While researching meat consumption and production in China last month, I visited two farms that have installed large-scale biogas digesters. These intriguing, bulbous contraptions capture animal waste, prevent pollution, make use of a renewable source of energy (methane), and transform the icky stuff into a rich fertilizer for crops. Biogas digestion  has not been widely [...]

In recent weeks some 280 South African corn farmers went to harvest their corn and discovered that although the exterior of the plants looked lush the interior was bare. An article by the Digital Journal reports that millions of dollars were lost to farmers when their three varieties of Monsanto brand corn seeds failed to [...]

In response to the blog post below, it is worth expanding, to clarify the reasons many in the sustainable agriculture community - and others who are concerned about sustainability, justice and public health - are feeling let down by the choice of the new secretary of agriculture, even as we try to remain hopeful [...]

Sure, the so-called “midnight regulations” are nothing new for an outgoing administration to take advantage of. In fact, in their waning hours every administration has attempted in some way, shape, or form to use this ability to correct the scorecard on their way out the door. These regulations, like nearly all issued by federal agencies, [...]

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. In the two and half decades since the landmark Bay action agenda was agreed to, Maryland’s watershed clean up initiative has received mixed reviews on its success. As the Washington Post noted, “Despite a quarter-century of work, the bay’s biggest problem — pollution-driven “dead [...]