Sustainable Agriculture & Food Policy

Fellow Pamela McElwee was one of the lead authors of the recently released IPCC report on climate change and land use. From The New York Times: The world’s land and water resources are being exploited at “unprecedented rates,” a new United Nations report warns, which combined with climate change is putting dire pressure on the ability of humanity to feed itself.

Results from a recent study examining what's in organic versus conventional milk show that the majority of samples of conventional, non-organic milk tested positive for certain low, chronic levels of pesticides, illegal antibiotics and growth hormones. The organic samples tested at either much lower or non-existent rates in comparison.

By providing a feminist history of the National School Lunch Program, Fellow Jennifer Gaddis recasts the humble school lunch as an important and often overlooked form of public care. Through vivid narration and moral heft, her new book, The Labor of Lunch, offers a stirring call to action and a blueprint for school lunch reforms capable of delivering a healthier, more equitable, caring, and sustainable future.

With Fellow Amanda Beal at the helm of Maine's agriculture department, the state is uniquely positioned to push forward into the role of regional breadbasket that she helped lay in the 2014 report "A New England Food Vision"—and set a national example for how to build a sustainable, healthy, and just regional food system.

Editor's note: Fellow Lauren Howe recently won the USAID Agrilinks Young Scholars Food Security Blog Contest with the following post about her work in Ethiopia with sweet potato leaves, which first appeared on the Agrilinks website.

Editor's note: The video attached to this story was produced by Organic for All.

The Organic Center recognized environmental health scientist Dr. Asa Bradman with its Award of Excellence at the organization’s annual benefit dinner March 6 in Anaheim, California.

In her last Cabinet nomination, Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday (January 18 ,2019) afternoon that she has chosen the president of Maine Farmland Trust to head the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.