News & Views

Why Don't Minnesota Lawmakers Want to Talk About Proposed Law Against Videotaping Inside Animal Facilities?

The videos, if you can stand to watch them, are surreal and sickening. Calves being beaten by a pickaxe. Ill pigs being buried alive by a bulldozer. Live baby chicks being tossed into a meat grinder

 

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Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and How I Miss the Ranch

It’s strange to say that it was only six months ago that I ventured out from my beautiful ranch in Montana to the southern side of California and made a swap from rural to urban, country to city, ranch to condo and garden to supermarket. Super, emphasized. It feels like it’s been forever. It feels like I haven’t seen or felt real, solid dirt in too long. I miss driving along the dirt road and waving to farmers in their Carhartt bibs. I miss knowing that if I ever got a flat tire, the guy down the way would fix it. I miss walking a mile in any direction from my front yard without seeing anything but the great Big Sky.

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Understanding the Farm Bill: Counter-Cyclical Payments, Base Acres, and Other Things Most People Don't Understand

Every time the Farm Bill comes up for debate, there are numerous ideas about how to “fix” the commodity programs. Calls abound to add new programs, scale back existing ones, tweak the payments here and there, and even scrap subsidies entirely (this recent New York Times editorial caused a bit of a stir). Not all of these ideas are new, however, and some of them have been tried before. As more people become interested in the Farm Bill and its impact on what we grow and consume, I think it’s important to understand a bit of the history behind why these programs are they way they are in order to talk about how we might want to change them.

Coupled and Decoupled Payments

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Just One Mouth to Feed and Proud of It! Grocery Shopping and Meal Preparation for Singles

Only one mouth to feed in your house? If you’re one of the 31 million people living by yourself in the United States you’re not alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 43% of Americans over age 18 are single. It’s more important than ever for those of us choosing the solo life to take control of our diet since there’s no one around to nag us about eating healthy. I was lucky to grow up in a household where my mom believed in getting a home cooked meal on the table for dinner and my dad demonstrated good eating habits by making breakfast every day.

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Understanding the Farm Bill: Entrenched Interests, Incremental Change

Last week, I attended a Farm Bill listening session held by the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) in Minneapolis. The organization was looking for input about what should be its 2012 Farm Bill policy priorities, but what it got instead was smorgasbord of ideas that would be difficult -- if not impossible -- to put into the Farm Bill as it is now. Because the Farm Bill directly affects the lives and livelihoods of all Americans (and many around the world), there are many stakeholders. But because it is both so broad and so complex, it’s hard to please everyone. It's even harder to get entrenched interests to agree to anything but incremental change.

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Does Chocolate Milk Belong in Our Schools?

A long time ago, I had a friend who seriously thought carrot cake was good for you because it had, as one of its ingredients, carrots.

 

And by “a long time ago,” I mean 2002. And by “a friend,” I mean myself.

 

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Happy Birthday to Us! Reflections on Turning Two

It's hard to believe it's been just two years since my first post, a "golly gee whiz" piece about joining a CSA for the first time. There's a fine line between being excited and being naive, and I'm proud to run a site that continues to walk that line -- as we have since day one.

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Food Coaches Help Schools' Youngest Students Make Better Food Choices

Imagine, for a moment, that you're five years old. After a busy morning in Kindergarten, you notice that your stomach is growling. It's time for lunch. Unless you brought food from home, you'll be eating what's served in your school's cafeteria. You get in line and grab a tray. You're barely tall enough to see the food behind the counter, and your teacher isn't there to help because she's having her lunch elsewhere. So when the lady wearing the plastic gloves asks you what you want to eat, you're not sure what to say. Then you might notice something familiar -- maybe a hot dog, spaghetti, or some chicken nuggets -- so you point to it and watch as it's placed on your tray.

 

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Understanding the Farm Bill: Who is the Average Family Farmer?

In my last Farm Bill post, I said something I’m not exactly proud of -- three little words that felt so simple and good as they tumbled out of my fingertips and onto the page: average family farmer.

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Exploring Philippine Farmers' Markets with an Eye Towards the Twin Cities

After my husband and I sold our house and moved across the globe to the Philippines last October, I braced myself for missing so many things in Minnesota: strolls through the Landscape Arboretum for spring garden inspiration; summer bike rides along lakeshores and wooded trails; weekend excursions to view autumn foliage; and, yes, even winter, for outdoor ice skating and hot cocoa breaks. Most of all, I would miss seeing the seasons change at my favorite Twin Cities farmers' markets. From morel mushrooms in May, to juicy berries in July and crisp parsnips in October, the amazing produce and products offered at these markets taught me the joys of eating fresh, local, and seasonal food.

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