What future does the EU’s strategy on livestock envision for farming? A look at the data
The EU Commission launched a livestock strategy and an action plan for the “protein system” in July. Predictably, reactions have varied.
farming
‘Water isn’t enough’: As extreme heat devastates farms, community wisdom is more vital than ever
My intention was to write about simple self-sufficiency, especially when it comes to growing food. But then this summer was challenging in a way I thought I was prepared for… but wasn’t.
Proposed Federal changes to grant rules increase uncertainty and risks for farmers
Funding freezes, grant terminations, program cancellations, and a woefully understaffed USDA have disrupted the programs and services farmers and rural communities rely on to build environmentally resilient and economically viable businesses.
We started a farming club. Why you should start one too
We are long overdue for a return to growing our own food, and the farming club offers a promising way to reconnect with that tradition.
From seeds to survival: A farmer’s story from Tajikistan
For a farming community that depends on seasonal consistency, climate change creates uncertainty at every stage of production.
Feeding the World as if People Mattered: Taking the right lessons from small farm systems – book excerpt
Amid plantation monocultures and industrialized farms built to maximize production at the expense of social and ecological costs to the public, there are also many communities where the economy and ecology are not in conflict.
Bullerby farming is perhaps a naive dream, but industrial agriculture is a nightmare
Let us call the bluff of industrial agriculture.
Do organic farms use pesticides? How organic and conventional farming differ
Understanding how food is produced can help consumers make choices that support healthier soil, water, pollinators, and communities.
Nebraska soil, mid-east oil: Geopolitical crisis exposes the fragility of industrial farming and the case for rebuilding food systems
Industrial agriculture relies on more than tractors and diesel. From synthetic fertilizers to depleted soils, the modern food system is deeply tied to fossil fuels, leaving farmers, ecosystems and food security increasingly vulnerable. Amid the polycrisis, we must rebuild food systems by valuing the natural world and supporting human communities.
How our broken food system is driving humanity’s collision course with earth
Industrial agriculture transformed how the world eats after the Second World War. The gains were enormous, but so were the costs: depleted soils, monocultures, plastic pollution and growing dependence on fragile global supply chains.
Feeding the World as if People Mattered: Why we need more farms, not more food – book excerpt
Asking if the world grows enough food is the wrong kind of question. It leads to the wrong kind of answer. We don’t need to produce more food. We need to produce more farms: places where communities of living beings can thrive.
Biofortification: The latest technical fix for depleted soils
In the tradition of filtering air that we’ve polluted and treating water that we’ve sullied, we now have replacing minerals in soil that we’ve depleted because of industrial agriculture.
