So I found this Doug Fine piece on keeping cannabis production out of corporate hands a little frustrating. Fine’s basic argument is that with the increased likelihood of legalized marijuana production, we have to keep pot farming out of corporate hands. Now, you might agree with this in principle. Certainly corporate farming has gigantic problems–terrible […]
Tag: agriculture
I was going to respond to that ridiculous “God Made a Farmer” Chrysler ad that ran during the Super Bowl using the voiceover of Paul Harvey’s speech of that title as narration. Showi
The fact that milk prices could go up as high as $8 a gallon because of a Truman-era policy that kicks in without a new farm bill is exhibit #113421 that we need a serious reexamination of our entire
Exhibit A: The rise of 8-legged frogs. These happen at the end of a long ecological chain that begins with farm runoff from our heavily fertilized agricultural landscapes. Exhibit B: Farm towns in California that can’t drink the water because of agricultural run-off. Not surprisingly, these towns are poor and populated mostly by Latino farmworkers. […]
On this date in 1892, the People’s Party held its first convention in Omaha, Nebraska. Building upon two decades of rural labor’s deep dissatisfaction with the Gilded Age, the Populists ar
Philip Bump has a nice run-down of the important things to look for in the upcoming farm bill/massive subsidization of agribusiness thanks to the incredible power held by rural state senators. One poi
Yet another reason why Obama needed to stand up to agribusiness and eliminate child labor on farms. Which of course he did not.
It’s totally absurd to be thinking about who the Democrats will nominate for the presidency in 2016, yet for politically-minded people, it’s almost inevitable. That includes me. I’ve
A couple of interesting Grist pieces on food, both worth commenting so I’ll just combine them. First, as we decimate the world’s large fish stocks in order to satisfy our unquenchable desi
And the Obama Administration caves on the child labor rule for farmers I discussed here.
Big agriculture is going to the mat for what really matters–exploiting child labor. Last year, two teenagers handling a large grain auger had their legs severed while working at the Zaloudek Gra
I don’t agree with all of James McWilliams’ attack on localized agriculture, but it is useful correction to the fawning deification of Michael Pollan, backyard chickens, grass-fed beef, et