Category Archives: Food

Golden Rice: Bringing a Superfood Down to Earth

Posted on August 28, 2015 by GDS

 May 2016: The article “Disembedding grain: Golden Rice, the Green Revolution, and heirloom seeds in the Philippines,” by Dominic Glover and me, has been published in the journal Agriculture & Human Values and is available here. This blog post is … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biotechnology, Food, Philippines | 39 Comments

GM Foods: A Moment of Honesty

Posted on July 29, 2015 by GDS

As the latest controversy over GMO’s unfolds – this time it’s about a House Bill that would ban labeling laws – it’s time for a moment of honesty about science and safety. Of course safety is hardly the only bone … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biotechnology, Food, Public Health, Regulation | Tagged , , , | 56 Comments

A century later, we find out…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by GDS

These two items appeared in separate sections of the NY Times yesterday: There was an obituary for Elizabeth Whelan, who started the American Council on Science and Health back in 1978. This was an industry-supported initiative claiming to represent “Science, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biotechnology, Food, Public Health, Regulation | 5 Comments

The Right to Farm Right

Posted on August 3, 2014 by GDS

I’ve got an idea: why don’t we Missourians follow up on passing our ALEC-supported ag-gag law with a full-blown amendment to the state constitution to shield industrial agriculture?  That way, even if someone risks being officially listed as a terrorist … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Food, Industrial Agriculture, Regulation | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Theme Park Farming in Japan

Posted on June 5, 2014 by GDS

[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 , | 3 Comments

Dutch Treat

Posted on February 12, 2014 by GDS

We now know the “best and worst places in the world to eat,” courtesy of Oxfam.  The best is the Netherlands; the worst is Chad.  (Here is an explanation of their analysis, and here is where you can explore their country-specific … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Public Health | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Overpopulation and the Small Farmers of Oakwood

Posted on October 20, 2013 by GDS

Speaking of overpopulation: I found Oakwood chapel.  I was in England in May and I spent a day tracking down this little chapel that played such a fateful role in Western ideas on population and food. Oakwood (or Okewood) it … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Population | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Overpopulation? Don’t Bet On It.

Posted on September 9, 2013 by GDS

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

Obesogens

Posted on December 9, 2012 by GDS

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 , , , | 10 Comments

The Animal Lover’s Dilemma

Posted on November 26, 2012 by GDS

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 , , , | 146 Comments