A New Food Manifesto

From Ode Magazine

Food isn’t just something we need to shovel down our gullets each day to survive. It’s far more potent: the means, more than any other, by which we humans shape our planet and ourselves.

From 100-mile diets to vertical farming, from green markets to organics, from obesity to genetically modified organisms, food is always in the news. The issues are political, social, emotional, psychological, ecological and economic. Take the current popularity of urban farming, for example. A renewed interest in what and how we eat combined with the aftershocks of the Great Recession have inspired city dwellers to cultivate whatever little plots of land they might have. The last time people were this keen on growing their own vegetables was during World War II. So what’s going on?  Read More

Is Walmart’s Version of Sustainable Agriculture Really Sustainable?

In case you missed it, the Walmart Corporation announced that they intend to make a major investment in sustainable agriculture. Most of the blogs, Facebook posts and Tweets seem to be pretty excited! Please forgive me if I reserve judgment and explore this news a bit before I celebrate.

Perhaps its fortuitous that I’ve finished a 7-part series on sustainable food and farming here on World.edu, just in time to use these ideas to help us explore the question “is Walmart’s version of sustainable agriculture really sustainable?”  Read More