Farmers fight back against farm stand theft
Bangor Daily News - 10/22/2011.By Abigail Curtis – Troy: The farmers are fed up with having their farm stands pilfered for cash, and they’re definitely not taking it anymore. Joyce Benson of Troy, who grows vegetables on the Detroit Road, estimates that over the last two seasons thieves have stolen well over $1,000 from the lock box at her roadside stand, and she’s not the only one in her agricultural community to have been robbed. |
|
Research shows organics are no longer marginal
Winnipeg Free Press - 10/22/2011.By Laura Rance – Organic farmers and their customers have had to put up with a lot of crap from their fellow producers over the years. The labels are one thing, such as "crunchy granola set" or "hippie dippies" or "organic freaks." But by far, the biggest insult was simply being dismissed as inefficient and ineffective when it comes to the serious question of how to best feed the world's growing population. |
|
Farms need people, not machines
The Atlantic - 10/21/2011. By Nicolette Hahn Niman – Machines have their place on farms and ranches. Researchers have calculated how the tractor's plowing, planting, and harvesting has saved tens of millions of people and draft animals from backbreaking toil. And personal experience has taught me the indispensability of a tractor for lifting and moving heavy objects on a ranch. But broadly adopting an industrial model in agriculture – especially for raising animals – has been disastrous. |
|
Pesticides are good for you
Grist - 10/21/2011. By Michele Simon – For years now, I have been hearing about the food industry's influence on the annual conference of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) – the nation's largest gathering of nutrition professionals – with some 7,000 registered dietitians in attendance. Last month, I witnessed it for myself and discovered the corporate takeover by Big Food was worse than I even imagined. |
|