MetaFilter posts tagged with Agriculture

First, Catch Your Rooster

jason's_planet — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:57:45 -0800

“Oh my!” Elise had turned over their rooster and noticed its spurs. I just about had a heart attack — the spurs were nearly three inches long, curved and very, very sharp. But for the Grace of God that rooster could easily have sent me to the hospital. I was feeling a lot better about leaving that last bird, and was beginning to understand why Dominic and Rosa never killed their own chickens.

Messy, Painful, Bloody and Dirty

chrchr — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:32:07 -0800

Critics of modern farming practice have swayed popular opinion in recent years. Now farmers are talking back. Farmer Blake Harris takes critics of farming to task for misrepresenting his trade. Another farmer says it's not so simple.

VIMBY?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:52:04 -0800

Suburban farming, an idea whose time may have come. Short and sweet SLYT from the Wall Street Journal about people growing herbs and vegetables in their own yards in American suburbia.

How green was my valley

KokuRyu — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:51:06 -0800

How green was my valley: California's economic meltdown The fields of wheat, cotton and cantaloupe that sustained his family for three generations are gone. The land is a mess of fallow fields, cracked earth and swirling dust. (PDF - By some estimates, 12.8% of the United States' agricultural production (as measured by dollar value) comes from California, and the majority of that is in the Central Valley). However, his particular scene of devastation, Mr. Allen argues, has nothing to do with the credit crisis, the housing crash or the downturn that has California in a vice grip. It has to do with a seven-centimetre-long, semi-translucent, steel blue fish known as the Delta smelt. This is not a story about fish. Rather, it is a story about how efforts to save the fish through a court-ordered water shortage have pushed a region already brought to the brink by recession over the edge... "In the Central Valley regional area, we've got 40,000 unemployed people. General Motors had 30,000 and got a government bailout. We're getting nothing." See also: California v Texas

An Inconvenient Hoof

Toekneesan — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:29:45 -0800

Opening this Friday in L.A, New York, and San Francisco, Food, Inc. is a documentary about the modern food industry that features Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Joe Salatin of Polyface Farm, and Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Yogurt. Here's the trailer. And here's a New York Times article about the film. Also available, a participant's guide book. Currently scheduled for wider release on June 19th.

The World According to Monsanto

aniola — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:14:12 -0800

The World According to Monsanto - A full documentary on the agricultural giant. All sorts of previously. Originally: "Le monde selon Monsanto"

Every day we get closer to an epidemic that cannot be stopped.

parudox — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:17:54 -0800

The Meatrix: parts I, II: Revolting, and II 1/2.

Infrastructures / Networks / Environments

netbros — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:47:21 -0800

The globe’s networked ecologies of food, water, energy, and waste have established new infrastructures and forms of urbanism. While these ecologies exist at the service of our contemporary lifestyles, they have typically remained hidden from view and from the public conscience. Infranet Lab is studying the shifting / changing conditions. Recent articles include Greening of Prison Infrastructure where you'll find solar fields used to power the prisons and gardens and greenhouses for nourishment. A three-part article about salt mining (1, 2, 3). About 50% of industrialized salt production is used in cold-climate regions for de-icing. Along with that massive seasonally dependent harvest, is the need to store salt (or sand) in a distributed fashion and at a municipal level. Like little salt banks or mail drop-off boxes, salt facilities dot the highway landscape. The recent volatile nature of the stock market has incited a new type of investment — in farmland, deemed ‘getting rich slow.’ Further, continual land development which encroaches on arable land, coupled with a rising world population — makes farmland an increasingly precious resource. It is currently estimated that 25 million acres of farmland are lost each year.

Daewoo to Buy Madagascar

KokuRyu — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:53:59 -0800

Korea blog the Marmot's Hole reports on the crisis in Madagascar: Madagascar’s defense minister has resigned after security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters Saturday (in late January), killing 28. More than 100 have been killed since anti-government protests began two weeks ago. And what may have been the impetus for the protests? The final straw for many was the mooted plan to lease one million acres in the south of the country to the Korean firm Daewoo for intensive farming. Malagasy people have deep ties with their land and this was seen by many as a betrayal by their president. The Financial Times has been covering this story: Daewoo Logistics of South Korea has secured farmland in Madagascar to grow food crops for Seoul, in a deal that diplomats and consultants said was the largest of its kind... The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation warned this year that the race by some countries to secure farmland overseas risked creating a “neo-colonial” system. According to a Korean agricultural group: Daewoo Logistics is a subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate Daewoo Corporation. In November 2008, world media reported that it was securing rights to 1.3 million hectares of farmland in Madagascar -- half the country's arable soils. Daewoo Logistics: FT is LIES! ALL LIES! Daewoo Logistics — its corporate executives no doubt sitting on the porch of some bungalow in Antananarivo sipping gin-and-tonics and bitching about how the natives can’t fix a proper cup of tea — said the Financial Times got its report on the company’s recent deal for Madagascar’s farm land all wrong. It’s Not Imperialism! It’s a Uniquely Korean Dream! I feel more convinced than before that Korea needs Daewoo’s success in Madagascar, not only to prove that its model is different from the models of Britain, the United States, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Japan during their colonial pasts, but also that it is setting a new precedent for both African states and outside investors to benefit from. Some background on the crisis in Madagascar: The latest, and ongoing, spate of violence has President Marc Ravalomanana pitted against the charismatic Andry Rajoelina, former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo. Since the power tussle started on 26 January, more than 100 lives had been lost. Rajoelina has been able to mobilize his supporters to take to the streets of Antananarivo to demand Ravalomanana's ousting on the grounds of his alleged "autocratic" style of government. UNHCR provides some analysis, plus a Q+A to the latest in the Madagascar Crisis.

Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008

patricio — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:03:27 -0800

Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008 - Mother Jones asks what sustainable agriculture should really look like. Is it about food miles or should we all just eat less meat?

A diet of sunshine

Stewriffic — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:17:33 -0800

Will the White House have its own farmer? Back in October, Michael Pollan called upon the president-elect to rip up a 5-acre section of the White House's south-facing lawns and hire a farmer to cultivate it. Over 55,000 Americans have nominated Claire Strader to be that farmer, if the Obamas decide to take up a new Victory Garden initiative. The question now is will they? Supporters see a White House farm as a way for the first family to address many of the issues Obama cites as a focus of his administration--economic security, public health promotion, climate change, and reducing fossil fuel dependence. Obama's position on organic and local agriculture would suggest that he might consider a White House Farmer, as does his recent decision to hire local-food proponent Sam Kass to work alongside the executive chef at the White House. Claire Strader speaks of her vision.

Deconstructing Dinner

utsutsu — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:23:31 -0800

Produced and recorded in the studios of Kootenay Co-op Radio in Nelson, British Columbia, Deconstructing Dinner has been designed to dispense and discuss current food issues. This weekly radio show hosted by Jon Steinman features a wide range of topics revolving around food security. Some highlights include: Packaged Foods Exposed, which shines the spotlight on the worlds largest food manufacturers including PepsiCo, Nestle and Unilever. Agri-Business Exposed, a two part exposé on Cargill Biotechnology Myths?, recordings of speakers at the 2007 CropLife Canada Conference and responses to the message's coming out of corporate agri-business in canada. The Local Grain Revolution, an ongoing series documenting the adventure of starting up Canada's first grain CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farming in the City, a series on urban agriculture including backyard chickens. The show has also dedicated episodes to broadcasting the work of others The GMO Trilogy produced by Jeffrey Smith Part 1 - You're Eating What? Part 2 - Unnatural Selection Part 3 - Hidden Dangers in Kids Meals: Genetically Modifed Foods This show runs on donations and is distributed for free to college and community radio stations and is also available online as a podcast.

Petition to recommend Michael Pollan for Agriculture Secretary under Obama

maniabug — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:56:08 -0800

Pollan for Agriculture Secretary? It has been suggested (and previously) that Michael Pollan, author of Second Nature, The Omnivore's Dilemma, might make a good Secretary of Agriculture. This would be a dramatic departure for an office that has a decades-long history of steering US agriculture policy to the advantage of the largest agribusiness corporations. Especially given Obama's potential connections to Big Corn, how silly would we be to anticipate real change in US ag policy, relevant as it may be to the economic, energy, climate, and national security issues he campaigned on? Via the Brian Lehrer Show.

Gobekli Tepe

homunculus — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:30:10 -0800

Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Temple? "Predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years, Turkey's stunning Gobekli Tepe upends the conventional view of the rise of civilization."

Farmer in Chief

homunculus — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:15:23 -0800

"Dear Mr. President-Elect, It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food." Michael Pollan advises the next president on what he can and should do to remake the way we grow and eat our food. [Via]

Corn and You

lunasol — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:16:48 -0800

The Corn Refiners Association would like you to know two things. One: High Fructose Corn Syrup is just fine. And two: anyone who says differently is an ignorant jerk. Previously. And here. And here.

"This mighty garden" and its "methods of culture"

fiercecupcake — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:32:01 -0800

I first encountered the concept of forest gardening in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland (1915) [relevant part pages 79-80]; the fictional race of women in her book have completely remade the forests to contain only beneficial and food-bearing plants, which live harmoniously together and replenish the soil naturally. This is actually being done, less than a hundred years later. More; similar, similar.

Harshing your mellow

serazin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:39:16 -0800

The environmental cost of large-scale pot farming

Another Report Which The President Won't Read

chuckdarwin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:45:05 -0800

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program has just released "Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3: The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States." It makes for pretty interesting reading. * Grain and oilseed crops will mature more rapidly, but increasing temperatures will increase the risk of crop failures, particularly if precipitation decreases or becomes more variable. * Higher temperatures will negatively affect livestock. Warmer winters will reduce mortality but this will be more than offset by greater mortality in hotter summers. Hotter temperatures will also result in reduced productivity of livestock and dairy animals. * Forests in the interior West, the Southwest, and Alaska are already being affected by climate change with increases in the size and frequency of forest fires, insect outbreaks and tree mortality. These changes are expected to continue. * Much of the United States has experienced higher precipitation and streamflow, with decreased drought severity and duration, over the 20th century. The West and Southwest, however, are notable exceptions, and increased drought conditions have occurred in these regions. * Weeds grow more rapidly under elevated atmospheric CO2. Under projections reported in the assessment, weeds migrate northward and are less sensitive to herbicide applications. * There is a trend toward reduced mountain snowpack and earlier spring snowmelt runoff in the Western United States. * Horticultural crops (such as tomato, onion, and fruit) are more sensitive to climate change than grains and oilseed crops. * Young forests on fertile soils will achieve higher productivity from elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Nitrogen deposition and warmer temperatures will increase productivity in other types of forests where water is available. * Invasion by exotic grass species into arid lands will result from climate change, causing an increased fire frequency. Rivers and riparian systems in arid lands will be negatively impacted. * A continuation of the trend toward increased water use efficiency could help mitigate the impacts of climate change on water resources. * The growing season has increased by 10 to 14 days over the last 19 years across the temperate latitudes. Species' distributions have also shifted. * The rapid rates of warming in the Arctic observed in recent decades, and projected for at least the next century, are dramatically reducing the snow and ice covers that provide denning and foraging habitat for polar bears.

Now wait just a cotton-pickin' minute

Asparagirl — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:20:09 -0800

"King Cotton" created a huge demand for land and (slave) labor that changed early America's borders, population, and economics. But just as cotton affected history, history affected cotton: the story of naturally colored cottons -- brown, green, yellow, mauve, and reddish cottons -- has almost been lost. Slaves in the American South, forbidden from planting white cotton lest they sell it for profit, grew this colored cotton in their gardens to spin their own clothes. These heirloom varieties, and colored cottons being grown in the former Soviet Union, were considered too difficult to spin commercially, and were almost lost until an untrained textiles enthusiast named Sally Fox single-handedly pioneered the revival of some of these cotton colors. Her cotton plants are grown organically (amazing for cotton, the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world!), drought tolerant, and their fibers require no toxic bleaching or highly carcinogenic dyes. Undyed colored cotton, raised organically in Peru by artisans through a collective called Pakucho, is also sold online here (Knitter's Review likes it a lot). And on a fun note, companies like Levi Strauss & Co. have now come full circle -- the original Levi's jeans were made in both the traditional indigo-dyed white cotton and in natural brown cotton, the latter of which fell out of favor. Now Levi's makes jeans out of Sally Fox's cotton.

King Corn

thisisdrew — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:45:10 -0800

Cheap Corn Makes Your Life Short

Monsanto Milk

homunculus — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:00:33 -0800

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear. "Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination."

Get your damn fruits and vegetables off my lawn.

Toekneesan — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:21:22 -0800

I’ve discovered that typically, a farmer who grows the forbidden fruits and vegetables on corn acreage not only has to give up his subsidy for the year on that acreage, he is also penalized the market value of the illicit crop, and runs the risk that those acres will be permanently ineligible for any subsidies in the future. (The penalties apply only to fruits and vegetables — if the farmer decides to grow another commodity crop, or even nothing at all, there’s no problem.) If you can't stop demand, curtail production. One farmer's view on the power of commodity crops. See also: Joel Salatin & Polyface Farm. Everything I want to do is Illeagal (Amazon) Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Amazon ) Barbra Kingslover's Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Year in Food (Amazon)

How to grow a glacier

moonmilk — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:55:24 -0800

Villagers in the mountains of northern India and Pakistan have been growing their own glaciers for centuries. They're small domesticated glaciers, cultivated by hand, and they provide a reliable source of water for agriculture. Legend has it that they made glaciers to block mountain passes and keep the Mongol Hordes out! More detail in New Scientist - subscription required, but you can probably see this instruction sheet.

Not quite your Vonnegut

casarkos — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:50:26 -0800

Undercover video (warning: very graphic) released by the Humane Society reveals abuse of animals on the slaughterhouse floor and other code violations. In comparison, some (also graphic) documentation of cow slaughter under Certified Humane standards, and hog slaughter conforming to USDA guidelines (both from chef Chris Cosentino's blog, previously posted here)