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Category Archives: Agriculture
Theme Park Farming in Japan
[A different version of this post appeared as the inaugural “Notes From The Field” on the website for Culture and Agriculture.] Those of us interested in farming talk about “indigenous knowledge” a lot, but several years ago Paul Richards suggested … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Food, Industrial Agriculture, Japan
Tagged agriculture, farming projects
3 Comments
Overpopulation? Don’t Bet On It.
If you are concerned with overpopulation, you may have noticed that The Bet is back in the news. The Bet involved Paul Ehrlich who, for those of you too young to remember, was the Stanford biologist who scared the bejeezus … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Food, Population
12 Comments
Bt Cotton is Failing; Blame the Farmers
Of all the GMO controversies around the world, the saga of Bt cotton in India continues to be one of the most interesting and important. In the latest chapter, reported by the Business Standard, cotton yields have dropped to a … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biotechnology, India
Tagged agriculture, biotechnology, bt, bt botton, cotton, genetically modified, india, Monsanto
53 Comments
This is Your Brain on GMO’s
Last week British anti-GMO activist Mark Lynas took to the podium at a conference to apologize (or apologise) for having spent years “ripping up GMO’s.” Now he has decided that Genetically Modified Organisms are “an important technological option” and that … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biotechnology
Tagged agriculture, biotechnology, genetically modified
10 Comments
Obesogens
Multiple choice question: What does the “Obesity Epidemic” have to do with agriculture? What epidemic? Obesity is an age old problem, and this “epidemic” is an invention of the press and the diet industry. There’s an epidemic alright, caused by … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Food, Industrial Agriculture
Tagged agriculture, endocrine disruptors, environmental toxicology, obesogens
10 Comments
The Animal Lover’s Dilemma
Today’s guest blog by Elizabeth Vandeventer of Davis Creek Farm, Nelson County, Virginia. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from Univ. of North Carolina. ************************************************************************************** When Green Mountain College, a sustainable agriculture school in Vermont, recently decided to slaughter their … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Food, Industrial Agriculture
Tagged animal traction, deforestation, veganism, Vegetarianism
146 Comments
More to the Story — Top 5 GMO Myths
When you hear about “Myths About GMO’s” you can usually expect a polemic from an activist. It may be an anti-GMO activist debunking myths like “GMO’s can help feed the world” or a pro-GMO activist debunking myths like “GMO’s can’t … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biotechnology, Food, Industrial Agriculture
Tagged agriculture, biotechnology, genetically modified, Monsanto, organic
9 Comments
Two Agricultural Donations
Since I do research on small farms for a living, I don’t normally find it a cause for celebration to be wrong about small farms. But I am toasting Caromont Farm’s kickstarter success and my complete wrongness. I described the … Continue reading
New Ag Antibiotic Rules: Toothless and Oblivious
Headline in the NY Times: U.S. Tightens Rules on Antibiotics Use for Livestock. The lede: Farmers and ranchers will for the first time need a prescription from a veterinarian before using antibiotics in farm animals, in hopes that more judicious … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Industrial Agriculture
1 Comment
Decide for Yourself
The dust has not settled after India’s decision not to approve its first genetically modified food crop. In fact it has just been kicked up again today, with the prime minister accusing foreign NGO’s of meddling and activists responding that … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biotechnology, Food, India
2 Comments
fieldquestions 