grants (KZUX) https://bit.ly/2EhbbzF
- (New York) City bill would ban foie gras in New York for animal cruelty (NY Post) https://nyp.st/2GiYmq6
- Court strikes down San Francisco’s soda health warnings (New Food Economy) https://bit.ly/2tfmbqX
Non-Governmental Organizations
- ‘Breathtaking and Terrifying’: UN Food Relief Agency Partners With CIA-Funded Software Firm Palantir (Common Dreams) https://bit.ly/2WN4Xi9 Data privacy advocates decried the $45 million deal as “horribly irresponsible and potentially incredibly harmful.”
Food Science, Technology & Nanotechnology
- Vaccine Now Under Trial Could Allow People to Eat Gluten Again (Food & Wine) https://bit.ly/2tjcuru
Poisons
- Culprit found for honeybee deaths in almond groves (Ohio State University) https://bit.ly/2TzunOs
- Study: Combined Toxicity of Insecticides and Fungicides Applied to California Almond Orchards to Honey Bee Larvae and Adults (Insects) https://bit.ly/2tccI3T
- Analysis Show Exposure to Monsanto’s Glyphosate-Based Roundup Increases Cancer Risk More Than 40% (Common Dreams) https://bit.ly/2Gt5YHA “The future will wonder just what we thought we were doing blanketing the world in this poison.”
- Monsanto Roundup Attacks Healthy Gut Bacteria, Lawsuit Says (Bloomberg) https://bloom.bg/2V8KmTW
- Study: Is soil contamination by a glyphosate commercial formulation truly harmless to non-target plants? – Evaluation of oxidative damage and antioxidant responses in tomato (Environmental Pollution) https://bit.ly/2NkT5Qg
- Death-Cap Mushrooms Are Spreading Across North America (The Atlantic) https://bit.ly/2DRbkd8
Education & Training
- Rural colleges are ignoring one of their largest industries: agriculture (The Guardian) https://bit.ly/2TqyJHD