Organic farming

Farmers bend to harvest and grow plants.

‘Farming While Black’: Cultivating food- and racial-justice in upstate New York

Food

In her new book, “Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land,” Leah Penniman describes her journey as a woman of color reclaiming space in the agricultural world while providing a comprehensive guide for others who want to follow her path.

Organic vegetables in the supermarket

A new study strongly suggests eating a diet of organic foods can lower cancer rates

Health & Medicine
Broiler chickens

As demand for organics grows, the US relies more on imported products

Food
Sujitha (right) and her husband Manu (left) stand in the center of the frame in a portrait photograph.

In Kerala, a push for organic food turns professionals into gardeners

Environment
Ruesch farm

The great American cranberry thrives in the ‘world’s smallest’ organic bog

Culture

Women farmers take center stage in US agriculture

Lifestyle

While women are usually the farmers in traditional societies, it’s still a male-dominated business in the US. But women are slowly changing the face of farming in the US, especially by raising and selling home-grown vegetables, flowers, jellies and other farm products.

Rajendra Singh check dam

India brings back ancient wisdom to fight its modern environmental problems

Development

The Green Revolution of the 1960s was deemed a huge success in India, increasing crop yields up to ten times. But fifty years on, it has left an environmental toll that is driving some Indian farmers to go back to ancient agricultural practices.

People hold signs during one of many worldwide "March Against Monsanto" protests against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and agro-chemicals, in Los Angeles on October 12, 2013.

Why the term GMO is ‘scientifically meaningless’

Science

Genetically modified crops are a big part of both our food supply and our debates about health and safety. But some scientists and observers argue those debates are getting the science of GMOs wrong, and grouping together crops that don’t belong in the same argument.

Jim Eklund and Frank Forcella conduct an early test of the concept with a single-nozzle blaster. Jim is driving the ATV and Frank is applying the grit.

A new organic-approved weed control technique is poised for the big time

Technology

Eradicating weeds is one of the thorniest problems facing organic farmers. Weeding by hand is backbreaking work, but using herbicide means the farm is no longer organic. Enter agronomist Frank Forcella, who’s modifying an ordinary sandblaster kill weeds and fertilizes food crops, too.

Bullitt Foundation opens new building in Seattle that redefines environmentally-friendly

Environment

The Bullitt Foundation, a Seattle-based nonprofit focused on improving the environment in the Pacific Northwest, has taken on a new endeavor. It’s opened a building for its headquarters, and house other companies, that will be a demonstrator of sustainable technologies.