Food and Farming
Stay Healthy
My plan is modest, universal, and foolproof. If the nation were to embrace it, we’d not only cut health care costs in half, our budget deficit would shrink to the equivalent of spare change. This is my plan: Stay healthy.
A Volatile Agenda on Agriculture
Barack Obama’s trade policy, as embodied by the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, sadly resembles that of George W. Bush. It promotes export growth and investment at the expense of local economies and resilient food systems. This is unfortunate, not only because it fails to deliver the “21st-century” trade agenda President Obama’s promised on the campaign trail, but also because it ignores some of the key lessons from NAFTA and the 2008 global food price crisis.
Big Bad Free Trade Accord
Making a Statement with Our Tractors
Madison, Wisconsin is truly an amazing scene of beauty — as well as unprecedented political mobilization. Among the throngs of demonstrators, you’ll find Democrats, Republicans, independents, progressives, libertarians, and socialists walking together, discussing real solutions while sowing the seeds of solidarity.
Are You Ready for a Brave New World of Food?
A Dutch entomologist has seen the future of food, and–surprise!–it’s not where or what you might think it would be. “The Netherlands,” the professor says, “wants to be in the forefront of food.”
Squandering Our Tax Dollars and Ocean Resources
As concerns about the nation’s widening deficit grow louder, many of the Obama administration’s 2012 budget priorities are getting short shrift. It’s not only important to understand the government’s approach to hot-button issues like Medicare, military spending, and tax cuts for the wealthy. We need to pay attention to other critical issues.
Unsafe at Any Exposure
As the radioactive contamination of food, water, and soil in Fukushima, Japan worsens, the media is continuously reassuring us that these levels are “safe.” But there is no safe level of radiation.
China’s Wise Wheat Reserves
It’s fashionable to worry about China. One common fear is that China’s increasing demand for food will wreak havoc on international markets, causing mass starvation in food-importing countries. However, China uses safeguards to stave off food shortages. We could learn from its approach.
Out-of-Whack Budget Whackers
Ax-wielding Republicans and Democrats alike are madly whacking at our nation’s public programs in a political contest to show which of them is the scroogiest of all.
Dairy Farmers vs. Commodities Traders
Despite treating her cows humanely, strictly adhering to milk production regulations, and carefully stewarding her land, a Pennsylvania dairy farmer I know is $70,000 in debt. She has no idea how she’ll repay her creditors or how much longer they will allow her to buy feed and other supplies before demanding payment. Without a fair price for her milk, she can’t accrue enough funds to pay off her debt. Most likely, she will have to sell her dairy cows and the family farm–the home and livelihood for her, her husband, and their children.
