Food

(CLICK HERE - REPORT -
Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries)

New Report Reveals U.S. Fisheries Killing Thousands of Protected and Endangered Species

Tue, 2014-03-25 22:45 — Kathy Gilbeaux

oceana.org - March 20, 2014

thedailybeast.com - by Abby Haglage - March 23, 2014

A new report by Oceana exposes nine U.S. fisheries that throw away half of what they catch, and kill dolphins, sea turtles, whales, and more in the process.

A new study released this week called Wasted Catch: Unsolved Bycatch Problems in U.S. Fisheries reveals the nine dirtiest fisheries in the United States. It’s a dirty bunch indeed, the waste between them accounting for nearly half a billion wasted seafood meals in the U.S. alone.

Culled by Oceana, the largest international organization for ocean conservation, the fisheries are ranked based on bycatch—the amount of unwanted creatures caught while commercial fishing.

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One Solution to Climate Change and Growing Healthier Food Is Right Under Our Feet

Thu, 2014-03-20 18:56 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Photo: Associated Press

huffingtonpost.com - by Barbra Streisand - March 17, 2014

Imagine if we could quickly reduce the threat of climate change and grow healthier crops at the same time, without the sacrifice the coal and oil industry tells us are inevitable! Turns out we can, and the solution is literally right under our feet.

CLICK HERE - U.N. Report - Trade and Environment Review 2013
Wake up before it is too late: Make agriculture truly sustainable now for food security in a changing climate

CLICK HERE - Nature - Soil Carbon Storage

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Farm Bill Passes House With $8 Billion in Food-Stamp Cuts

Fri, 2014-01-31 18:02 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Cotton harvesting in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana on Oct. 10, 2013. The farm bill governs farm subsidies, which encourages planting of soybeans, cotton and other crops. Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg

bloomberg.com - by Alan Bjerga - January 29, 2014

The U.S. House passed and sent the Senate a much-delayed bill to set agricultural policy for five years, as rural Republicans and urban Democrats overcame objections about farm subsidies and food-stamp cuts.

. . . The bill would cut food-stamp spending by $8.6 billion over 10 years, though additions to other programs bring nutrition-aid cuts down to $8 billion -- one-fifth of the $40 billion sought by Republicans and fought by Democrats and food retailers. The reduction would equal about 1 percent of the program’s record $79.6 billion in spending for the budget year that ended Sept. 30.

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The Elders of Organic Farming

Wed, 2014-01-29 13:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Tom Willey, left, and Jim Gerritsen converse in the Esalen garden in Big Sur, Calif.
Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Carol Pogash - January 24, 2014

BIG SUR, Calif. — Among the sleek guests who meditate and do Downward Facing Dog here at the Esalen Institute, the farmers appeared to be out of place. . .

. . . For nearly a week, two dozen organic farmers from the United States and Canada shared decades’ worth of stories, secrets and anxieties, and during breaks they shared the clothing-optional baths.

The agrarian elders, as they were called, were invited to Esalen because the organizers of the event wanted to document what these rock stars of the sustainable food movement knew and to discuss an overriding concern: How will they be able to retire and how will they pass their knowledge to the next generation?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTC_X1gblRE

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Rooftop Farm in New York City Grows 50,000 Pounds of Organic Produce Per Year

Sat, 2014-01-04 14:52 — debbiefook

watch the full video here:http://permaculturenews.org/2014/01/0...

By Ecofilms

“That view behind me is not a painted backdrop!” said Geoff Lawton to the camera. But the view looked great from where I was standing. Brooklyn Grange is a rooftop farm with a magnificent view looking over the Manhattan skyline.

Sitting on a concrete roof, totaling 2.5 acres and producing more than 50,000 pounds of organically-grown vegetables each year, you need to walk its length to appreciate how vast this rooftop garden truly is in scale.

We had been given one hour to film this place. The sun was setting. We were in the “magic hour” to film and needed to hurry. There was a lot to do.

Geoff walked down the narrow lanes of planted vegetables. Four to six inches of dirt was all the plants were allowed to grow in—very well drained dirt that resembled sharp river sand. It didn’t look like a normal loamy soil to my untrained eye.

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How Our Food Has Become a Dangerous Addiction

Sun, 2013-12-29 11:40 — Maeryn Obley

Photo: Picture of a hamburger. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com/ Jacek Chabraszewski

alternet.org - Anthony Winson - December 2nd, 2013

In many of the food environments we encounter on a day-to-day basis, it is becoming difficult to find whole foods in anything like their natural form.

Healthy nuts are rendered unhealthy by prodigious amounts of added salt and sweet "honey" glazes.

Yoghurt is laced with copious amounts of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup sweetener, typically the equivalent of seven teaspoons of sugar in a small serving size.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)
(VIEW 120-PAGE PDF REPORT - The United States Conference of Mayors - Hunger and Homelessness Survey)

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Hunger Is Rising Across U.S., Say City Leaders

Tue, 2013-12-24 01:13 — Maeryn Obley

Food being served.

Image: Food being served.

nation.time.com - December 11, 2013 - Denver Nicks

Hunger is on the rise in major cities across the United States, according to a new survey released Wednesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

In the survey of mayors in 25 major American cities, 83 percent said requests for emergency food aid had increased over last year while budgets for emergency food purchases increased by less than one percent. Across all 25 cities, 21 percent of those applying for assistance did not receive it.

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North Dakota Oil Spill: Tesoro Corp. Pipeline Breaks Near Tioga; Dumps More Than 20,000 Barrels Of Crude

Fri, 2013-10-25 21:53 — admin

www.huffingtonpost.com - October 10, 2013 - AP by James MacPherson

North Dakota Oil Spill

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — More than 20,000 barrels of crude oil have spewed out of a Tesoro Corp. oil pipeline in a wheat field in northwestern North Dakota, the state Health Department said Thursday.

State environmental geologist Kris Roberts said the 20,600-barrel spill, among the largest recorded in the state, was discovered on Sept. 29 by a farmer harvesting wheat about nine miles north of Tioga.

Steve Jensen, the farmer, said he'd smelled crude several days before the tires on his combines were coated with it. At the apparent break in the underground pipeline, the oil was "spewing and bubbling six inches high," Jensen said.

[Read entire article]

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New York's Looming Food Disaster

Thu, 2013-10-24 16:01 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Julio and Belinda Ramos, who were hit with a power outage, hold their eight-year-old son Charles as they stand in line to pick up food supplies at a grocery store after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

theatlanticcities.com - by Siddhartha Mahanta - October 21, 2013

In New York City, locating a bite to eat is rarely a difficult task. The city is a food paradise or, depending on your mood, a place of overwhelming glut.

But when Superstorm Sandy pummeled New York last fall, it revealed the terrifying potential for sudden food shortages.

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