Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The short, natural experiment we all witnessed reinforces that SNAP is the nation’s first line of defense against hunger and food insecurity and food pantries can only be a secondary and supplemental source of food. Food pantries and food banks cannot substitute for a robust, reliable, government-funded food safety net.
The debate continues, but one certainty is that we must make the production and consumption of meat and dairy more sustainable and realign our agricultural systems with planetary boundaries and dietary guidelines.
We must enforce, fund, and model policies that recognize the forest not merely as a carbon repository, but as the planet’s irreplaceable air conditioning and freshwater generation system.
The world’s cities creep closer to actual water system collapse.
Virginia tree farmers reintroduce an iconic tree that was decimated by blight.
Post-partisan practice is not compromise; it’s a strategy for shared survival. Perhaps the path through this civilizational turning begins with a simpler question: What does this place need, and who else shares that need?
In truth, I’m not massively optimistic that the new dark age will turn out too well for many people, but I think once one has appraised the reality of the surrounding darkness it’s always worth looking for the light as best one can and seeking least worst responses to our predicaments. Whether we find it or not is another matter.
On Gilliard Farms, history isn’t buried. It grows through story, through healing, through heritage. On its 50 acres of Georgia soil, the past is not something to look back on but something still alive beneath every footprint, carrying forward the memory of all who refused to be forgotten.
Who needs to read this book? Mostly, anyone who sees the dark age coming and is worried about it but interested in discussion about how we might have a hand in guiding the trajectory, in our own locales so that the future is, as Nate Hagens likes to say, “better than the default.”
The call of ‘The Food You Eat Is Poisoned’ brings us to realize that we are all touched by the same industrial system — and healing must be collective.
And so, as I dig into my bowl of cereal every morning, I’m thinking about a whole lot more than just the fiber in my diet. I’m thinking about how it’s time to bring Gaia back into focus, at the center of our thoughts and conversations and practices, every day.
The food garden revolution that is stirring in South Africa is quiet, but it is rooted in dignity, agency, and transformation. In their gardens, these women are sowing more than seeds; they are sowing peace, power and the foundations for a better future.
