Michael Pollan: The Sickness in Our Food Supply “Only when the tide goes out,” Warren Buffett observed, “do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” For our society, the Covid-19 pandemic represents an ebb tide of historic proportions, one that is laying bare vulnerabilities and inequities that in normal times have gone undiscovered. Nowhere is this more evident than in the American food system. A series of shocks has exposed weak links in our... 1 

Millions Against Monsanto: Scientific scrutiny of pesticide residue in food grows; regulatory protections questioned Weedkillers in cereals, insecticides in apple juice and a mix of multiple pesticides in spinach and string beans—all in the daily diets of many Americans.For decades, federal officials have declared tiny traces of these contaminants to be safe. But a new wave of scientific scrutiny is challenging those assertions.According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) latest report, more than 75 percen... 3 

Food Stamps Are Affordable; Corporate Welfare Is Not The American taxpayer isn't paying much for social safety net programs like food stamps and Medicare. But we are paying a lot for the billions of dollars the US government gives to corporate America each year. The average taxpayer making $50,000/year pays $36 toward the food stamp program. That same taxpayer is paying $6,000 that goes toward corporate subsidies. Question: What should be cut in an attempt at balancing the... 3 

The Global Farmland Rush - By MICHAEL KUGELMAN NYTimes.com ".OVER the last decade, as populations have grown, capital has flowed across borders and crop yields have leveled off, food-importing nations and private investors have been securing land abroad to use for agriculture. Poor governments have embraced these deals, but their people are in danger of losing their patrimony, not to mention their sources of food. Land equivalent to eight times the size of Britain was sold or leased w...

Latin American Backlash Against GM Food GM foods are grown extensively in Latin America. Some are beginning to question the wisdom of this. Ecuador prohibits them and Peru recently imposed a 10-year moratorium. As extensive as GM-crop growing is in Latin America, it is far behind that of the US.

GM Salmon? Sure, Why Not. On the Friday before Christmas the FDA quietly published its draft environmental assessment of GM salmon. They are found to have 'no effect'. What does that mean? It means 'go, corporations, go'.

Prop 37 Narrowly Defeated Fishermen, environmentalists and consumer advocates were disappointed - but not surprised - by the narrow defeat of Proposition 37, the initiative calling for the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food in California, on November 6. GE food opponents said they will be ramping up the campaign across the country to make GE labeling the law in the coming year and are already organizing in over a dozen states. 2 

Did You Know Your Meat May be Cloned? The FDA has permitted both meat and milk from cloned animals to be sold at your grocery store since 2007. Since they are not labeled no one knows how much is out there, and any effects they might be having cannot be tracked.

Top Funders of No on Prop 37: Six Largest Pesticide Companies As election time approaches, the ads and tactics by the backers of No on 37 (California's Proposition 37, requiring the labeling of GM foods) become increasingly vitriolic. The question underlying all this activity, though, is simple. Do you have the right to know what's in your food? Consider who's backing the No on 37 agenda. 1 

Why California's Effort to Label GM Foods is Important If GM foods are so innocuous, why is Big Ag mounting a mega-buck effort to defeat California's wish to have them labeled? You know what they say. As goes California goes the rest of this country.

What Are We Doing to Ourselves With GMOs? A number of scientists, medical doctors, and affected people weigh in on this video about the vast uncontrolled experiment we are performing upon ourselves and our planet with genetically modified food and organisms. It is not accurate to say 'we'. In the majority of cases, this vast experiment is being perpetrated upon us, without our knowledge or consent.

The High Price of GM Corn in India Indian farmers growing Monsanto's Bt cotton saw dramatic increases in yields. And how fare the farmers? "We're getting higher yields, but we're not better off," said T. Venkatesh, one of the cotton farmers, in an interview. "Our costs have gone up much faster than the price of cotton."

Evolution's Sweet Tooth By DANIEL E. LIEBERMAN OF all the indignant responses to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's plan to ban the sale of giant servings of soft drinks in New York City, libertarian objections seem the most worthy of serious attention. People have certain rights, this argument goes, including the right to drink lots of soda, to eat junk food, to gain weight and to avoid exercise. If Mr. Bloomberg can ban the sale of sugar-laden soda of more than 16 ounces, will...

The Best, Most Disgusting Reporting on Food Safety The recent brouhaha over pink slime (and other lovely mass meat production processes) is only the beginning. Here's our roundup of some standout reporting about the food on your plate. This is a multifaceted, perennial topic. If you think we missed any, we're happy to hear suggestions.

Is Vermont's Governor Surrendering to Monsanto? Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has less than two weeks to either stand with the 90 percent of his constituents who support a mandatory labeling bill for genetically engineered foods -- or cave in to Monsanto's threat to sue the state if legislators pass H.722. If the Governor's words this past week are any indication, he's already surrendered to Monsanto. But Vermonters, not known for backing down from a fight, are challenging...