All 193 UN states will sign a declaration today to fight the spread of drug-resistant 'superbugs', writes Alastair Kenneil. The problem is often blamed on over­prescription of antibiotics by doctors. But that's to ignore the massive use of antibiotics on animals in factory farms, both to prevent infection and to assist weight gain - turning farms into superbug breeding centres.
To stop antibiotic resistant superbugs, keep off factory farmed meat! Alastair Kenneil | 21st September 2016 Comment Health Farming Animal Welfare UK Un piglets behind bars-cut.jpg All 193 UN states …
The purported mission of the Cornell Alliance for Science is to explain the science underlying biotechnology and GMOs, writes Jonathan Latham. So with a debate on the issue taking place tomorrow, 5th October, on the Cornell campus, how come CAS can't find a single speaker prepared to defend their zealously pro-GM stance?
GMO debate: why are Cornell biotech boosters 'chicken'? Jonathan Latham | 4th October 2016 Comment GMOs Health Farming Food Academia Finance chair-cut.jpg The purported mission of the Cornell …
Ethical Foodie chef TIM MADDAMS puts the blame for the animal welfare abuses we reported recently at the door of consumers who are turning a blind eye to the true cost of cheap meat
The Ethical Foodie: We should 'meat' less often... Tim Maddams | 4th October 2016 Comment Animal Welfare Meat Food And Farming Supermarkets Consumer Choice ethical foodie.jpg Ethical Foodie chef TIM …
Hot on the heels of the recent revelations of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on UK meat, a new Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calls on supermarkets to prohibit 'routine mass-medication of livestock' in their supply chains, and commit to 'drastic reductions' in farm use of critically important antibiotics. Make sure your MP signs!
Supermarkets must act on farm antibiotics! Emma Rose | 11th October 2016 Comment Health Farming Consumerism Politics UK meat-cut.jpg Hot on the heels of the recent revelations of antibiotic-resistant …
There's no such thing as 'healthy food' if it's not produced by sustainable farming systems on living soils, Patrick Holden told the recent 'Food: The Forgotten Medicine' conference. But after 70 years of industrial farming, there's a huge job to be done to restore our depleted soils and the impoverished genetic diversity of our seeds and crops.
Good nutrition begins in healthy soils Patrick Holden | 7th September 2016 Comment Food Farming Health GMOs Pesticides jerusalem-arts-cut.jpg There's no such thing as 'healthy food' if it's not …
India's food system, essentially clean just a generation ago, has been comprehensively contaminated with sugar, bad fats, synthetic additives, GMOs and pesticides under the country's neoliberal 'great leap forwards', writes Colin Todhunter. The result? a surge in obesity, diabetes and cancer incidence, but no let-up in the under-nutrition of those too poor to join in the over-consumption.
… entire population was fed on native eggs and chickens produced by family farmers. Now, most …
If you want to make a difference to waste and the environment then you need to think about what you will eat when you're travelling - both for business and for pleasure. It won't be easy, it'll take some planning but the difference you make will be huge writes, TIM MADDAMS our New Voices Ethical Foodie columnist
The Ethical Foodie: Pack up and ship more ethically out? TIM MADDAMS | 24th August 2016 Comment Ethical Foodie Coffee Sustainble Eating Sandwiches Motorway Service Stations fresh sandwiches copy …
How do you solve a problem like deforestation? By a change of diet, writes Laura Kehoe. Scientists have discovered that we can feed the world and stop destroying forests by eating less meat. If we all went vegetarian that would reduce deforestation by 94%. And if we went the whole way to veganism enough land would be freed up for a new forest the size of the Amazon, and allow a widespread shift to organic farming systems.
… pigs require a grain to meat ratio of 9:1 and chickens, relatively less wasteful, are 3:1. …
With the coming of summer, South Korea's 'Boknal' dog-eating festival is under way, writes Anneka Svenska. Known for the extreme cruelty deliberately inflicted on dogs to improve the taste of their meat, Boknal is a barbaric relic rooted in ignorance and pseudo-medical superstition whose time is well and truly up.
Korea's disgusting dog-eating 'festival' must end Anneka Svenska | 11th July 2016 Comment Korea Food Health Animal Welfare dog-elixir2-cut.jpg With the coming of summer, South Korea's 'Boknal' …
At a time when the Labour Party is discovering its egalitarian roots, inequality is as much of an issue in the countryside as in the city, states this 'Rural Manifesto' from the Land Workers Alliance and The Land. The neglect and exclusion of Britain's rural poor and landless farmers must end.
Equality in the countryside Land Workers Alliance The Land | 7th January 2016 Comment The Land Farming UK Politics rural.png At a time when the Labour Party is discovering its egalitarian roots, …
La Guajira, a dusty but spartanly beautiful region in Colombia's desert north is in the grips of a crisis. Climate change, desertification and water shortages have combined to create a perfect storm for the local rural community: a drought so severe some places did not feel a drop of rain for three years writes LAURA DIXON
… are dying. My grandma had sheep, goats, chickens, but what are we going to give them?" …
The President-elect may be determined to lead America down an environmentally damaging path, writes Andrew J. Hoffman. But he may find few in the corporate world, where a growing number of major players are committed to eliminating CO2 emissions and making sustainability a core element of their business systems and supply chains, leading to global green transformation.
Trump, carbon neutrality and the next phase of business sustainability Andrew J. Hoffman University of Michigan | 14th December 2016 Comment Green Economy Fossil Fuels Climate Change Sustainability …
Monsanto has acquired a commanding role in the biotech, seed and agro-chemical industries, writes Carmelo Ruiz. So why is the company desperate to merge with its rival Syngenta? The truth is the company is in deep trouble, as its top-selling Roundup herbicide runs out of steam, and its rivals combine to challenge its dominance.
Monsanto defeated? That's what the Syngenta merger shows us Carmelo Ruiz GMWatch | 27th January 2016 Comment Corporations Farming GMOs Finance monsanto-march-cut.jpg Monsanto has acquired a …
What's the point of farming? To produce an abundance of wholesome food, writes Colin Tudge, while supporting a flourishing rural economy and a sustainable, biodiverse countryside. Yet the powers that be, determined to advance industrial agriculture at all costs, are achieving the precise opposite. It's time for a revolution in our food and farming culture, led by the people at large.
Six steps back to the land: an agricultural revolution for people and countryside Colin Tudge | 22nd April 2016 Comment Farming Food Economics Corporations Society Politics GMOs tractor-cut.jpg …
Members of the food movement share an infectious vision, writes Jonathan Latham - one which is constructive, convivial, classless, raceless, international, and embraces the whole world. Unled yet inspirational, it rests on a novel, harmonious philosophy that combines science, recognition of planetary boundaries, and the universal need for wholesome sustenance.
… for reasons of ethics, moves on to keeping chickens and perhaps to sourcing other meats …
The world we inhabit is a miracle of billions of years of evolution as life has unfolded in its full beauty and diversity, writes Grant A. Mincy. But human activities - deforestation, mining, urbanisation, pollution, climate change - are tearing away at the functioning fabric of the living biosphere. A mass extinction is under way, and it must be halted, and reversed. But how?
A Wild Liberty Grant A. Mincy | 18th January 2016 Comment Conservation Forests Climate Change Ecocide Evolution shroom-cut.jpg The world we inhabit is a miracle of billions of years of evolution as …