The defeat of the ag-gag bills in every state where agribusiness had them introduced was a major victory in 2013. Even if you don’t care about animal rights, where animals are abused, usually so are workers. Many of these big agribusiness operations have long sought out the most exploitable labor, even using undocumented workers and […]
Tag: agriculture
Green chile. The greatest gift New Mexico has given to the world, when you visit the Land of Enchantment, that chile is found everywhere from the most humble breakfast burrito (breakfast taco is secon
While I sympathize with the South Dakota ranchers who are suffering from widespread cattle die-offs in the wake of this month’s unexpected blizzard, it’d be easier to feel sorry for them i
Not only does Megan McArdle not understand how agricultural subsidies work, she creates a myth about giving money to people for working being better than giving money to people for just living that she would never apply to people who were not consistent Republican voters. I’m sure once this inconsistency is pointed out to her, […]
Mark Bittman is making sense: Oddly, affordability is not the problem; in fact, the tomatoes are too cheap. If they cost more, farmers like Rominger would be more inclined to grow tomatoes organically
On August 3, 1913, the Wheatland Riot took place in California, leading to four deaths, including two workers and two law enforcement agents. A burst of violence caused by the police busting up a hopw
In just about the only good thing for progressives in this year’s horror film of state legislation, all 11 ag-gag bills were defeated. Attempts by agribusiness to criminalize anyone taking footage of their operations went down to defeat. However, I am extremely pessimistic that we will repeat such a record in 2014. After all, North […]
Modern Farmer with a long look at a major problem with the Greek yogurt industry–endless amounts of very gross whey that is quite toxic to riparian ecosystems. New York produced 150 million gall
House Republicans are moving forward in their ultimate goal of entrenching poverty, passing a farm bill that slashes food stamps. Steve King talks of food stamps that “expand the dependency clas
Tom Philpott reports on a new job safety hazard developing in agriculture. The enormous manure piles on today’s gargantuan hog farms are gurgling up explosive foam. This never really happened before 2009, but it is an increasingly common occurrence on industrial-scale hog farms. The problem is menacing: As manure breaks down, it emits toxic gases […]
Pretty big environmental and agricultural news out of Tennessee. Governor Bill Haslam, who is generally terrible on everything, has vetoed a so-called “ag-gag” bill, which would have crimi
Turns out that if you industrialize an animal and then expose them to tremendous amounts of chemical pesticides, terrible things can happen. I know that the Green Revolution and our faith in technolog