Sustainable Agriculture & Food Policy

Fellow Story

Bradman in New York Times showing how eating organic lowers pesticide levels in children

“There’s evidence that diet is one route of exposure to pesticides, and you can reduce your exposure by choosing organic food,” said the lead author, Asa Bradman, associate director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley. “But I would never say that conventional fruits and vegetables are unsafe. They’re all healthy.” Read more
November 12, 2015
Fellow Story

Vogel on new "Behind the Label" EDF initiative

It seems that almost every week, another major food company announces plans to remove artificial colors and flavors from their products. In the past six months, major food companies such as Nestle, General Mills, Kellogg's, Hershey’s and Campbell’s committed to reformulating many of their iconic brands to be free of artificial colors and flavors. National restaurant chains such as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Subway and Noodles & Company also made similar commitments. Tens of billions of dollars of products are being reformulated.
October 2, 2015
Fellow Story

Hoover quoted on Native American movement to return to land for healthier food

Brown University professor Elizabeth Hoover traveled the countryside with a filmmaker last year to research 40 Native farming and gardening projects. Over the course of three months and 20,000 miles, she discovered community leaders hopeful that upcoming generations would return to the indigenous food that buoyed their ancestors’ health.
September 25, 2015
Fellow Story

Gwin mentors small farmers and processors in OSU program

The way Lauren Gwin sees it, helping small farmers and processors thrive is right in Oregon State University’s sweet spot as a land-grant university. It’s all about collaboration, sharing information and wading through the regulatory thicket. A successful local food system, she says, bridges the gap between farmers and community nutrition and public health in a way that producers don’t get caught in the “price-point conundrum.” Meaning they can make a living while providing people access to an affordable, healthful diet.
September 16, 2015
Fellow Story

Beal quoted on viability of protection plan for Maine clams from green crabs

Jonesport native Brian Beal, a marine ecologist at the University of Maine at Machias and director of research at the state’s principal clam hatchery, the Downeast Institute on Great Wass Island, has been studying soft-shell clams for three decades. His data paint a stark and consistent picture of a resource driven to the brink by warm water-loving predators, from green crabs to worms.
August 21, 2015
Fellow Story

Stoll quoted in article about America's best seafood being sent overseas

Since 2013, the national nonprofit Chefs Collaborative has been host to a handful of “Trash Fish Dinners,” designed to educate guests about the variety of delicious but underutilized seafood that typically hasn’t merited a second look. And from Rhode Island to North Carolina to Oregon, finding local seafood at the farmers market is getting easier too. “The biggest thing that would help fishermen and Americans eat more of their own fish is to shorten the supply chain and have more access to local fishermen,” Greenberg said.
August 14, 2015
Fellow Story

Organic is bee-friendly, says Shade

"Our paper takes an in-depth look at the challenges faced by honey bees and other pollinators, and we look at organic as a model for supporting pollinator populations," said Dr. Jessica Shade, Director of Science Programs for The Organic Center. "We hope this report acts as a tool to educate policymakers, growers and consumers. Bee-friendly practices being used by organic farmers can be adopted by all producers to foster healthy pollinators."
August 10, 2015
Fellow Story

Mendoza Jr. on CalFresh event to sign up Merced farmers

The Merced County Department of Public Health, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, will host an event next week for local farmers to become authorized to accept CalFresh. CalFresh, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, offers nutrition assistance to eligible, low-income families. ...
August 6, 2015
Fellow Story

Farming without breaking a sweat, but who can really afford it asks McClintock

Let’s face it: Gardening ain’t for sissies. It’s tough work, squatting and kneeling as you water, plant and wrest stubborn weeds from the soil for hours under the hot, relentless sun. It can ravage your muscles and joints, and cause throbbing knee and lower back pain. Now, you can ditch the soreness, sweat and dirt, and garden from your sofa in your comfy, air-conditioned living room. And the only muscles you need to move are in your fingertips as they glide across your tablet or smartphone.
August 5, 2015
Fellow Story

Poleman helps build aquaponics system for school in Bahamas

The food-systems collaboration between UVM and South Andros High is based on reciprocity. In January, Walter Poleman, senior lecturer at the Rubenstein School and GreenHouse faculty director, took students from his service-learning course to the Bahamas to help build an aquaponics system at the school’s farm. In the system, waste from freshwater tilapia provides nutrients for assorted vegetables, which in turn remove excess nitrogen, a waste byproduct. Last summer, South Andros students assisted with a garden project at UVM.
August 4, 2015