Climate Food and Agriculture

An interview with David Pimentel

Any worthy idea can withstand and even be improved by naysayers; scolds and skeptics play the useful role of pointing out obvious flaws. The biofuels industry has no more persistent, articulate, and scathing critic than David Pimentel, professor emeritus of entomology at Cornell University. David Pimentel. Photo: Chris Hallman / Cornell University Photography. In 1979, […]

A look at the impacts of biofuels production, in the U.S. and the world

Nothing but blue skies from now on? Photo: house.gov Great news! We can finally scratch “driving less” off our list of ways to curb global warming and reduce our dependence on foreign oil! Biofuels will soon not only replace much of our petroleum, but improve soil fertility and save the American farmer as well! Sound […]

Group lobbies Starbucks to cut the rBGH

Tired of being cowed into drinking milk laced with artificial growth hormones simply because you can't kick the latte habit? Find it udderly disgusting that the largest food and beverage retailers in the world proliferate antibiotics? Wish Grist would stop milking the cow-related puns?

Well, today you can join in with Food and Water Watch's Hold the Hormones campaign by calling Starbucks and asking them to stop buying milk from dairies that use artificial growth hormones. The D.C.-based nonprofit offers up 10 good reasons to get involved.

Moopheus and the gang partner with ‘Fast Food Nation’

They've seen the family farm become a factory farm. They've learned the truth about industrial dairy facilities. And now they're trying to escape the perils of a meatpacking plant. They are Leo, Moopheus, and Chickity, the animated stars of a series of short films by Free Range Studios and nonprof Sustainable Table.

This latest version of the Matrix spoofs is Meatrix II½, and this time, they've partnered with Fast Food Nation to promote the film and help raise awareness about the production of fast food.

Unfortunately, it looks like Fast Food Nation hasn't done too well in theaters. Opening weekend, the film made just $390,000 compared to number-one film Happy Feet, which debuted at $42.3 million.

Interestingly, that same weekend, Saw III, a horror flick I had referenced in describing the surprising level of gore in Fast Food Nation, made $2.8 million, more than seven times as much as moola as FFN. (Get it? Ha ha, moo-la. Ahem.) I guess that's the difference between having a major marketing firm pushing your film and leaving it to a cow in dark glasses.

Below the fold, The Meatrix II½ via YouTube, a lower-quality version for those of you too lazy to click this link.

Till There Was You

Researchers hope new crops, methods will help farmers fight climate effects Agricultural researchers are joining the legions who are working to help the world respond to climate change. A coalition called the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (which goes by the just-shy-of-delicious acronym CGIAR) is launching an initiative today that will pour money into […]

Do Not Giggle

Livestock sector spews a fifth of human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions, says U.N. The U.N. has issued fresh content on a vital cause of global warming: cow farts. It seems that 18 percent of human-caused greenhouse gases stem from farm animals and the livestock industry, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Besides poots, agriculture-related deforestation […]

Umbra on sustainable sushi

Dear Umbra, My wife and I love sushi, but we’re increasingly concerned about sustainable harvesting. Although we treat ourselves to sushi only once or twice a month, it adds up, and we can’t help but wonder about the impact. There’s no sensation in the world like letting a slab of sashimi salmon dissolve in your […]

Locally grown food shouldn’t be just for those with cash to spare

As a critic of the globalized industrial food system, I often face charges of elitism — in part, likely, because I neglect to acknowledge the system’s clear achievements. So here goes. In the mood for good food? Look no further than your backyard. Photo: iStockphoto In human history, few pampered Roman emperors or African kings […]

But it could be organic

It's a good question, really:

When is a fish really organic?

Winter veggies served with a labor shortage and a side of rocket fuel

Last summer, plenty of drama emanated from California's Salinas Valley, epicenter of industrial vegetable production (organic and otherwise) and self-proclaimed "nation's salad bowl."

The season began amid grumbles among growers about a labor shortage. To paraphrase their complaint: Not enough Mexican workers are sneaking across the border, and ones who are are drawn into higher-paying construction jobs.

The season ended in an ignominious nationwide E. coli outbreak that killed three people and sickened hundreds of others.

About this time each year, industrial vegetable production shifts to Arizona's Yuma County, source of 90 percent of winter vegetables in the U.S. and (gasp) 98 percent of its iceberg lettuce. Let the drama begin.