Food and Farming
Sugary Foods Industry
The Problem with Genetically Engineered Alfalfa
Close observers agree that the Supreme Court’s Monsanto Company v. Geertson Seed Farms decision is a big deal, but many of us disagree about what it actually means. As a farmer and advocate, I view the ruling as a major victory because it helps determine who controls our seed supplies and our food sovereignty. This ruling, issued in June, declares that it’s still illegal to sell or plant Monsanto’s GM Roundup Ready alfalfa seed.
A Bitter Taste of Racial Discrimination
I don’t know how the corn is doing this year, but Washington is producing a bumper crop of irony for America’s black farmers.
Last Call for Ethanol
Like a sailor on a late night bender, corn ethanol boosters are trying to cajole another drink from the subsidy tap before the lights come on. Some members of Congress seem all too ready to give in, costing taxpayers billions in the process. But in light of the yawning budget deficit and the failed promise, ethanol should be forced to make its own way in the marketplace.
Take Our Jobs
American agriculture depends on a hardworking, dedicated immigrant workforce. About three-quarters of all crop workers were born outside the country. Since the 1990s, at least half are not authorized to legally work in the U.S., according to government statistics.
Americans are Dying to Eat
Try pronouncing disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl) azo)-2-naphthalene-sulfonate. It’s not easy, right? That explains why this mouthful goes by its friendlier name, Red 40. It might sound innocent, but this ingredient and others like it are far from harmless. And they’re in our food.
Detroit Farm Concept Belongs in the Junkyard
As if Detroit hasn’t got enough trouble: Now they want to make it into a farm.
Letters to the Editor: Antibiotics, Jobs, War, and God
In response to The War on Antibiotics by Ben Lilliston, “bystander” quipped on Common Dreams, a great website with a very active commenting community that ran this OtherWords op-ed, “You discount the advantages of this. Next time you are sick, just eat lots of bacon to get back to health. All those antibiotics in the bacon will cure you for sure. Plus it builds strong, hard arteries 12 ways.”
The War on Antibiotics
Would you like some antibiotic-resistant bacteria with your grilled chicken at your backyard barbeque? Of course not. But that likelihood continues to grow unless the government makes industry change the way most American farm animals are raised.
Immigrants Don’t Hog Farm Jobs
United Farm Workers members clearly have a sense of humor. Their “take our jobs” campaign invites and actually recruits the nation’s citizens and legal immigrants (including those who blame undocumented workers for America’s high unemployment rate) to get out into the fields and pick some lettuce. Or berries. Or broccoli.
