Growing Returns

Farmers and environmentalists team up to push Congress to act on climate

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: November 19, 2020

Agricultural and environmental advocates have joined forces to push Congress to act on climate change. The new Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance developed more than 40 joint policy recommendations for making farms, ranches and forests more climate resilient, harnessing the power of natural climate solutions.

Environmental Defense Fund, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and National Farmers Union co-chair the alliance, and membership has expanded to include FMI-The Food Industry Association, National Alliance of Forest Owners, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and The Nature Conservancy. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, Climate, Congress, FACA, Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance, resilience, USDA | Comments are closed

3 ways to build a more resilient food supply chain

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 11, 2020

COVID-19 is upending the food supply chain. Thousands of workers have been infected. Businesses have shut down. Supplies of meats and other labor-intensive foods are tightening, while a surplus of perishable milk and crops has been dumped or left in fields to rot.

This is a nightmare for farmers, workers and consumers. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged consumers, coronavirus, COVID-19, farmers, food shortages, meat, supply chain | Read 2 Responses

Anthony Bourdain taught us the power of sharing a meal and leaving biases at the door

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 13, 2018

“What I aspire to is the grace with which he was able to meet people where they were and, at the same time, challenge preconceived notions.”

I never knew Anthony Bourdain or even saw him in person. Yet, that he existed in the world – that I could turn on the TV or pick up something he’d written and get a dose of inspiration, or laughter, or learn something about food, life, relationships, or what it means to be authentic – was such a gift.

His 1999 New Yorker essay “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” and subsequent book, Kitchen Confidential, were full of bombast, bad-ass adventure and raw truth-telling. That made him fun to read, and later to watch. But if that is all it was, I doubt I’d find his death so devastatingly sad.

It was his passion for his craft, his love of people, and, ultimately, his talent for being able to suspend his own (strong) biases and beliefs in order to bring people together, that resonates deeply with me as I think about the work I lead for Environmental Defense Fund.

Bridging cultural divides

Bourdain often said that Parts Unknown, the “food show” that made him a global celebrity, wasn’t ever really about food. It was about people. It was about sitting down with them and learning who they were. It was about sharing ideas, asking questions, and opening up their world and their worldviews to the rest of us.

He embraced the dichotomy of the world being a really big place and a small planet all at the same time. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged Anthony Bourdain, bias, collaboration, conservation, conversation, Don't Eat Before Reading This, environment, food, Kitchen Confidential, Parts Unknown, sharing a meal | Comments are closed

3 ways Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods could affect agriculture and the environment

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 22, 2017

Photo credit: USDA

The vast majority of the media stories surrounding Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods have focused on how the deal could affect the cost of food, home delivery services, competition in the retail space and our overall shopping experiences.

While it’s still too early to predict what exactly Amazon will do with hundreds of new brick and mortar grocery stores, here are three possible implications for farmers and the land they rely on to grow our food.

1. Demand for organic could skyrocket

As of last month, organic products represented more than 5 percent of all grocery sales in the US – and organics have been one of the strongest areas of growth for many retailers and grocery stores.

Now, with Whole Foods under the Amazon umbrella, that demand could increase exponentially. POLITICO noted that if this happens, “domestic organic acreage isn’t positioned to handle such an expansion.” Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged agricultural sustainability, consumers, corporate social responsibility, cover crops, farmers, food, food waste, organic, precision agriculture, produce, supply chain sustainability, sustainability, transparency, whole foods | Read 2 Responses

What does the end of the Paris deal mean for agricultural innovation?

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 15, 2017

Agriculture has faced increasing disruption from extreme weather and climate shifts over the past 40 years.

In the face of an ever-changing climate, agricultural innovation is more important than ever.

No matter your views on climate change, the United States’ exit from the Paris agreement could compromise the ability of farmers and agribusinesses to become more resilient in the face of extreme weather events.

In the absence of federal leadership, individual farmers, state and national ag associations, food companies, retailers, and environmental organizations will need to fill the void.

I’m confident we can do this, because all the farmers I’ve ever known are incredible innovators and are willing to implement practices that can mitigate the effects of an unpredictable climate – practices that also protect their businesses. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, climate change, conservation, environmental defense fund, farmers, food production, Paris agreement, precision agriculture, USDA | Comments are closed

How my passion for food and history led me to the farm bill

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: April 4, 2017

Despite growing up without any real interest in conservation or farming, I now spend every working day knee deep in agricultural policy – and I love it.

I grew up in the suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of a teacher and a salesman. My parents instilled in me a love and deep respect for the place. I was taught to value the importance of rural America, farming, horse racing and bourbon.

But it’s an obsession with food and history that brought me to where I am today. For as long as I can remember, I’ve started planning my dinner at breakfast time. After college, my passion for government led me to law school – but I just couldn’t ignore my love of food. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, california, conservation, cooking, farm bill, farmers, farming, Florida, food, food production, Kentucky, law school, NRCS, Tulane, USDA, USDA NRCS | Read 1 Response

What was left off the menu at the WSJ Global Food Forum?

By Jenny Ahlen / Bio / Published: October 14, 2016

Mother with child Many of us spend a considerable amount of time thinking about food – whether it’s deciding what’s for dinner or how healthy something is for our family. Given that I work on food sustainability and am married to a chef, I spend an even more extreme amount of time thinking about food.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal hosted the first annual Global Food Forum in New York City – more proof that food and agricultural issues are increasingly on the radar screens of many executives, including those from Walmart, Campbell’s Soup, Panera, Perdue, Monsanto and many more.

I was eager to attend the event and hear the discussions among some of the most powerful food companies out there. They covered many topics including food safety, “clean” labels, biotechnology, antibiotic use and the humane treatment of animals.

All important stuff – but given the prestige of the event, I’d like to bring up the elephant in the room (or more accurately the elephant not in the room): sustainability. The environmental impacts of agriculture were barely touched upon, and considering the corporate heavyweights who were in the room, this was a missed opportunity on a massive scale. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture, Water / Tagged agricultural sustainability, agriculture, climate change, conservation, deforestation, drought, environmental defense fund, farmers, food production, Land O'Lakes, midwest row crop collaborative, supply chain, SUSTAIN, sustainability, water quality | Comments are closed

What Michael Pollan gets wrong about Big Ag

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 12, 2016

Journalist Michael Pollan deserves credit for elevating the national conversation about food. Over the course of 25 years, his articles and books have thoughtfully contemplated the troubling side effects of the American diet and the way our food is produced.

But his latest piece in the New York Times Magazine reads like a script for a black and white Western, with food companies, agribusiness and commodity producers cast in the role of Bad Guy and local organic farmers and vegans cast as the Men in White Hats.

In Pollan’s script, the bad guys are responsible for everything from America’s weight problem and rising health care costs to widespread environmental degradation and monocultures that threaten national security. If only the law would get on the good guys’ side, he muses.

Food production is actually changing

All industries have issues that continually need to be addressed, and the food industry is no exception.

Agriculture consumes a lot of land and water and emits greenhouse gas emissions that must be curbed. And, yes, our diets have contributed to America’s obesity epidemic.

Except, our food system is changing, more than Pollan acknowledges.

The uptick in consumer demand for local, organic products is promising. So, too, are the contributions that Pollan’s so-called villains – the companies, agribusinesses and commodity farmers who produce what’s on our plate – are making to the environment. They deserve recognition. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged ag retailer, ag retailers, agribusiness, Campbell Soup, climate change, commodity crops, commodity farmer, corn, cover crops, David Festa, environmental defense fund, factory farm, farm, farmer, farmers, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer pollution, food industry, General Mills, greenhouse gas emissions, industrial-scale, Kellogg, Kellogg's, Land O' Lakes, large-scale, Michael Pollan, monoculture, no-till, nutrient efficiency, resilience, resiliency, Smithfield, Smithfield Foods, soil health, soy, SUSTAIN, tilling, Walmart, wheat | Read 3 Responses

Cutting food waste to support farmers and the famished

By Peyton Johnson / Published: August 11, 2015

Surplus food at the Food Donation Connection. Photo Credit: USDA.

Food waste affects more than just our wallets. Approximately one-third of all food produced in the world gets thrown away every year, leading to 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions. At 2.6 trillion pounds, that’s enough sustenance to feed three billion people, or almost all people living in poverty worldwide today.

That’s why, last week, when I attended a Q&A session for ag interns at the U.S. Department of Agriculture with Secretary Tom Vilsack, I was intrigued when a fellow intern asked a question regarding food sustainability and what the U.S. can do to ensure that there will be enough food to feed the 9 billion people expected to populate the world by 2050.

The Secretary’s answer? Reduce food waste.

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, emissions, farm, farmers, feeding forward, food, food and agriculture organization of the united nations, food bank, food chain, food companies, food waste, greenhouse gas, grocery store, homeless shelter, poverty, produce, producers, secretary tom vilsack, supply chain, sustainability, sustainable, teens opposing poverty, united states department of agriculture, USDA, waste no food | Read 1 Response