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The Food Revolution and the War for Our Minds BY JONATHAN R. LATHAM, Rural America In These Times By conventional wisdom it was excellent news. Researchers at Iowa State University demonstrated in 2012 that organic farming methods can produce yields almost as high as pesticide-intensive methods. Other researchers, at the University of California—Berkeley, reached a similar conclusion. Indeed, […]

On one hand you have an established order that, while quick to conjure its Populist origins, appears threatened by the kind of grassroots change it once championed. On the other, a contingent of rogue Grangers—progressives decidedly less interested in nostalgia than their national counterpart—attempting to breathe new life into an aging system that doesn’t seem […]

photo credit: Donagh Heffernan/ Irish Farmer Calendar How Do Real Farmer's Feel About Their Industry Being Sexed Up? By Lori Rotenberk, Grist, 4 Jun 2015 Donagh Heffernan was living his life, running a dairy farm in Ireland’s scenic Philipstown Cappawhite County Tipperary, when he got a call informing him that he was sexy. Ciara Ryan, the voice […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihIfRpW00kw&w=853&h=480]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC2DpGaykaI&w=853&h=480] Neil Young is slowly leaking performances of tracks off of his upcoming album “The Monsanto Years”.  It is a protest album against Monsanto and GMO’s.  This particular song is against Starbucks, a member of the Grocery Manufacture Association, that is suing Vermont for passing a GMO labeling bill.

A commons cannot survive within conventional structures, which are highly permeable and designed for ease of buying, selling, and profit-maximization […] How do we structure commons governance to prevent corruptions, to serve all stakeholders, and to function efficiently? Read On lawyers and sea urchins, a sidebar for the latest edition of STIR magazine! You can pre-order […]

The West Marin Review is a Point Reyes Station, California-based literary journal produced collaboratively by a team of volunteers. You can read their submission guidelines here.

Our friend Jonathan Shepard is a documentary film maker who is the mastermind behind "The Sharecroppers." Recently, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver borrowed some of his chicken footage for their amazing piece. Check out both videos!

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department has developed a new government certification and labeling for foods that are free of genetically modified ingredients. USDA's move comes as some consumer groups push for mandatory labeling of the genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The certification is the first of its kind, would be voluntary — and companies […]

Well-meaning people have, for a good many years now, been forming a “consciousness” about where their food comes from, who produces it, and how. This gets tedious. But it’s also sensible, given how important food is in our lives. Computers, it would seem, deserve similar attention. They are constant companions; they shape our experience. Many […]

Mark Bittman's article in the New York Times, Nov. 25, 2014. There are four basic ways to change the food system. I talk about three of them a lot: The first is to eat differently, focusing on good food and especially plants; the second is to bring change to your work, whether that means becoming […]

Greenhorns, in partnership with Organic Consumers Association were in attendance last month at the national gathering of the FFA. The FFA National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, saw a sea of 60,000 students representing every nook and cranny of America (and its territories) gathered together for fellowship, belonging, education and scholarly competition. Between the ages of 13 and 18, many of these students are next-in-line to the family farm and occupy a strategically powerful position in the future of American Agriculture; they are kids with land. With a self-confidence rarely seen in teenagers and impeccable public speaking skills, these students in their blue corduroy jackets cut quite the impressive figure, particularly in a stadium context.
They are team-spirited, motivated and articulate, and most of them credit these qualities to the organization that brought them together, the FFA. The FFA is turning these next-in-line farmers, agriscientists, ag teachers and farm sympathizers into successful leaders, fierce entrepreneurs, and good Samaritans...for Big Ag.
This polished youth constituency at the FFA sing the praises, almost exclusively, of Big Ag. How did this happen? Lets start with the obvious place; let’s follow the money.

from KWMR in partnership with the Post Carbon Institute. KWMR 2-Hour Special: Leaders of the Young Agrarian Movement Facing the Future Monday, Nov. 10th - 12pm to 2pm (Pacific Time) A collaboration between the Farm and Foodshed Report (Robin Carpenter- Host) and Post Carbon Radio (Bing Gong & Karen Nyhus - Co-hosts) featuring:   Severine […]

Lauren Markham, author of  The New Farmers, an article in Orion Magazine, recently spoke on Wisconsin Public Radio about the young farmer movement. Have a listen, she gives the Greenhorns a big ole' shout-out and boost! Greenhorns were also recently featured with Lauren Markham on Michael Olsen's food chain radio show to discuss the future […]

45 LEADING SCHOLARS, AUTHORS AND ACTIVISTS (including our own Severine von Tscharner-Fleming) convened at The Great Hall of Cooper Union, New York City, for a public “TEACH-IN” on the profound impacts—environmental, economic and social—of runaway technological expansionism and cyber immersion; the tendency to see technology as the savior for all problems. A change of direction is […]

Leviathan is a documentary — and yet not a documentary. It's a near-wordless, almost abstract depiction of an 80-foot groundfishing boat heading out of New Bedford, Mass. The film's unusual structure and point of view has gotten rave reviews at festivals and from many critics. Sometimes you don't know quite what you're seeing and listening […]

From the World Future Council

A huge increase in the incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases has been reported in the United States (US) over the last 20 years. Similar increases have been seen globally. The herbicide glyphosate was introduced in 1974 and its use is accelerating with the advent of herbicide-tolerant genetically engineered (GE) crops. Evidence is mounting that […]

Use this amazing resource!  The Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures (listed below) include some of the foremost voices on a new economics. Hildegarde Hannum is the editor of nearly all the lectures. Summaries of all lectures can be found here. Registration is now open for the 34th Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures on November 15th, […]

Deadline: 1 December 2014. Farming Matters As a south Indian farmer said, “soil is the mother of agriculture, the mother of life”. And 2015 is the International Year of Soils. So now is an appropriate time to look again at soils that are so fundamental to agroecology and family farming. Soils are not only the foundation […]

via Grist Faith and fears in Wendell Berry’s Kentucky By Darby Minow Smith Wendell Berry’s mind is preoccupied with four dead sheep. I join the 80-year-old food movement sage for a drink and a visit in the kitchen of his neat white house on the top of the hill in Henry County. The talk meanders, picks […]

Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures: Cold Evil: Technology and Modern Ethics by Andrew Kimbrell Buddhist Technology: Bringing a New Consciousness to Our Technological Future by Arthur Zajonc The Community's Role in Appropriate Technology by George McRobie Books: New Dimensions of Appropriate Technology: Selected Proceedings of the 1979 Symposium by Alfred L. Edwards Appropriate Technology and Social Values: A Critical […]

November/December Orion Magazine Article Today’s green movement is considered by some Millennials and Gen Xers to be an equivalent to the Civil Rights struggle—the organizing principal propelling young people into action. Recent decades have seen unprecedented environmental demonstration in Washington, as well as committed political activism from the likes of 350.org, which is staffed almost […]

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powered by stolen bodies. Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts addresses the connection between today's violence against black men, and the theft of their ancestors to power our economy: The Worth of Black Men, From Slavery to Ferguson

Over the last 14 days, Mark Smallwood has been on a walk. A walk that will hopefully change the way that we look a climate change and think about how we can reverse this disastrous phenomenon. Each day he walks ten miles, on a journey from the Rodale Institute in Kutztown, PA to Washington, DC. Along […]

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/97061496] Though this video is set in Germany, the same situations exist across North America. Learning how to care for these old trees is not only a valuable skill that will give these trees a new lease on life, but one that will allow you to harvest the results for many years to come. […]

This informative claymation explains how important microbes are in the marine environment and how they help keep the planet balanced and healthy!

A woman is struggling to keep her family in tact as the banks try to foreclose on her property. Someone makes her an illegal proposition that could help her keep the farm. Her husband falls ill to something in the area. Ominous activities are happening all around... Check out the trailer for "Runoff" and look […]

Last month in Greensboro, NC, Art-Force and the National Rural Assembly hosted Cross Currents, a convening of artists-artisans-designers, rural leaders and advocates, elected and agency representatives, CSAs and CDCs, food producers and distributors, policy researchers and scholars, entrepreneurs and small business owners for three days of dialogue, workshops, and exploration of how partnerships between the creative […]

Our pal Grant Schultz over at Versaland has come up with this idea for mulching: use a French hay rake and throw it up against your tree (nestled in tree shelters). Check out this quick video to see how it's done!

Ensia is a magazine showcasing environmental solutions in action. Powered by the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, we connect people with ideas, information and inspiration they can use to change the world. Here's an example: Zero Waste World

The European Union is negotiating the potential future of British agriculture with American corporations, developing deals that, unless tempered, could possibly threaten UK sovereignty by Samantha Lyster for Fresh Produce Journal The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US is an attempt by both parties to strip away red tape. The […]

A fascinating read in the New York Times Magazine. Larry Ellison Bought an Island in Hawaii. Now What? By JON MOOALLEM; SEPT. 23, 2014 Henry Jolicoeur is a retired French Canadian hypnotherapist and a glass-products importer who enjoys making very low-budget documentary films. In the summer of 2012, Jolicoeur read that Larry Ellison, a founder of […]

http://ourland.tv/sandbox/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ourland-header-2.jpg You can find the Y0uTube channel HERE or you can visit the OurLand website HERE! Be sure to watch them all!

Great words from the Land Workers Alliance (LWA)!

Meet: Severine von Tscharner Fleming of Sail Freight Maine She wants to borrow your boat, but it’s all about farming. by Mary Pols for the Portland Press Herald Severine von Tscharner Fleming recently landed a spot (No. 23) on Food & Wine and Fortune magazines’ dual list of the most powerful women in food and […]

Growing Local, a new film series by Seedlight Pictures and Maine Farmland Trust, will premiere during the Camden International Film Festival on Sunday, September 28th. The screening will start at 5pm at The Strand Theatre in Rockland, and will be followed by a panel discussion on Taking Local to the Next Level with Ted Quaday, […]