In the News...
Dairy co-ops help farmers to remain independent, efficient
by Randy Mooney, Specail to The Kanas City Star
May 23, 2010
The farm economy is slowly recovering from the disaster it faced in 2009, but the nation’s dairy farmers are still struggling to regain their footing. As dairy farmers redefine their future, farmer-owned and farmer-run cooperatives are providing a vehicle and a voice to those who want a say in reshaping their livelihoods.
by David Goldstein, The Star's Washington
Correspondent, May 22, 2010
There’s a food fight raging between Capitol Hill and the Agriculture Department and it is about small potatoes.
Organic small potatoes. And big ones, too, as well as peas, beans, melons, beef and poultry. Just about anything, in fact, that is farm-raised and edible.
by David Martosko, Special to The Kansas City Star
May 21, 2010
Can’t my family and I just have a barbeque in peace?
As Memorial Day approaches, Americans will be dusting off their grills in anticipation of flame-broiling a few juicy steaks, hot dogs, and ribs. But it seems like there’s always one guy at the party who asks for marinated tofu—which would be just fine if it didn’t come with a lecture.
Attention Whole Foods Shoppers
Foreign Policy, May/June 2010, Robert PaarlbergFrom Whole Foods recyclable cloth bags to Michelle Obama's organic White House garden, modern eco-foodies are full of good intentions. We want to save the planet. Help local farmers. Fight climate change -- and childhood obesity, too. But though it's certainly a good thing to be thinking about global welfare while chopping our certified organic onions, the hope that we can help others by changing our shopping and eating habits is being wildly oversold to Western consumers. Food has become an elite preoccupation in the West, ironically, just as the most effective ways to address hunger in poor countries have fallen out of fashion.