Category Archives: Industrial Agriculture

Unload DDT

Posted on August 25, 2015 by GDS

What a bloodbath on Wall St — XOM down 5%, UNH down 5%, DIS down 4%.  But the biggest loser this week was DDT. DDT featured prominently in the recent blog highlighting the ongoing studies by Berkeley’s Barbara Cohn.  Despite … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Industrial Agriculture, Public Health | 7 Comments

Three stories on the factory farm

Posted on February 15, 2015 by GDS

Three items crossed my desk this week concerning the factory farm scene, i.e. CAFO’s or Confined Animal Feeding Operations.  Two were scientific studies with troubling implications for our health, and one was a dumb piece of clickbait concerning bestiality. Guess … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Industrial Agriculture, Public Health | Tagged , , , | 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

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

More to the Story — Top 5 GMO Myths

Posted on October 26, 2012 by GDS

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 , , , , | 9 Comments

Two Agricultural Donations

Posted on August 23, 2012 by GDS

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 →

Posted in Agriculture, Food, Industrial Agriculture | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

New Ag Antibiotic Rules: Toothless and Oblivious

Posted on April 12, 2012 by GDS

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

Putting the Germ into Germany

Posted on June 29, 2011 by GDS

A truly frightening outbreak of E. coli food poisoning appeared in Germany in May.  Within a month it had infected more than 2,400 people in 13 countries across Europe, killing 23. The toxic strain of E. coli is being called O104:H4 … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biotechnology, Food, Industrial Agriculture | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment